Spring Race #4

Same story as previous week (and the week before that).  Nice Southerly with a little east in it.  8-10 knots.  Current was flooding.  Same courses as last week with A&B going to K then G and back and C just doing K and back.

The wind was nice on the way out of the harbor, so we immediately hoisted sail and began sailing.  It was once again a nice tight reach to the start.  The Bounty crossed in front of us.  Luckily, the crew had no mutinous thoughts this evening.

There was also a sun dog or something above the mast.  Not quite sure what to classify it as.  Here is a picture.  I would appreciate a comment if someone knows what it is called.

We got to the start and observed that the port end was favored.  The race marshal reset the line, but I did not notice any difference.  With foul current and port end favored, I was as happy as a pig in shit.  I knew we would not have many boats near us at the start and we would be able to gain a big advantage on the boats that started on the boat end.  For us, this is the ideal starting situation.

As I watched the first start, I was surprised by the number of boats near the pin.  They were a bit late, but in a good position nonetheless.  It should be noted that the pin end of the line is the same as the boat end.  It is a starting mark.  In my post on barging, I realize now that I may have unintentionally given the impression that the starting mark is only the committee boat.  I made that mistake since I was trying to make sure people understood that the starting mark is usually the boat AND the mark.  The same rules apply.

As my start approached, I stayed to windward of the line which was also up current.  This was to make sure a decline in wind would not make me late.  I ended up in a good position and had an on-time pin end start.  We also had a good lead on the fleet at this point and only two boats started at the pin.

Up the course, we protected the left side.  Turns out the right side was favored.  I know now that there was more breeze out there, but also more current.  Apparently the breeze won because one of the boats that went right made up a lot of ground on the boats that went left.  At this point, I doubt I will ever figure out the breeze on the river.  The only difference I can talk about is the little bit of east in the wind.  I am thinking that some east in a southerly will make the west side a little better.

At the mark, a boat from the fleet ahead had trouble shooting the mark due to the current.  They hit the mark.  We were able to get through the mess without issue, but the boat right behind us got screwed.  It was unfortunate they got screwed, because it threw away some good gains they made upwind and ended their chances of blanketing us downwind.  I was happy for our boat, but disappointed in the way this went down.  It was unnecessary.

In the rules, it has been a number of years since a boat has been required to re-round a mark.  In today's rules, a boat that hits the mark should sail clear of it and do a 360.  This will avoid a clusterfuck at the mark. Here are the rules involved:

31 TOUCHING A MARK
While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting, a mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she is sailing, or a finishing mark after finishing.

44.1 Taking a Penalty
A boat may take a Two-Turns Penalty when she may have broken a rule of Part 2 while racing or a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken rule 31.

44.2 One-Turn and Two-Turns Penalties
After getting well clear of other boats as soon after the incident as possible, a boat takes a One-Turn or Two-Turns Penalty by promptly making the required number of turns in the same direction, each turn including one tack and one gybe.

So here is what happens when you hit a mark.  First, you break rule 31.  Looking at rule 44.1, the penalty for breaking rule 31 is a One-Turn Penalty.  44.2 defines what the penalty entails.  Notice that the first part of rule 44.2 instructs the boat taking a penalty to get well clear of other boats.  Re-rounding a mark may qualify as a One-Turn Penalty since the boat is doing the 360, but she is not fulfilling the obligation to stay well clear.  Everyone would have been better off if the boat that hit the mark sailed away from it and did their turns in a clear area. 

Since A Train got caught up in this boat's attempted "One Turn Penalty", A Train may have been fouled.  If A Train had to alter course before the boat completed their One Turn Penalty, then the boat would have fouled A Train under rule 21.2.

21.2 A boat taking a penalty shall keep clear of one that is not.

In the end, we got left alone on the downwind leg and finished in a good position.  It was nice to have the current behind us since the wind was getting lighter and the current helped end the downwind leg. 

We sailed for a little bit after the race and went over to pizza night at Minisceongo Yacht Club.  As always, they are great hosts for the HBRA and it is appreciated by all on Jazz.  Especially nice for this evening were all the great desserts.

Spring Race #3

Storms in the area, but this time, they were not a problem for the fleet.  Winds were from the Southeast between 6 and 10 knots.  Current was ebbing strong.  Course for A&B was K to G to H.  C was K back to H.

