Summer Race #6

Light NW winds. Current ebbing all night. We sailed from H to 26 and back. We had a good start and then watched most boats sail by us. The breeze was fluky and we were out of phase all night. Worse was the current. Since we are slow in the light air, our VMG was equal to the current near the mark. The faster boats we were near made it around, but we did not for another 20 minutes. Once around, it was an easy drift to the finish. Tonight's lesson was that I am slow. Oh well. I was also out of phase. Very frustrating. At least I am learning what the fleet does at the start and will take advantage of that in the future. The douchebag golfers are still using the marine radio. I wrote the FCC about this a while ago, but they are too busy with Janet Jackson's tit to give a damn about marine safety and rule violations. Maybe you guys can contact the coast guard and local police. They may be more interested in putting a stop to the gopher chasers. I was away for week 7, so hopefully I'll be back in week 8 and finish the rest of the season. I also bought a used sunfish for my new house. I am very excited to sail again on a small boat. That's how it all began for me.

Summer Race #5

Wednesday 8/18/2010 Light ENE breeze 2-6 knots. Current flooding. A & B sailed course I-0 twice around, C went once around. I-0 is H to D and back. The forecast called for easterly breezes tonight. We expected a turn to the southeast, but that never materialized. Coming out of Haverstraw, we hoisted the sails and were able to make about 3.5 knots through the water. We experienced wind changes of up to 80 degrees. Light and fluky would be the conditions all night. The RC tried to get a start off at 18:15, but the winds got really light and the RC postponed the starting sequence. We rolled into another sequence when the easterly showed some life. We setup to run the line with the current. We felt the best winds were to the left; so running down to the pin was a nice option. We had one boat ahead of us and they were slowing down before the start. They were in our way, but we were not overlapped to windward until 10 seconds to go. At this point, we were far enough form the line to head up to close-hauled and sail away. The boat below us was slow and then they pinched into the wind and we were able to roll them. Had they accelerated sooner, we would have been in bad air and forced onto port. That is the life of the slow boat in the fleet. We got lucky this time and found ourselves as the left most boat with clear air. We rounded the first mark in third place right behind Gusto. We were able to sneak ahead of them after the mark. Once they got their chute going, they accelerated to be below us, but they would then stop when they hit our bad air. I feel bad for them since it is not easy to pass us to leeward and they would have to go at least 2 boat-lengths to windward of us to pass. If they try to pass closer, then I would prevent that by luffing. I don’t mind being passed, but if you are too close to windward, I will defend my air. We rounded H just ahead of Gusto and stretched the lead to 1 minute by the time we got back to D. The last leg was painful. Within a few hundred yards, Gusto had already caught us. The rest of the B fleet was over 2 minutes behind and they were catching us as well. I can easily say that in these conditions, the lack of a spinnaker cost us at least 120 seconds in .6 miles. That translates to about a 200 second per mile difference in speed. Luckily we had a big enough cushion to stay ahead of the rest of the fleet and finished third in B. After finishing, we dropped anchor and hosted the Full Moon race. There were three boats participating in the fluky breeze. We chose the same course, I-0. After the race began, the wind was getting worse, so we shortened the race after 20 minutes to finish at D. It was still pleasant on the water and I think the participating boats had fun. Oddly, one boat asked if we were doing the race, but did not join. I wondered why they bothered asking. As we headed in, we were greeted by a westerly near the west shore. That confirmed that the breeze was very fluky. We were at the dock around 20:30. It was one of the earliest times I have gotten in all year. I would like to write about at one rule scenario. The different rules that apply when reaching across the line and a boat is clear ahead. Here is the situation. Two boats are reaching down a starting line on starboard tack with 30 seconds until the start. They are two boat-lengths below the line and about 30 seconds from reaching the pin. Boat A is clear ahead and boat B is catching up. Here are the rules at play: 12 ON THE SAME TACK, NOT OVERLAPPED When boats are on the same tack and not overlapped, a boat clear astern shall keep clear of a boat clear ahead. 11 ON THE SAME TACK, OVERLAPPED When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat. 15 ACQUIRING RIGHT OF WAY When a boat acquires right of way, she shall initially give the other boat room to keep clear, unless she acquires right of way because of the other boat’s actions. 16 CHANGING COURSE 16.1 When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear. 17 ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE If a boat clear astern becomes overlapped within two of her hull lengths to leeward of a boat on the same tack, she shall not sail above her proper course while they remain on the same tack and overlapped within that distance, unless in doing so she promptly sails astern of the other boat. This rule does not apply if the overlap begins while the windward boat is required by rule 13 to keep clear. SECTION C AT MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONS Section C rules do not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them. Proper Course A course a boat would sail to finish as soon as possible in the absence of the other boats referred to in the rule using the term. A boat has no proper course before her starting signal. Room The