just cancelled Sunday's race

wotayottie

wotayottie

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Club policy as advised by the RYA id to cancel if wind are expected to gust above 30kn during the race. Which they are. So no race.

What is your club policy. Before we got a dose of H&S we used to go out in anything including F9.
 
Surely depends on the type of boats, location and experience of race crews?

30 knot gusts would certainly be over the limit for a junior fleet in Toppers, but should be well within limits for IRC racers?

And in some places "expected" is not a word in the forecast vocabulary - with winds being very fickle and differnt on the day from national forecasts
 
wotayottie said:
Club policy as advised by the RYA id to cancel if wind are expected to gust above 30kn during the race. Which they are. So no race.

What is your club policy. Before we got a dose of H&S we used to go out in anything including F9.
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Above 30 Kts should be fine for a serious IRC class. Less so smaller cruisers who don't race regularly. There's a real danger that people lose the ability to handle heavy weather if clubs are too namby pamby. It was certainly racing that taught me to deal with strong winds, which made me a better cruising sailor.
 
lpdsn said:
Above 30 Kts should be fine for a serious IRC class. Less so smaller cruisers who don't race regularly. There's a real danger that people lose the ability to handle heavy weather if clubs are too namby pamby. It was certainly racing that taught me to deal with strong winds, which made me a better cruising sailor.
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On the Mersey we sail up to 30Knts in the IRC fleet. There are strong tides, shipping and relatively restricted waters to consider.
 
savageseadog said:
On the Mersey we sail up to 30Knts in the IRC fleet. There are strong tides, shipping and relatively restricted waters to consider.
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Are you saying the fleet don't know how to sail in more than 30 Kts so are a danger to shipping? What do they do when 30 Kts comes along unforecast?
 
lpdsn said:
Above 30 Kts should be fine for a serious IRC class. Less so smaller cruisers who don't race regularly. There's a real danger that people lose the ability to handle heavy weather if clubs are too namby pamby. It was certainly racing that taught me to deal with strong winds, which made me a better cruising sailor.
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Not asking whetherb they should be OK even though the sports boats arent that keen. I'm asking what your clkub policy is. Ours ghas been framed round RYA advice to avoid litigation in the event of a heavy weather problem. What happens in your club?
 
Isn't it the responsibility of the skipper and crew to decide whether they go out and race? Isn't it their responsibility to check the weather forecast and make their own minds up?
If something goes wrong and the race committee is going to face litigation, it seems academic what the wind is forecast to be.
When did personal responsibility disappear from our way of life?
We don't have a policy at present, but I'm sure we will soon!
Incidentally, I note you are in Swansea, wotayottie, so presumably racing from the Marina in the bay? Interested as I am at the top end of the channel.
 
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Our race is also cancelled today. With mixed fleets one always has to consider the wider implications. I've got a bigger boat, but race for fun and that's the difference between caught out and choosing to take an unnecessary risk.
I've learnt a great deal while racing, but it comes from meeting the unexpected, not subjecting ourselves to un necessary risk,while going out to play.
We had a cancellation two weeks ago -no way was I going out racing, but with a full crew ready and waiting we had a very productive hours practice.
Locally there is an extra problem, I might be waiting for an hour or more to get back in due to lack of water. Hove to in 35 knots at low water with a couple of knots of spring tide isn't fun.
Lying second half way through the series, the pressure to go out is real - I'm glad the RYA has this guidance.
 
wotayottie said:
Club policy as advised by the RYA id to cancel if wind are expected to gust above 30kn during the race. Which they are. So no race.
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I am interested to know where the 'gust above 30kn' comes from. Looking in the RYA Race Management Manual, I can only see 'boats start to get into trouble in winds of 25 knots or more.'
 
wotayottie said:
Not asking whetherb they should be OK even though the sports boats arent that keen. I'm asking what your clkub policy is. Ours ghas been framed round RYA advice to avoid litigation in the event of a heavy weather problem. What happens in your club?
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Generally in Ireland it does vary a bit. In Dublin Bay DBSC racing for example it is an entry requirement that boats could round the two Burford marks in a F6, not that they'd ever be asked to do so as such a course would interfere with the shipping channels and the courses are generally more inshore. Dublin Bay is generally the most cautious, Howth YC (N side of Dublin) last time I raced there cancelled racing because of 45 Kts of wind (we went out to practice). Cork boats are the most likely to have heavy weather experience so have the advantage in strong winds in national competitions. Obviously RYA advice doesn't apply.

It's a shame if they're doing this as race crews will get less practiced. One thing I remember reading about Fastnet 79 is that the boats were quite comfortable and practiced with winds of F8 but now it looks like many people won't be getting experience of more than the bottom end of a Six, based on Nabb's recent post.
 
It all comes down to liability for the race organisation and their risk assessment.

There is nothing to stop individual skippers embarking their crew and going out for a training day.
 
NormanB said:
It all comes down to liability for the race organisation and their risk assessment.

There is nothing to stop individual skippers embarking their crew and going out for a training day.
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Exactly.
I remember about 5 years ago the race officer cancelled a Frostbite race because of 6 inches of snow on the ground and the boats, so 7 boats organised an unofficial 'race', and had a great sail. It didn't count in the series, but was a memorable race (at least I remember it because I won!).
 
One club we belonged to cancelled a weekend double passage race, not because of the weather on the first race day. which was a tailwind F6, but because it was expected to blow a gale the next day, when boats would be returning back upwind. We and 50% of the regular fleet went anyway, timing ourselves over the course. Some boats did an about turn and returned 'home' immediately after they finished. We stayed overnight and returned next day, winds by then up around F7, not the F8 as predicted, but FFS if you can't take the heat, avoid the kitchen. At the time we had a W33 fin keeled ketch, not a lightweight racer but for once the stronger winds suited us over the 'dinghies with lids' and we actually won both legs:encouragement:.
 
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We have a relatively simple rule of thumb.

This is for the River Medway, tidal, shipping and the like and a mixed fleet.

Race is cancelled if GFS forecast for our area has F7 or above in it and if the windspeed at a local web weather station is showing F7 or above at race time. We have visibility rules as well though they keep knocking down our chimneys.

All of this with the decision to race is a boats and hers alone etc.

We have a written risk assessment and seek certain safety items on board participants boats, like VHF and Race Officer required to check on anyone rated as a novice, through the race. We often go for a sail when a race is cancelled, no issue for us, the club has to protect itself and Race Officers.

Cheers, hope I have checked the right document?
 
I think there's rather a lot of armchair machismo in this thread.

As it goes, for the most part, round our way racing gets canned when they don't think the committee boat anchors can be relied upon to hold.
 
Judders said:
I think there's rather a lot of armchair machismo in this thread.

As it goes, for the most part, round our way racing gets canned when they don't think the committee boat anchors can be relied upon to hold.
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This.

I think it also depends on the fleet. I've raced a fair bit in winds that were well over 30, and it definitely does sort the fleet out in a way that even 20 knots doesn't.

But I think we should also remember that racing is supposed to be fun. And participation is already dwindling. If we start acting all macho and sending fleets out in 30+, does that really sell the sport to someone who is considering entering?
 
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