Racing February 2017

January Race Meeting a Huge Success!

My thanks to all who attended the first Race Ready meeting on January 25. We had about 30 members attend.  We covered some of the changes we are making to the racing program this year. It was great to see such a huge turnout and we had a lot of great discussions.

New Permanent Racing Mark

The biggest change for 2017 will be the addition of a new permanent racing mark. We are going to move permanent mark #2 to a new location due west of mark #5 and will be adding a new permanent mark #Y directly north of mark #X and slightly northeast of where mark #2 used to be. Click HERE  to see a diagram of the new mark locations.

This will let us set up more race courses using just the permanent marks in just about any wind. It will also allow us to set up both windward-leeward courses (for red and green fleets) and triangle courses (for blue and white fleets) from the same RC boat position. Hopefully, this will make Race Committee duty easier.

RC Duty Signup

Speaking of Race Committee duty, ECSC members who participate in the Wednesday and Sunday racing series are expected to sign up for one of the two RC duty slots for each series they are participating in. If you typically only race in the Wed series, then you will need to sign up for RC duty 3 times – once for spring, summer and twilight series. Likewise, for the two Sunday Series. If you don’t sign up, then you will be assigned a day for RC duty. So, if you want to choose your RC week instead of having it chosen for you, please go to the signup site and register – CLICK HERE.

We need Volunteers – You need work credits. Can we work something out?

Note: you do not get work credits for this RC duty – it is just expected as part of competing in the racing series. Club regattas are a different matter. Because of the time commitment, we do give club work credits for serving on Race Committee in any of our 6 regattas. We have several positions to fill for each regatta including:

• Principal Race Officer – in charge of on-the-water activities, watches the start/finish lines
• Recorder – records the positions of boats at the start and finish
• Timer – announces the time remaining to start and the times of boats as they finish
• Signals/Flags – raises/lower flags & sounds horn to signal starts, finishes and penalties
• Safety Boat/Mark Set – Sets temporary marks, monitors pin-end of start line, monitors mark roundings, assists boats in distress
• Safety Boat / Mark Set #2 – Assists on Safety Boat
• Regatta coordinator – in charge of overall regatta, coordinates shore-side activities (event check-in, trailer storage, food & entertainment)

The dates of the regattas are:

Other than the Principal Race Officer position, prior knowledge of racing is not required. As for the Principal Race Officer position, we can quickly get you trained on how to run a race.

I would like to get more “non-racers” active in helping run the race program. It’s a great opportunity to spend the day on the water and watch the race from a great vantage point (the middle of the race course). In addition, regatta volunteers get to attend the dinner and party for free, and get a free T-shirt. Plus, you earn work credits!! What could be better than that? Contact me for additional information.

I also have the following other work credit volunteer jobs:

• RC food pickup: Make a weekly run to Gordon Food Service to make sure there is enough food for Wednesday and Sunday post-race cookouts.

One-Day Race Management Seminar March 11, 2017

On March 11, 2017, ECSC and ISC will host a one day seminar on Race Management.  Our instructor will be Steve Harris.  Steve is the US Sailing Area Race Officer for our area.  Students will receive expert instructions and best practice tips for running a club-level race.  The cost is $45.  This includes course materials and lunch.  If you are in the racing program and are unsure how to run a race, or if you are not in the racing program and want to get some work credits working the Race Committee crew, or if you are a little rusty in running races, you should sign up.

As an added incentive, I will reimburse up to 10 people who sign up and attend the seminar.  Please click HERE to see a brochure for the event.  Click HERE to go to the US Sailing web site to register.  Just scroll down to the March 11 event at ISC and register.

Come out for the Social Side of Racing

Over the past couple of years, we have been trying to merge the racing program with our social program and have our racing events double as social events. Non-racers are invited to come out for the dinner and party. The cost is $10 per person to cover the cost of the meal.  It’s a great way to enjoy your club even more.

Next Race Ready Meeting

Our next Race Ready meeting will be held on February 22, 2017. During that meeting we will cover:

• Rules changes for 2017
• Rules at the start
• Rules for windward legs
• Rules at the windward mark

If you are racing or interested in racing, please come out for some FREE PIZZA and a discussion on the Racing Rules of Sailing.

Geoff Endris,

Racing Chairman