space a boat needs in the existing conditions while manoeuvring promptly in a seamanlike way. Keep Clear One boat keeps clear of another if the other can sail her course with no need to take avoiding action and, when the boats are overlapped on the same tack, if the leeward boat can change course in both directions without immediately making contact with the windward boat. Let’s look at the last rule first. The preamble to Section C makes it clear that rule 18 will not apply at our starts. Since there is navigable water around our starting marks, you do not get room. This will prevent barging. Since there are no rule 18 considerations, we end up treating the situation as though it happened on open water with one exception. The pin can be used to consider a boat’s proper course. With boat A clear ahead and boat B going faster, let’s assume an overlap is imminent. Boat B has a choice to make. If they go above boat A, then boat A will be able to luff up to head to wind. Since we established that B is faster than A, this could result in B being over the line early. B needs to consider their relative speed advantage, the distance to the start line, and the time left. A has right of way through this whole scenario. So rule 15 will not apply since before the overlap B is the keep clear boat under rule 12 and after the overlap, B is the keep clear boat under rule 11. So all we are left with is rule 16. This is a bit of a game here. If A has been holding a steady course and then decides to come up once she sees what B is doing, then rule 16 will come into play. Initially, B does not have to anticipate a change of course. All she needs to do is keep within the definition of Keep Clear (see above). This is where you will often see a boat scream to take it up, but they do not come up themselves. If a boat is going to push you over the line early, at least make them get close to going over early as well. React to the boat’s movements, not the yells as they try to intimidate you into being over early. As long as you come up as they do and continue to keep clear, you will not be penalized. A seamanlike manner is not a tactical manner. It does not matter the competency of the crew. You need to turn the boat to weather as much as the boat below you and do it fast. Your sails may not keep up with the turn, but you had better start turning when the leeward boat does. So in the above situation, boat B risks being over early. If they can get above A and stay clear, then they will end up with a better start to windward and with more speed. The other option for boat B is to tuck in below boat A and begin to luff them. If boat A is going very slow and B has good speed, it may be possible to sail right by them and then get clear air ahead. Here the rules are a little trickier. First, when boat B gets the initial overlap to leeward, boat A becomes the keep clear boat. Rule 15 now applies because boat B acquired the right of way. This means boat B will have to give boat A some room to keep clear. In other words, boat B cannot just get the overlap a foot away from A, but has to give a little more room so A can keep clear without making contact when they turn. So now we have boat B to leeward of boat A. Rule 17 applies. You may look at rule 17 and think that boat B is bound to a proper course. The trouble here is in the definition of proper course. A boat has no proper course before the starting signal. So even though rule 17 is in effect and will be in effect for the entire duration of the overlap, there is no proper course, therefore no limitation on the luffing rights of B. As long as B follows rule 16, she can luff A up to head to wind. Sometimes if B has slowed enough, A may break the overlap when they turn up. At that point B once again would become the keep clear. Assuming the overlap never breaks, B could potentially push A over the line. If you find someone trying to do this on a Wednesday night, it is a dick move. They need to be close enough to you to luff. They need to give you time to change course in a seamanlike way. If they do it properly, they will most likely end up over early as well since they had greater speed and need to keep their own boat up to force you over. Too often I see people just expect the windward boat to drastically change course and the leeward boat barely heads up. It is one thing to protect your position on the line; it is another to purposely chase a boat from behind with the intention of fouling up their start. There are other reasons for B to take A up. If A is too far from the line, B may push A closer so they both get a better start. B may also want to slow A further to get clear air by getting ahead of them. Since the overlap is created from clear astern, both rules 15 and then 16 limit the speed with which B can force A up. Now I said that when B gets the leeward overlap from clear astern, rule 17 applies, but proper course does not exist before the starting signal. AFTER the starting signal proper course applies. The proper course for a boat going upwind is close-hauled. B is now limited by rule 17 to sailing no higher than close-hauled while she is within two boat-lengths of A. There is only one exception in this example. If B needs to sail above close-hauled to get around the pin, then that is their proper course and only then are they entitled to luff A above close-hauled. So before the start, B can luff up to head to wind, but after the start close-hauled is the limitation, unless B needs to pinch above the pin. Even if A and B are 1.5 boat-lengths apart, the leeward B cannot sail above close-hauled. This is often lost on most racers. Most racers think they can head up until they are right next to the windward boat. They cannot. Once you get leeward overlap from behind and while staying within two boat-lengths of a windward boat, you are obliged under rule 17 to sail your proper course. The windward boat can drive down onto the leeward boat, but you cannot sail up under them. Good luck!