Heading up to the boat, I noticed that there were some dark clouds around.  I had seen some storms on the radar north of the racing area, but their movement left me some hope that we would not be affected.  Upon arrival, the wind was decent from the south. 

We left the harbor and immediately hoisted sail.  It was a nice tight reach to the start area.  From there, we went upwind and got some numbers for the race.  Upon returning to the starting area, the line was changed and was perfect.  Good length, boat on the starboard side, and starboard end slightly favored.  With the current pushing boat towards the line, I knew that boats would be early for this start.

This proved true in the A&B divisions.  The current wreaked havoc on their start.  Many boats ran the line, ran out of room, and went over early.  I saw a few restart, but there was no sound signal or radio hails.  The question becomes this:  If I am over early and the RM does not indicate anyone over early, am I clear?

Let's look into the rules involved.

28 SAILING THE COURSE
28.1 A boat shall start, leave each mark on the required side in the correct order, and finish, so that a string representing her track after starting and until finishing would when drawn taut
(a) pass each mark on the required side,
(b) touch each rounding mark, and
(c) pass between the marks of a gate from the direction of the previous mark.
She may correct any errors to comply with this rule. After finishing she need not cross the finishing line completely.

29 RECALLS
29.1 Individual Recall
When at a boat’s starting signal any part of her hull, crew or equipment is on the course side of the starting line or she must comply with rule 30.1, the race committee shall promptly display flag X with one sound. The flag shall be displayed until all such boats are completely on the pre-start side of the starting line or one of its extensions and have complied with rule 30.1 if it applies, but no later than four minutes after the starting signal or one minute before any later starting signal, whichever is earlier. If rule 30.3 applies this rule does
not.

Start A boat starts when, having been entirely on the pre-start side of the starting line at or after her starting signal, and having complied with rule 30.1 if it applies, any part of her hull, crew or equipment crosses the starting line in the direction of the first mark.

HBRA Instructions
6) Over Early: If any boat crosses the line early, ONE short blast of a horn will be sounded and the committee will hail the yacht on VHF channel 72. If the yacht does not restart, it will result in automatic disqualification.

Cases:  31, 71,79 apply.  I took the liberty of extracting the most relevant answer to the appeal in case 71.

...if it were determined in a hearing that a boat knew that she had been over the line, she would have been obliged to comply with rule 28.1 and, if it applied, rule 30.1, and she would not be entitled to redress.  Had she broken those rules, she would also have broken rule 2 and failed to comply with the Basic Principle, Sportsmanship and the Rules.

I will assume as fact that the RM made no sound signal and did not hail any boats on VHF.  There can only be two situations to apply the rules to.

#1  If a boat was very close to the line and could not determine if they were over early, then the procedural error by the RM would entitle them to redress and basically, they would be given a pass.

#2  If a boat knows that they were on the course side of the line at the start, then they should be scored as DSQ if they do not restart. 

It is important to keep in mind that sailing is a self-policing sport.  Too often, boats will foul and not accept a penalty unless protested.  This is wrong.  If you make a mistake, it is a responsibility of the boat to take the appropriate penalty or in this case, the appropriate action to sail the course properly.  To do otherwise is breaking the rules, plain and simple.

SPORTSMANSHIP AND THE RULES
Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.

Given the troubles in the first start, we decided to stay downwind of the start line by a wide margin.  We thought that the boats in our division will not change their setups much and this will force them to be early and approach the line from an angle where they need to sail down to the line.  As the time neared, we were leeward boat heading to the boat end with good timing.  There was one barging boat that got in the way, otherwise it was a good start.

Off the line we were a little slow.  I was trying to stay high and make sure the competition was in a position we could control.  We rounded the windward mark with a couple of boats on our heels.  Since the downwind leg was against the current and the breeze was getting lighter, the fleet compressed.  By the time we reached the finish, the other boats were right on our heels.  It almost came down to the wire.  Another 1/2 mile of downwind sailing and we would have been caught.

After the race, we sailed around for a bit and enjoyed the nice weather.  It was even nicer when the Devils scored three goals while we were sailing.  After the race I took a picture of the new competition in C, Merlin.

Here is a shot of the sunset.  It was a great night.

Spring Race #2

Great spring evening.  Winds from the South between 10 and 16 knots.  Current flooding .5 to 1 knot.  Skies were clear.  A&B sailed from H to K to G to H.  C divisions had same course minus G.

