Race committee: Get a “caddie’s” input

Bruce Golison

by Bruce Golison, National Race Officer
I have been asked, a number of times, how I became involved in doing race committee when I was so committed to racing my own boats. My friend Peter Craig got me involved. Many years ago, Peter ran Key West Race Week and he asked me to come “caddie” for him on the Signal Vessel.

I had never done race committee before, but I could not resist a trip to Key West. I asked Peter what he wanted me to do. Peter’s response was, “Talk to me as a competitive sailor about the course set up and the wind shifts.” We would talk through every scenario on the water and Peter would decide what he thought was best based on our conversation.

Two years later, Peter found himself too busy managing the entire event and told me I was now the Principal Race Officer (PRO) on the Division 1 course. I told him I was not a race committee person and he said to simply set the course up and start the races the way I would want them done if I was racing. The years of being a PRO at Key West launched me into the world of grand prix race management.

The point of this story is that there are wonderful opportunities for PROs at every level to improve the regatta experience for the competitors by adding another perspective to your race committee team. Just as every pro golfer uses a caddie to help them with the nuances of the golf course, utilizing an “expert caddie” who is experienced with the specific classes you are running at a particular event, can make you a better PRO for the event.

Most PROs get the majority of their race management experience from both doing race committee and talking to other race committee people to get their take on things. What I am suggesting is to invite a racing sailor, who is familiar with the class you are running, to be onboard the Signal Vessel to be your “caddie” at major regattas when you might not be an expert in the way that class (one design or handicap) likes their regattas run.

Your “expert caddie” does not need any race committee experience. Talk to them about class preferences such as how they like their race courses and starting lines set up, what are acceptable conditions to sail in, how much time between races do they like and what level of communication do they like.

Also, talk to them about the wind shifts and any other factors that will affect the day’s racing. These are just some of the factors you can discuss with your caddie.

Let’s say you are your yacht club’s PRO and your club is running a J/70 regional championship and you don’t have a lot of experience racing asymmetrical keel boats. You know there is a competitive fleet of Melges 24s at a nearby yacht club. You can make some inquiries about who the top guys are in the Melges 24 fleet and invite one of them to come help you on the Signal Vessel for your regional championship.

Explain to them they don’t need to know anything about doing race committee, you just want their guidance as to what makes great racing for these similar boats and to be another set of eyes watching the wind.

This same logic applies to every type of racing, from single-handed boats to offshore big boat racing. No PRO is truly an expert in every type of racing.

By bringing on an “expert caddie” to your Race Committee team for a major event, you can help elevate the competitors’ regatta experience. You will become a better and more well-rounded PRO. You may also bring a good racing sailor into the world of doing race committee and this is great for our sport.

Reprinted courtesy of US Sailing Race Management Committee, ussrmcnews@gmail.com.