Spring Race #8

Winds were light and variable.  Current ebbing.  Race Cancelled.

Another light and variable night on the river.  There was little hope of getting a race off this evening.  It is one of the rare times where we did not put up our main.

As the race was in postponement, a racer called in to say that he was counting on the race committee to make the right decision.  A few moments later, the race was cancelled.  While the thunderstorms that the anonymous radio caller was concerned about never materialized, neither did any breeze and no race would have been held.

With little else to comment on, it is worth noting that the anonymous caller was incorrect.  He should not have been relying on the race committee to cancel the race to be safe.  He could have gone in on his own.  If the clap of thunder was deemed to be a safety issue by any captain, then they should take their boat in.  Any responsible captain should have the discretion to make that decision on the water regardless of the race status.

4 DECISION TO RACE
The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone. 

In one of our first years on the river, we withdrew from a race 5 minutes from the finish.  We saw a squall line coming in on the radar and I decided it was no longer prudent to stay on the river.  We were winning the race, but we still withdrew and headed straight into harbor.  We got there just as the skies opened up.  As captain, I made the decision that the conditions were going to become too risky for a Wednesday Night race and we withdrew.  

That is what boats should do, rather than try to encourage a cancellation with the race committee.  I think the best thing to do is a simple hail such as "we are withdrawing from tonight's race due to the lightning that appears to be moving in."

Don't rely on the race committee to keep your boat safe.  Make your decision as captain and stick to it.  What may be safe to some boats may not be safe for yours.  The race committee should not be responsible for the safety of all the boats out there.