Crossing a sailing race

It's pleased I am that you're putting these forums to some good use. Welcome....

I'd add a couple of observations. Knowing the ColRegs *and* being able to interpret them in complex situations takes a whole lot of experience, and not a few errors. Just as in the early months of car-driving.... So try hard to make your several inevitable errors of judgment unharmful, same as you'd advise a son when first he gets a driving license.

Also, not everyone on the water knows - or bothers to follow - the ColRegs. Just as with car driving, once you have some ability to control where and how your own car goes on the road, you start the very long process of anticipating what other road ( water ) users are likely to do. Especially those eedjits who can be spotted, by some obscure telepathy, to be just about to do something completely stoopid. I believe the Metropolitan Police Driving Manual calls it 'Defensive Driving', and it's a useful set of concepts to take with you onto the water, in manic environments like the Solent.

Enjoi!


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One useful thing to know about racers is that they are used to the idea that if someone is pointing at them, he'll end up missing them by going past their stern.

So choose the biggest gap in the nearest group, aim at the bow of the vessel in front of the gap, and as you close on him, hold a straight course while you search for the next gap in the next bunch. He'll cross ahead so you will go past his stern, and he'll have a little 'push' from your wake. If he's polite, he may even smile.

Keep the horn to hand is you're going to make any turns - one blast to starboard, two to port. Removes doubt . . .

Meanwhile, keep your 'not under command' signal to hand, and if you become confused, stop, hoist the signal and leave it to them to avoid you. Racers are good at that. Three blasts if you're using astern to stop . . .

Have fun . . .

edit: Oh, useful to 'go with the flow' if that's possible. Travel at the same speed at a tight closing angle. If you're really cheeky, go a little slower than they are, make them the overtakers, so they keep clear !
 
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I am talking dinghy racing here (not yachts - they obviously have much larger courses, but can cope with waves with less effect than a dinghy etc)

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I'd like to quickly add to this that although large wake is less dangerous to yacht racers it is just as annoying. In light winds (I.e whenever your planing MOBO is going full chat) ANY wake can and does ruin our whole day.

A good example was this Cowes week. Our fleet (34foot keelboats) was crossing the Solent in very light winds and approaching our mark. The next leg was straight into the tide and wind, so a large park up was occurring but once past the mark you were able to cross into a patch of more wind and escape.
A large MOBO approached, and despite lots of "signaling" from the closest boats roared past the mark at full chat.
The wake took all the way off most of the boats at the mark, and by the time they recovered they had drifted back 1/4 mile. Around 2/3 of the fleet never made it round that mark and had to retire.
 
If possible reduce wash to a minimum and avoid being upwind of any of the boats if you can.Pick a gap and get through them as best as you can.
 
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Just ignore them..

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good advice for Trolls /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
As a competetive sail racer and moboer I have to say you cant win!
A couple of RS 400s were racing out of Parkstone and I passed with minimum wash on a downwind leg near the leaders. The route down the channel lent the wash to the first two boats to pick up and plane on a slightly tighter course to the wind. I passed the lewward mark just as the midfleet were arriving and got abuse for assisting the leaders.?
Poole is unusal in that you can have all sorts ,dinghies,yachts and even 'Dayboats' racing. Not sure if they ever plane and qualify as a dinghy /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The point being any big races of any importance wont take place in the harbour although the participants may not agree. On the coast of Weymouth in 2012 might be a different story. Good advice already given, try to drive defensively with the skin of a sun ripened rhinoceros. Look for the gaps and if you can figure out which mark they are headed for head away from it if at all possible. Boats always congrigate at the marks and the further down the fleet you look the bigger the gaps become. Cheers Simon.
 
Forgot to mention if you appear on a collision course form some distance a good rule is,if the sails are in tight, close hauled and you can see the land moving behind the back sail it will pass in front of you. If not and it is stationary start looking for your options. Cheers again.
 
Drive around the course at full throttle. In the opposite Direction. Twice. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

and then drop the Anchor.
 
Ive always felt very compitant, at handling a boat. The only time I ever felt out of control, was arriving up the Solent, inadvertently at cowes week. It did'nt bother me at all for a while. Just thought, why the hell are we back up again, in this infernal place.

So cruising down the middle, at a steady 8 knots. Going West and escaping. Not bothering anyone.

Suddenly we were attacked, from both sides, by things with big telegraph poles stuck out in front. It was a bit like Ivanhoe jousting, except there were a hundred of them and I had no lance.

I thought we were gonners, seeing no way out. So stopped. Thinking, there would be less damage done if stopped.

This thought lasted about 3 second, before brain worked out a strategic plan. Forward at 13 knots. Till starboard boat misses astern, by a foot. Whilst passing in front of portside boat, by a few feet, being carefull not to ram another portside boat.

Luckily I had 400hp at disposal. Other wise it could not have been achieved.

Watched the starboard boats miss the davits by inches, then crashed starboard engine into reverse, with full power on port. Swinging the wheel round at the same time. This left me with another pole going straight up my arse. Like, a couple of foot away.

Luckily the power came on when intended. Still have night mares about it though.
 
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Luckily I had 400hp at disposal. Other wise it could not have been achieved.

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Try it with 2 sails, and or 10 hp, then it gets fun.

We all have the same problem.

Brian
 
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Suddenly we were attacked, from both sides, by things with big telegraph poles stuck out in front. It was a bit like Ivanhoe jousting, except there were a hundred of them and I had no lance.


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If they were coming from both sides they must have been coming for a while, if they'd just rounded a mark they would be coming from just one side.

Get your head out of the boat and plan ahead, there really cannot be much excuse for being taken by suprise by a hundred SB3s (from your description).
 
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