Racing – February 2018

Racing Seminar #1 Recap:

We would first like to thank everyone that turned-out for the first of the three Racing Seminars for 2018. There was a great turnout, 27+ racers! It was great to see everyone, and we know you are all excited as we are for the season to start!

Special thanks to our guest speakers Reagan Lessick and Adam Ondrejack. Reagan gave a great presentation and synopsis of her racing exploits at the Orange Bowl in Miami, while Adam updated us on ISC racing plans and schedule for 2018.

We would also like to thank Rich Fox for his continued dedication to ECSC. We are VERY lucky to have such a person that continues to take the fleets rhetoric and abuse, all while maintain a calm demeaner and his constant smile (we could all take a page for Rich’s book on how to conduct ourselves in calm & respectable manner). Rich has worked diligently to formulate some new PHRF ratings for ECSC in hopes of tightening up the fleets that will be implemented this coming season. Rich has dedicated himself for the past seven years or so and has complied a great deal of historical data that supports his adjusted PHRF ratings. We feel this is a great step forward to having very competitive racing series for years to come. Thank you, Rich!

Click here to sign up for for RC Duty – SIGNUP GENIUS

 

Please sign up as soon as possible. Sign-up deadlines are 4/12/18 for Spring Series, 6/28/18 for Sumer Series, and 9/5/18 for Twilight Series. The Race Chairman will fill all open slots after the deadlines posted above. Captains & Crew will be obligated to switch or have covered their assigned RC Duties.

Here are a few excerpts that we’ve come across that pretty much sum-up RC Duty at ECSC and around the world. Enjoy!

WTH? I’m On Race Committee?!

What would you rather do? Race or do race committee? Well, the answer is easy! We go to the trouble of buying boats, maintaining them, practicing with them, stocking the cooler for our crew, and most importantly – spending down marital credits to disappear for a day or two (the price varies according to season, mood, time of month, and whether or not we’ve been attentive to her/his needs) all because we want to sail and compete against other sailors!

So, lots of sailors moan about, bitch about, and even actively shirk their race committee duty, even though it’s glaringly obvious that if there is no race committee, there is no racing.

I’ve never really had a problem with doing race committee, though it often seems a shame when we have to pull from the fleet that is racing, thereby reducing the fleet by one or more boats, in order to form a race committee. But it is what it is, and we should all try and do our part with a smile and positive attitude.

We all have met (and maybe are) sailors who always seem quick to complain about a race committee. That seems unduly ungrateful, and most sailors endure whatever mysterious trials that the Race Committee puts them through because they’re RACING!, instead of stuck doing, well, Race Committee. But all of us, even if we try to be patient and keep our mouths shut, sometimes find ourselves wondering, “WTH is Race Committee up to?”

The best antidote for Race Committee grousing is, of course, to do Race Committee. It’s refreshing to see the fleet and the racing from the anchored perspective. It’s also a fun and interesting challenge to try and deliver lots of good racing, especially on Eagle Creek.

Next time we are racing, try not thinking “WTH?” Instead, try to think “They must have their reasons” …..up to a point, at least. ?

Race Chairman & Assistant Race Chairman:

ECSC is a great club, thanks to our members. We are fortunate to have all types of sailors and people (not just racers). We should all strive to conduct ourselves in a courteous & respectful manner whether we are on the water, off the water, social media, gatherings, etc.