how not to do it
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Race Management
Forum Discription: For race officers and competiors to discuss the topic
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10896
Printed Date: 27 Jun 25 at 8:23am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: how not to do it
Posted By: gordon1277
Subject: how not to do it
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:01am
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We decided to run a series on sundays with 3 races run from our bigger rib which involved making a new start set up.
All duly organised done ready for last Sunday, get out on the water go to fire the first sound signal, no hooter, whistle nothing. Loud shouts had to surfice untill I borrowed a whistle from one of the helms. Then relised that my new optimum sailing watch does not display seconds(nore did the safety boat drivers). Luckily wind was light enough for a quick dash by the saety boat for hooter and watch with seconds. The new watch was of course on a different time so made the results maths twice as hard as normal.Lsst straw though was finding somebody had borrowed the calculater we use for results luckily a laptop came to the rescue. I am pleased to say despite very shifty wind which caused a few of the start lines to be very one sided all taking part enjoyed the change from club line starts and no complaints apart from rude comments about my limp hooter! Will now put together my own bag with very loud hooter, watch etc ready for the next one in July. I ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Replies:
Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:07am
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Sounds very much like Hythe, we've had offshore winds for the last few weeks, and limp hooters followed a couple of seconds later by the hooter from the shore.
Which puts a conundrum, to the race team on the water, me having set my watch on the ten inshore then travelling a fair distance out to sea down wind for the start and knowing my gun will go earlier then theirs, technically will I be over? (Sound taking time travelling out to the start).. |
Posted By: AlexM
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:32am
Technically you should be using the flags to start your watch  ------------- |
Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:33am
| Flags? At Hythe? The Only time they get flags is when I'm race officer... |
Posted By: yellowwelly
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:37am
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What you guys need is a http://www.draycotewater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Weds-OD-Long-Insts-130601.pdf" rel="nofollow - 12 page SOP manual to tell you exactly what to do for a 50 minute Wednesday evening race*. This works perfectly to ensure that no one feels the burden of doing duties is too great, or that the managing the racing aspect (so vital to a club's survival) is too inaccessible... especially newbies to the sport. My personal favourite is recording times and lap numbers on every lap for those boats participating in the class racing... this is the catch all approach, just in case someone f*cks up the 'race' between the 49er and the Teras.... clearly the added workload is there to give you something to do while you wait on station, freezing your nuts off to ensure average laps is working, rather than returning to the clubhouse and utilising the club finish line as you sip away at the first shandy. * yes, our start sequence really does have start flags going up and down at the same time
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Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:47am
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Geezus Aitch....
There would be no racing if we had to wade through a book like that, have they never heard of the 21st century dumbing down? The only way we kept wind surf racing going all these years was to take the buoys out ourselves, rabbit start and remember where we came in each of the four races we'd run on a tuesday night, no race officer no timing.. We're lucky to have a two or three man team to run racing weekday evenings.. That draycote dog wouldn't hunt down in hythe... |
Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 11:54am
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Hi James
we do have a multi page idiots guide for running races from our club line. But this was from a commitee boat and luckily for open meetings we have a couple of very experienced teams with all the right qualifications and all the right kit including range finders gps etc for locating marks precicely. Average lap racing as you guessed including 49er but only as slow as a feva. ------------- Gordon Lossc |
Posted By: yellowwelly
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 12:05pm
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Grumpf has his shield of sarcasm and sword of irony, I prefer the flail of facetiousness.... We are now obliged to run the wednesday series from the water only, rather than using a start boat and the fixed club line to finish adjacent to the shore/boat park. I think that's a shame, as to onlookers seeing boats finish and the customary wave/acknowledgements to the race hut, present our sport in the gentlemanly way we all like- this gets lost if it happens 'out there somewhere' by a committee boat in falling light. The average laps thing is a PITA as well. Like most Wednesday evening racing, the wind can just 'turn off'. This leads to a fickle finale for class racers, as rather than finishing off an S flag at the next mark, we have the dreaded 'drift of death' to complete the lap. I'm fairly sure I've retired twice already from the Wednesday night series, purely because I can't be arsed with that. Why ruin what had been a lovely evening on the water getting frustrated while the lighter people drift faster to the finish. I'm not sure they really appreciate a hollow victory either... best to drift to the shore and get packed up while there's some daylight left. My point is quite simple- make 'running racing' an onerous task, then don't be surprised that fewer folks feel competent enough to do it. My example, is really another 'how not to do it' imho. Graeme summarises it well:
exactly...
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Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 12:23pm
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At our club, we have a higher proportion of adult total newcomers than most, half of them wouldn't know an S from a P flag, but they do achieve what most of you yottie types miss, and that is the ef word, fun.
It is supposed to be fun, not another rule filled ritual. I agree with jimbo about the finish being near the club, my new, this time last year had never sailed in his life crew, likes to wave to his other half as he finishes, she and her friends have re invigorated our club and the social side, this sunday just gone he'd won, had a couple more friends down, thinking of joining and taking up sailing, infectious innit? The local chandlery was another couple of hundred quid better off as he bought a new harness... Bottom line how not to do it is to make it complicated at club level, OK sure enough if it's an open meeting then things should ratchet up to another level, but seriously if you want to continue to grow the sport without trawling the kids via squads route, it needs to be easy to understand and fun. |
Posted By: yellowwelly
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 12:31pm
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That's totally right Graeme... if you present someone with a manual like that, then tell them it's their 'duty' to do it (funny word heh, sounds a bit late 1930's for my liking) and then, as often is the case, ball them out/make them feel uncomfortable for inevitably getting one aspect of it wrong or slightly skewed... well you do wonder why dressing up in lycra and spending 3 grand on a push bike seems a far easier way to 'do something for myself again' once the kids are older/flown the nest.
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Posted By: iGRF
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 12:46pm
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There's no need for that..
You'll be using the G word next, all that stick swinging goes with a similar snotty attitude, no board shorts allowed on our course, what are they on? And in case you were wondering as this is clearly a reference to my recent road riding acquisition, I've only used it once it was horrible and I wore baggies.. |
Posted By: yellowwelly
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 12:52pm
yep- did the same thing, rode it once (in baggies). Left it in the garage disgusted with myself for two months. Sold it on eBay... at least the depreciation was only the sellers fee. ------------- |
Posted By: Contender443
Date Posted: 03 Jun 13 at 4:31pm
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At Lancing we use these type of instructions http://lancingsc.org.uk/downloads/easter_series.pdf We don't use traditional flags, we use painted boards instead that go into slots on front of the balcony. We also use 6 mins 3 mins go sequence as it is easier to follow than 541go. Plus it is quicker for 3 fleet starts. No member goes straight to doing RO as it is always recommended to do assitant RO first but I reckon with those instructions my 11 year old could run the race. As far as calculating results use an app for your iphone or other smart phone. I use sail race calculator. ------------- Bonnie Lass Contender 1764 |
Posted By: gordon1277
Date Posted: 04 Jun 13 at 2:45pm
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Hi Contender
I made a board with 5 sections of 38mm waste pipe screwed onto it then mounted flags onto 25mm waste pipe and just dropped them into the tubes on the board at the correct time(mostly!), start is 6, 3 go. Having boards and simple instructions manuals is how we start all other club racing but we were trying something different to add interest on Sundays as our normal club racing day is Saturdays when we get good turnouts, but Sundays have been awful for the last two years. If my offer of help to the Contenders is accepted it will not be me as race officer so it would be worth coming. ------------- Gordon Lossc |