Race Management Encouragement

Following his attendance at the Advanced Race Management Seminar hosted by Chicago Yacht Club at the Belmont Station, Eric Lind provided this report for Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation…

The seminar was led by John Strassman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Hank Stuart from Rochester, New York, and they were excellent. Janet Baxter and Jay Kehoe of Chicago Yacht Club were our hosts and the Belmont Station staff took good care of us with some excellent food.

A very timely quote in Scuttlebutt from National Race Officer and Umpire Anderson Reggio shared his sentiment about the importance of certifying race officials:

“US Sailing sets the standards for race officials, judges and umpires through a well-managed structure. Like any sport, we would be unable to thrive if not for the hundreds of certified officials who ensure fairness and quality in our competitions. In every aspect of the sport, there is great value added by taking the time to become a US Sailing Certified Race Official. It is a fantastic way to get more involved and see the sport from a different perspective; the benefits are immeasurable!”

One very important reason to be certified is that as the Principal Race Officer for an event, you are covered by US Sailing’s liability insurance AND, everyone working the event is also covered. If you are not certified, NOBODY is covered. The seminars are designed to give these certified Race Officers the knowledge needed to run events properly and consistently from venue to venue.

Why do US Sailing and World Sailing (formerly known as ISAF) insist that we use the templates in Appendix K & L when writing the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions for an event? The templates are designed to help you include all necessary information in these documents and to make them consistent from venue to venue so that sailors can easily find the information that they need for each event.

Remember, the purpose of the NOR is to give a potential entrant the information needed to decide if they want to enter your event while the purpose of the SIs is to tell the entrant how the event will be run. Again, consistency is important as it hopefully removes any confusion.

We spent a lot of time talking about proper starting lines and procedures, but the big thing to remember is that if the line becomes unfair before a start it is much better to POSTPONE BEFORE THE START rather than punish the sailors with a general recall.

We also spent a fair amount of time talking about starting penalties I, Z, I & Z, Black, & U. The ‘U’ flag penalty is a kinder and gentler black flag penalty in that if the race is re-started or re-sailed, or is abandoned or postponed before the start, your penalty goes away and you can sail in the race.

Having never used a black flag, I don’t expect to ever use the U flag, although I will add it to my kit. I’ve had great success with aggressive fleets in using the Z or I & Z after one or more general recalls. Where black or U might come in handy is if you need to get in another race and are near the time limit go right to black or U.

Here’s a few things I picked up that I feel are important. No order here, just random things I jotted down.

1) Everyone involved in an event should have a laminated Emergency Procedures sheet with all necessary info. In fact, it’s a good idea to make up a notebook for each boat that includes all contact information, assignments, schedule, CHECK LISTS, etc. You can’t include too much.

2) Have a supply of Safety, Rescue, & Support Boat Handling booklets from US Sailing available. Maybe even include one with every notebook.

3) SAFETY – Know the weather forecast and make sure that someone is watching radar and other weather websites. If someone that has entered your event has engaged Commanders for weather info it is also available to the event. Great app to have is Weather Bug ‘Sparks’ which has live lightning strikes.

4) Every anchored boat should be displaying an ‘Anchoring Ball’ especially if there is commercial traffic in your area. This is probably more for Lake Michigan than inland lakes.

5) Every time you get on a power boat for any reason think of the acronym FABLED —
F – Fuel – make sure you have a full load and it is connected. Don’t rely on gauges, CHECK IT!!!
A – Anchor and Rode – make sure you have enough for the depth & conditions you may be expected to anchor in. AND, is it adequate for the conditions?
B – Bilge Pump! – make sure you have one and that it ACTUALLY WORKS! TEST IT! – Bathroom! – you’re probably going to be out there for a while so make sure you will have the ability to relieve yourself.
L – Life Jackets – everyone on board should have one and be WEARING it if the conditions are rough or the boat is small. For our High School events, wearing one is required so make sure everyone has one that they are comfortable in. I just bought a new Spinlock inflatable with the hydrostatic release. – LUNCH!!! Everyone needs to eat!!!
E – Emergency stuff – flares, communication device(s), boathook, boarding ladder, FIRST AID KIT, etc.
D – Documents – registration, insurance, etc.

6) Make sure your mark boats are equipped to set a finish line – anchor, line flag, ‘S’ flag, clipboard and papers, whistle or horn, etc.

7) For High School sailing, ISSA now requires Code Flag X for Individual Recalls along with hailing. Guess I’ll have to review their rules and see what else has changed.

8) And finally, here’s some random comments on changing course after the start.
a) Square runs are more important than square weather legs so be prepared to move leeward marks.
b) Observe during the first half of each leg then prepare for a course change, but don’t display anything until the first boat is approaching the mark.
c) When using an offset mark the mark boat should announce the change at the offset mark. When announcing at the leeward mark(s) the mark boat should be on the approach side or in the middle and below the marks if a gate is used.
d) A repetitive sound can be a single sound every 2 seconds or so. If making groups of sounds don’t use groups of 2 or 3, make it 4 or 5 short toots. If using a whistle, remember to BREATHE!!!
e) When deciding whether to change or not remember this – “5 for show, 10 for go.” But, if you’ve been watching the wind and it’s been oscillating move to the middle of the oscillations if you’re not already there.
f) I prefer a course board with the bearing for long courses on open water. For short courses the red/green shapes work fine.

Source: April 2016 (Volume 26, Number 4)