Spring Race #7

Wednesday 6/22/2011

The winds were light from the SE between 4 and 8 knots. Winds went variable in the downpours. Current was flooding early and then ebbing late. The course was from H to K to G to H.

The forecast for this race was rainy with a chance of thunderstorms. The RM left the dock early and headed out to the course. The radar indicated a heavy band approaching the race area. Further south in central Jersey, a well-developed cell was wreaking some havoc. We kept an eye on the warnings and the radar and we never were under any thunderstorm warnings.

The RM had a line set before 18:00 and announced the course repeatedly. We were happy that the race would go on as the weather was not posing any real threat. Things can change rapidly, but it was nice to be able to give the race a chance rather than cancel yet another decent race evening. We seem to get some threat of foul weather two or three Wednesdays each season and only occasionally does the shit hit the fan.

The line was skewed to make the port end considerably favored. Starting on port was the only option for us. Many boats setup near the RM or the middle of the line, but we went straight for the pin end. We started about 3-5 seconds late, but we had speed and we were at the pin.

Being ahead and higher than the fleet gave us a nice advantage on the leg. The wind was more consistent on the left side and we stretched out on most boats after the start. We even caught a few B boats on the first leg. Coming into K, we tacked around and stayed high since the wind seemed to get lighter towards G. By staying high, we would later have some room to come down as the wind died down.

Coming into G, we were between two B boats. I was hell bent on making sure we could jibe around the mark and get back to the middle of the river. This was a fatal mistake. I maneuvered the boat to get to the left and promptly killed our momentum. We were now in a hole and had little steerage. The two B boats we rounded with stayed up to the eastern shore and kept their breeze and momentum. The correct move was to stay on the east side and we just blew it.

After a couple of minutes without much progress, A Train and Zoom rounded G and stayed to the east. This was a great move by them. They continued in the breeze while we were still in the hole. Eventually, the skies opened and some rain fell. This bit of rain did not bring wind with it. It was frustrating since we were now watching boats we had put well behind us sail by. When the rain eased, the wind backed from the SE again and carried us to the finish. A Train and Zoom had a great leg and finished ahead of us. Merlin also made a good charge and finished very close behind.

It was interesting at the finish. A Train, Zoom, Genesis, and Jazz were all finishing around the same time. The pin was favored and we were the last of the four boats. No one seemed to be going towards the pin very aggressively, so we cut in without room. It was risky since we could have been forced to spin around if someone decided to take the pin close, but everyone ended up sailing down the line a little. We probably picked up 10 or 15 seconds by finishing right at the pin. The boats that reached up the line lost some time by not turning down sooner.

The only rule worth mentioning here is that once a boat finishes she needs to stay clear of boats racing. As we were finishing, a boat that had finished headed up to sail back south. I asked them to hold their course since we had not finished yet and they should not interfere. I bring this up since until they finished, they had room at the pin and we needed to stay clear. Once they finished AND cleared the line, they have to stay clear of the racing boats. This does not mean they had to “get out of the way”. It means they cannot change their course and interfere with anyone still racing. Sometimes in light air finishes, I have the engine ready to go in case we need to clear out quickly. There was no issue this night, but I figure the rule is worth mentioning.

23 INTERFERING WITH ANOTHER BOAT
23.1 If reasonably possible, a boat not racing shall not interfere with a boat that is racing.

 Finish A boat finishes when any part of her hull, or crew or equipment in normal position, crosses the finishing line in the direction of the course from the last mark, either for the first time or after taking a penalty under rule 44.2 or, after correcting an error made at the finishing line, under rule 28.1.

 Racing A boat is racing from her preparatory signal until she finishes and clears the finishing line and marks or retires, or until the race committee signals a general recall, postponement or abandonment.

When we put rule 23.1 together with the definition of the finish and racing, we can see that as long as we gave the boat room to clear the line, their racing will end and they will need to stay clear. That is not to say the boat that finished needs to change course immediately and get out of the way. Rather it is to say that the boat that finished and cleared the line should not interfere with the boats racing. Again, this was not an issue on this night, but it is worth mentioning.

Another point that we should look at is that a boat must clear the line on their own before they can start their engine. I never realized that until I looked into this situation. I always thought that once you got your horn you were done, but looking at the above definition of racing we see that you are still racing until you clear the line and marks. That does not mean you have to completely cross the line, but you do need to clear it before you can put your engine in gear.

PART 4
OTHER REQUIREMENTS WHEN
RACING
Part 4 rules apply only to boats racing.

42 PROPULSION
42.1 Basic Rule
Except when permitted in rule 42.3 or 45, a boat shall compete by using only the wind and water to increase, maintain or decrease her speed. Her crew may adjust the trim of sails and hull, and perform other acts of seamanship, but shall not otherwise move their bodies to propel the boat.

After finishing, we sailed around for another hour.  The rain came and went and with it some good winds.  After all the rain cleared out, the wind died and we headed in.  All in all, a good race and a good night of sailing.  The RM did a great job getting a race in.  I appreciate their commitment to their duty.