Summer Race #4

Wednesday 8/11/2010 ESE breeze from 4-10 knots. Current ebbing hard, at times over 1.5 knots. Both fleets sailed from H to G and back to H. Going out to the course tonight, we first stopped by buoy 26 to get an idea of how strong the current was. We trotted along side it at 1.7 knots and were stationary over the ground. We knew the current would be strong in the middle of the river. We made our way down to the start area. The RC was on station and prepared to deal with the shifty NE breeze. They setup for a course to D. As forecasted, the breeze began to work its way to the right. By 18:10, the breeze was due East. We do not have an upwind course for easterly breezes. D would have been a close reach on starboard and G was a one-tack beat on port. The RC decided to send us to G instead and reset the line. People seemed to disagree with the call, but I think it was the right choice. First, with the current ebbing hard, it would have created a lift on starboard tack and would have allowed the boats to easily make D on a close reach. At least the course to G was a one tack beat. Second, the courses that use D would have sent the boats around 24 and this would have put boats into the full current and could have prevented boats from finishing the race. By going to G, we stayed out of the max current. At 18:25 we rolled in the sequence. Since the wind was inconsistent and the current was pushing boats toward the line, we stayed far away from the line. So did most of the fleet. The pin end was very favored, but I did not want to get tangled up with the A boats that were setting up by the pin. Jazz is a tub compared to most of our competitors and it does not serve us well to mix it up in close quarters. So we stayed back from the line until 40 seconds and then tacked to port and found clear breeze right below Comet. The beat was a nice setup for Jazz. Since we could almost make the mark, we pressed on the jib and sailed fast. We held our own on the leg and had only a short 1-2 minute starboard tack at the end of the leg to make G. Coming into the mark on starboard, we were hailed by a boat on port for room. We did not give them room and I will explain the rules in that situation at the end in Example #1. We rounded the mark and were right above Elixir and just behind Kohlinar. The course again helped us, as it was a tight reach back to H. Without a spinnaker, we were able to not lose too much ground due to the angle being pretty tight. In a broad reach, we would have fared much worse. Chi and the A boats had run away from us and we were happy to come in second tonight. Seemed like it was the best possible course for the conditions. The Race Committee was flawless. They did the right things delaying and resetting the start. It was more work than normal, but in the end it paid off. After the finish, we sailed by the race committee to thank them and continued up the course to watch the action in C2. It was compelling. There is a nice tight group of 26-28 foot boats that seem to be having fun each week. We saw one C2 boat roll another on the leg. We saw another boat take the high road on the leg and it did not seem to pay off, but I do now know where they were at the mark. The last boat finished around 20:00. Seemed like a great race for all the fleets. Xanadu had a nice race in C2, as they were clear of the other small C2 boats. I believe Xanadu was sailing solo. After the race, we continued to cruise around in the easterly breeze. Then around 20:15, a fresh southerly filled in. The breeze picked up to 12-14 knots with occasional whitecaps. We sailed on until about 21:00 enjoying this new breeze. It was nights like this that gave me the idea for the Full Moon races. Unfortunately, I know no way of predicting when we will get this late evening breeze. I do know that it does not seem to work the same on full moon nights. I would say we get a new breeze 3 or 4 times a year after 20:00 hours. Rule Example #1 Two boats converging at the windward mark on opposite tacks. It is a port rounding, so the port tack boat is inside of the starboard boat. Rules: 18 MARK-ROOM 18.1 When Rule 18 Applies Rule 18 applies between boats when they are required to leave a mark on the same side and at least one of them is in the zone. However, it does not apply (a) between boats on opposite tacks on a beat to windward, (b) between boats on opposite tacks when the proper course at the mark for one but not both of them is to tack,… 18.3 Tacking When Approaching a Mark If two boats were approaching a mark