Dinghy racing in the channel

[wingdiver]

I am still at a loss to understand why clubs find it necessary to drop turning marks and set courses across a busy channel (R Orwell) when, at high water yesterday when we passed by, they had acres of water outside the channel and beyond the moorings in which to happily race without causing any issues for any other users of the water.
All it means is that those who cannot go (far) outside the channel have heart failure/have to slow down/speed up/divert drastically to avoid dinghy sailors coming across them and the poor dinghy sailors must feel very vunerable at the sight of many tons of vessel bearing down on them - especially the commercial traffic that regularly uses the river. If they are 'racing' and have to divert or stop to avoid a collision, it can ruin their race too.
So, as the saying goes... why oh why oh why.
(It used to happen when we were at Wells but at least there they had the excuse that there were lots of moored boats in the way and a narrower water area to race in).

 

[sailorman]

If they are too far from the club hse mummy can't see little Cecil .

 

[Leighb]

I am guessing that the racing you refer to yesterday (Wednesday) was the Wednesday Evening racing at the Royal Harwich?

The clue is in the title. Race is at 1900 hrs on Wednesdays regardless of the state of the tide. Last night it was close to LW so the only possible course was in the channel. There were no turning marks used other than the channel buoys.

There was no commercial shipping scheduled until 2030hrs, race finishes at around 2000 or earlier.

Why do I know this? Cos' I was Race Officer last night ably assisted by SWMBO.

Racing at weekends is timed to allow for HW and courses set using the acres of water outside the channel whereever possible.

Of course I may be wrong and it was some other Club's dinghies you were complaining about

 

[wingdiver]

I am guessing that the racing you refer to yesterday (Wednesday) was the Wednesday Evening racing at the Royal Harwich?

The clue is in the title. Race is at 1900 hrs on Wednesdays regardless of the state of the tide. Last night it was close to LW so the only possible course was in the channel. There were no turning marks used other than the channel buoys.

There was no commercial shipping scheduled until 2030hrs, race finishes at around 2000 or earlier.

Why do I know this? Cos' I was Race Officer last night ably assisted by SWMBO.

Racing at weekends is timed to allow for HW and courses set using the acres of water outside the channel whereever possible.

Of course I may be wrong and it was some other Club's dinghies you were complaining about

You were not guilty as I came through there at around HW yesterday afternoon - 3pm ish. There was one set racing a triangle over the mud banks on the far side from RHYC, which were fine. The ones I am talking about were further along and were going across the channel and turning around the boats moored on the west side and crossing the channel. There was a 'safety' boat a bit further up (white open dory thing) and there was at least one, if not two white bouys in the channel on the eastern side near it although the dinghys were going beyond the moored boats a bit over the mudbanks. Not sure which club it was but it was not that bright an idea.

 

[iainbluk]

Racing in the channel

Apologies are in order (although I did not set the course) I was on one of the dinghies. It was an event organised by Ipswich Council watersports for a group of Dutch sailors on a visit in their yachts to Woolverstone.

I will have a word when I next see the guy who organised it.