It was a great night for sailing.  We left the marina and immediately put up the main and unfurled the jib.  It was a nice tight reach over to H.  Once there, we sailed upwind and decided to protect the left side of the course.

We went back to the start line and immediately noticed two things.  First, the line was skewed so that the port end was favored.  Second, the race committee was on the port end of the line instead of the starboard end.  This can be a problem.  I first wrote about this problem in 2010.  Here is an excerpt:

It has been common in my 5 years of racing in the HBRA for the RC’s to setup on the port side of the line. This seems to be a carry over from the starts at 26 where you had to anchor on the port side of the line to stay out of the channel. I think the last three races have had the committee boat on the port side of the line. This creates a more difficult start.

It may not seem like it should matter which side of the line the boat is on, but it can make a big impact. The side of the line matters because of the racing rules. Since starboard tack has the right of way over port tack, most boats will start the race on starboard. This causes them to leave the starboard end of the line to windward and the port end of the line to leeward. Since the boats are heading upwind, it can be tough to get above the leeward end of the line. Since the boats are on starboard, it is the port end of the line that will have most boats struggling to clear. If the port end is a buoy then it is easier for boats to clear it since there is no rode extending upwind from the mark. Using a mark at the port end makes it less of an obstacle.

The impact of being on the wrong side of the line is made more significant by a long scope. When a committee boat has a long scope, it makes a bigger obstacle for the racers since its anchor rode will need to be avoided and the rode is upwind of the committee boat. You now have a 100-foot obstacle to get above when starting.

On this night, since the port end was favored, the committee boat was an even tougher obstacle to get around.  We decided to run the line on Starboard early and then flop over to port to get a good start.  My approach to the line was way too early.  I did some radical swings up and down to slow the boat and was still going early.  I overestimated the line length and the strength of the flood.  Luckily, only one other boat was in the area and we were able to start well.  We tacked onto port 30 seconds before the start and started on port.

After a minute, we tacked onto starboard to protect the left side of the course.  The course ended up being pretty even up the leg and we got to the first mark in good position.  With the fresh breeze and following current, the downwind leg was quick.  

After finishing, we sailed around for a while and enjoyed the nice sailing conditions.  I actually drove the boat for a while after the race before turning it over to Frank.  It was perfect sailing conditions.

We finally went in around sunset.   After the crappy weather from the week before, this was a good way to start the season's racing.

Spring Race #1

Wind was variable, but mostly from the south.  Current was ebbing hard.  There was one stubborn cloud that would not leave the area and pissed on the river most of the evening.  Race Cancelled.

Click here to see the storm and how it sat on the race area.

I was very excited to get out and race for the first time this year.  While driving up to the marina, I saw a dark wall of clouds.  It looked ominous, but these clouds usually blow out to the South and East, so I was feeling pretty good that we would be able to get a race in.

Once at the boat, the rain just kept coming down.  I waited down below and heard the Race Committee call for a harbor hold.  This is a new procedure that has been added to the sailing instructions for nights like the one we had.  After a while, the RC announced that they were heading out to the course, thus ending the harbor hold.

Here ie the harbor hold language.  I add the bold font to highlight the sentence.

POSTPONEMENT: Two long (3-5 seconds each) horns will be sounded. A Wednesday race should not be canceled prior to 1845. Notify racers of an intention to start a race after postponement by announcing on VHF 72 then sounding TWO short horns one minute before the raising the Warning flag. In the case of severe weather, consider announcing a “harbor hold” and any related instructions on VHF channel 72.

We left the harbor immediately and went towards H.  The closer we got to H, the worse the rain became.  Compounding this was the occasional clap of thunder.  That was the deal killer.  The RC cancelled the races for the evening.  It sucked, but that was the call to make.

I did not hear the cancellation on the radio.  I decided to set the main and sail a bit in the rain.  We reached around, but the rain seemed to heard us like sheep away from the race area.  Every time we turned south it got worse and if we sailed north, the rain got lighter.  We finally sailed by the harbor and I found out from a crew member that the race was cancelled. 

To make things worse, the wind died out with the rain, so we docked and hung out on the boat for a while until the rain came back again.  It was time to call it a night and we reluctantly went home.

I thought I heard the golf dooshbags on the radio again.  This could be my well documented paranoia kicking in, but it seems they are back.  When I go out again, I will keep a better ear to that and report it to my FCC contact.  I have trouble believing they would be using those radios again after the FCC contacted them last year.  Rest assured that I will post any communication I have on the matter here.