on opposite tacks and one of them changes tack, and as a result is subject to rule 13 in the zone when the other is fetching the mark, rule 18.2 does not thereafter apply. The boat that changed tack (a) shall not cause the other boat to sail above close-hauled to avoid her or prevent the other boat from passing the mark on the required side, and (b) shall give mark-room if the other boat becomes overlapped inside her. 13 WHILE TACKING After a boat passes head to wind, she shall keep clear of other boats until she is on a close-hauled course. During that time rules 10, 11 and 12 do not apply. If two boats are subject to this rule at the same time, the one on the other’s port side or the one astern shall keep clear. In our situation, the port tack boat called for room. We were both fetching the mark and the port tack boat was within the three boat-length circle. When we look at rule 18.1(a) and (b) we see that the port tack boat does not get “room” at the mark. Rule 18 is turned off in this situation. In our situation, the port tack boat was on a collision course with us so we can end the discussion here as far as the real life example. If we want to take it a step further, we can assume the port tack boat would cross ahead. During the tack, they would have to keep clear under rule 13. Remember, rule 18 is turned off, so they are not entitled to “room to tack”. Once they complete the tack, rule 18.3 comes to play. If they are still clear ahead when they complete the tack, rules 18.1(a) and (b) would no longer apply because both boats are now on the same tack. So 18.3 comes in to say that the boat that tacked is not entitled to room under 18.2. It goes on to say that the boat that tacked cannot take the other boat above close hauled. This would prevent the tacking boat from shooting the mark. It also goes on to say that is the boat that was fetching all along gets an inside overlap, then the boat that tacked has to give them room. In essence these rules combine to make the port tack boat the keep clear boat. The only situation where the port tack boat is entitled to room is when they can tack ahead of the starboard boat and the starboard boat is over stood enough that they do not have to go above close-hauled to give the other boat room. In this case it is not really room, it is a windward leeward situation. You can see a good write up of this rule and some of the next example by clicking the link below. Please note that one of the captions incorrectly refers to rule 10.3. They should have written rule 18.3. http://www.sailingworld.com/experts/luffing-late-overlaps-tacking-and-jibing-at-marks Rule Example #2 Two boats finishing. The leeward boat protests. This is all I heard on the radio about a protest. 18.2 Giving Mark-Room (a) When boats are overlapped the outside boat shall give the inside boat mark-room, unless rule 18.2(b) applies. (b) If boats are overlapped when the first of them reaches the zone, the outside boat at that moment shall thereafter give the inside boat mark-room. If a boat is clear ahead when she reaches the zone, the boat clear astern at that moment shall thereafter give her mark-room. (c) When a boat is required to give mark-room by rule 18.2(b), she shall continue to do so even if later an overlap is broken or a new overlap begins. However, if either boat passes head to wind or if the boat entitled to mark-room leaves the zone, rule 18.2(b) ceases to apply. (d) If there is reasonable doubt that a boat obtained or broke I do not know what happened to the two boats involved. I will only speak to the rules. First, a finish consists of two marks. These are to be treated like every other mark of the course except the starting marks. So rule 18 can apply. In the race, the finish was a broad reach, so 18.2 would apply once ONE of the boats enters the three boat-length circle. So you cannot barge at a finish, you are entitled to room at the finish. The only way the leeward boat can block out the windward boat would be if the leeward boat entered the zone clear ahead of the windward boat. If the windward boat then established an overlap, they would not be entitled to room since the overlap would need to exist before they enter the zone. I do not know the actual situation; I only used it as a reason to quote more rules. I like to spit out rules and invite anyone reading this to comment if I am incorrect or unclear. This blog is not enough on its own. It is the feedback that will make it better for the readers and foster a greater understanding of racing and the rules.

Summer Race #3

Wednesday 8/4/2010 Steady S breeze, 8-15 knots. Current was flooding all night. A & B sailed from H to 22 to G and back. C sailed from H to 22 to K and back. We left the harbor early and decided to sail upwind for a bit. We took some wind readings and then headed back to the start area. The RC tonight was late getting a line set. They also set themselves up on the port end of the line, which should no longer happen. I explained the reasons in a previous blog (Spring Race 6). Since the RC was late setting up and did not take registration until they were anchored, the time to register was compressed. Many boats ended up stepping on each other to register. Around 18:10, a course was announced and we began our pre-start maneuvering. I was determined to be conservative at the start. I knew the current was pulling boats away from the line, but I still wanted to be in the second row of boats. We ended up starting over 30 seconds late. This will probably be the last time I try to be conservative. I am just not good at it. I would rather be over early than 30 seconds late. Gusto had a great start right on the line. Off the line the bigger boats were devouring us. We tacked above Chi and were in their bad air in less than two minutes. We then got rolled by an A boat. We tacked out again and finally had fresh air 5 minutes into the leg. The course seemed to be pretty even upwind. The left side seemed to be favored late in the leg and we could have benefited more by moving further left on the port layline. We were the fifth of seven B boats to round the first mark. On the reach leg, we started low and were able to pass Gusto before they got their chute up. Finally and Thriller had a close call after Thriller rounded K and was on port. When we sailed by K, we noticed that K was down to a stub. There was nothing sticking out of the water, as it appeared a motorboat had decapitated the mark. It was very tough to find K. We continued onto G. Before the mark, Gusto had passed inside of us and Finally. With about three boat lengths to go, We turned up high to get some space and then gybed the boat. The three boats ahead of us rounded wide and we were able to sneak inside and take the windward advantage for the rest of the leg. Gusto worked their spinnaker well and pulled ahead of us. We passed Finally and finished fourth on this night. It was a disappointing finish since the wind speed was high enough for us to be competitive. After the race we continued to sail around. The wind was still fresh from the south and the weather was nice on the water. We saw the C fleet finish and Glory Days was impressive. They managed to cross ahead of A-Train from C1. It’s always a good race for a C2 boat when they cross ahead of a C1 boat. Later, in what is becoming a C2 match race, Summer Wind crossed ahead of Alineup. It is nice to see those two boats have fun racing against each other. I remember many races in the last few years where Summer Wind was out there alone. It is always more fun when you have another boat right next to you. By 20:00, it appeared that all boats had finished. For the third time this year, the race committee called out to the fleet to see if anyone was still racing. I mentioned in my Spring Race 5 blog that this is a bad trend. The race committee should stay on station until all boats finish or call in to withdraw. The competitors should not have to confirm that they are still racing when they are having a rough night. One of the reasons we take registrations is to make sure all boats are accounted for. If there is a registered boat that has not finished or withdrawn, the RC needs to stay on station. After the RC got no response, they raised anchor and motored in. We kept sailing. There was a curious cruising boat up river sailing wing on wing. It is rare for cruisers to wing it when they are not racing. Soon the cruiser gybed the jib and started heading for H. We decided to investigate. Turns out it was a C2 boat coming back to H to finish. I do not know why they had fallen behind, but I suspect that the stubby K mark may have been part of the problem. We asked them if they were still racing and they responded affirmatively. We asked them to take a time as they passed H and its bearing was 270. This happened at 20:18. Twelve minutes before the time limit expired. The race committee had abandoned them on the course before the time limit expired. We have sailed 11 races this year and in three of them C2 racers have been hailed by the race committee to find out if they are still racing. We continued to sail around and had another chance encounter that only happens when you screw around after racing. We saw four sailboats coming up river. We were not sure what they were doing so we sailed over to the lead boat. We recognized the boat as a Navy 44. When the second and third passed by, we ran downwind while they motored by and asked some questions. They were finishing up a three-day trip from Annapolis to Newburgh. They looked pretty tired and were happy to be close to their final port. Everyone seemed to enjoy the encounter.

Summer Race #2

Wednesday 7/28/2010 Puffy WSW breeze, 6-16 knots. Current was ebbing strong all night. A & B sailed from H to 24 to D, twice around. C sailed the same course once around. When we arrived at the starting area, it was clear this was going to be an interesting start. The RC set a short line, with the boat end favored, and the current was sweeping boats towards the line. We decided to sail towards the start area on port and find a nice spot to approach the line. We knew from the current and other boats that we would be a bit early. We then tucked in behind a boat and approached the line on starboard with 30 seconds to go. We had one boat come from behind and establish an overlap to leeward about a boat length away from us. Right before the start had sounded the mast man of the boat started yelling at us to take it up. I responded that their boat must head up and luff us before we would turn higher. It appeared they would have room to make a hard turn and clear our stern. While the mast man continued to tell us to go up, their boat was not turning up. Let’s stop here and review the rules. First rule 11 applies. We were the windward boat, so we are required to keep clear. 11 ON THE SAME TACK, OVERLAPPED When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat. Keep Clear One boat keeps clear of another if the other can sail her course with no need to take avoiding action and, when the boats are overlapped on the same tack, if the leeward boat can change course in both directions without immediately making contact with the windward boat. Notice that in the keep clear definition, we are only required to give enough room so that the leeward boat can change course and not immediately hit us. That is all we are required to do. When their mast man was yelling, the boat was at least 15 feet away from us, so we were keeping clear. There is nothing in the rules that says we have to anticipate their moves. Even though their mast man was telling us to come up, I do not have to listen to their intentions, but rather, I have to stay clear of them. Since they established the overlap from behind, they were sailing lower or at the same course we were on. So for the luffing to begin, they needed to change course, not just yell for us to sail higher. 16 CHANGING COURSE 16.1 When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear. So the whole time their mast man was yelling, I was watching their boat and waiting for them to begin to turn up. When they finally did turn up, I began our turn up into the wind. Now their boat was finally changing course and we were coming up to keep clear. Their mast man continued to complain about the situation and I responded by saying, “shut up or protest.” I was not interested in continuing an argument with one of their nine crewmembers. If they think we are breaking a rule, protest. The mast man on their boat continued without a break. My point with the whole situation comes back to the old school way of resolving differences of opinion. We need to have a protest structure that is used by competitors. It is a bad thing that this person felt compelled to complain incessantly to us about the situation. That is a result of them not wanting to protest and discuss the situation in a mediation or hearing. Instead they chose to argue it on the water. I will not be able to win an argument on the water since I am busy steering, trimming the main, and looking out for other boats. Their mast man obviously had nothing else to do at the start except to argue about the rules. In another world, it would be like arguing about politics with a mother while three kids were screaming at her. It just does not work. I have been involved with club racing where protests are frowned upon. You end up getting crazy actions because half the people on the course learn the rules from experience rather than reading. Then both boats end up thinking they were fouled and settle it in another way. These arguments should not be taking place on the water. Period. Know your rules, if you think someone has broken them, protest. The rules are clear on what should happen. Back to the race, we came out of this situation slow and heading to the wrong side. I lost track of the wind direction during the start episode, as did the rest of the crew. We ended up headed to the left side upwind and that was the wrong choice. The right side was favored and we paid for it. We rounded the first mark in third. The first downwind leg was puffy enough that we held our own against the spinnaker boats. The next upwind was uneventful. Everyone recognized the right was favored and it was a parade. Downwind again and back up were more of the same. We were in a tight race with Heart Attack. Our rating seemed to work in this breeze as we held with them upwind, but lost time downwind. We corrected over them by 19 seconds, so it was very close. Mad Hatter won the race by over 3 minutes. Sorry C boats. I did not see much of what went on. It was nice to race for over an hour, but since C was done first, we did not have a chance to see how the boats did. We did notice some new boats out there, which is always nice to see. For further reading, check out this link, which describes the different levels people go through to gain knowledge of the rules. http://apparentwind.blogspot.com/2009/05/learning-to-embrace-racing-rules-of.html