racing etiquette

[GruffT]

As ably demonstrated in this thread, my top tip is to know your rights and obligations (aka "The Rules") and don't be afraid to use them. Someone doing something unexpected trying to keep out of the way can be quite a challenge to deal with! Oh and don't forget it is possible to slow down too....

 

[flaming]

Rule 69 Gross Misconduct. Used to be known as ungentlemanly conduct

Not a rule 69 issue. Rule 69 is very serious, normally involves physical violence or blatant cheating, and almost inevitably results in a ban from racing. Swearing might be rule 2, depending on circumstance. That's also very serious, as a DSQ under rule 2 is normally not discardable.

 

[Slowtack]

First time out....................
Stay clear of bigger boats
Stay clear of aggressive boats
Stay clear of hesitant boats (plonkers)
Dont rely totally on starboard rights - other plonkers may know less than you
On the start line - get away fast or stay behind the mayhem
Remember that dinghy racing is cheaper
Second time out be more competitive
Enjoy yourself

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Im competing in my first cruiser events next week - cowes classics week.

Having never done this before, I wondered if anyone has any tips to stop me making a complete plonker of myself. I have gone through the basic racing rules, notice of race and Sailing Instructions and I have a race strategy - start at the back and stay out of everyone's way .

Any tips - however basic would be welcome.

Yes:
1/ if another boat has mum and the kids on board, steer well clear. dont hang back. you are safer amongst the racers provided to stick to the rules
2/ dont play with fancy coloured sails unless its a long leg and the wind is behind the beam
3/ have your red protest flag ready
4/ dont have your anchor in the bow roller
5/ take weight out of the boat and have a clean bottom.
6/ keep the tiller / wheel within 10deg of ahead when beating - any more and youre over cavassed with the likelyhood that the angle of the rudder is slowing the boat
7/ go for clear air
8/ above all, use your brain. racing is mostly a mental exercise. its not shouting and yelling and violent actions that win but thinking and planning and craftiness.

 

[PhillM]

Yes:
1/ if another boat has mum and the kids on board, steer well clear. dont hang back. you are safer amongst the racers provided to stick to the rules
2/ dont play with fancy coloured sails unless its a long leg and the wind is behind the beam
3/ have your red protest flag ready
4/ dont have your anchor in the bow roller
5/ take weight out of the boat and have a clean bottom.
6/ keep the tiller / wheel within 10deg of ahead when beating - any more and youre over cavassed with the likelyhood that the angle of the rudder is slowing the boat
7/ go for clear air
8/ above all, use your brain. racing is mostly a mental exercise. its not shouting and yelling and violent actions that win but thinking and planning and craftiness.

I get that. Totally.

Will report back tommorow.

Thanks all, great advice as always on here.

 

[Tomahawk]

Oh and do remember that on the water .... everything is just sooooo. important.....

But after in the bar it was only a jolly goodvday out...
I am guessing that by now youbhave had your first taste...,I hope you enjoyed it..

 

[PhillM]

Thanks for all the good advice. Here are my lessons from today:

Hanging back at the start kept me clear of the mor competitive in my class but I ended up at the wrong end of the line, on port, with 30+ xod's calling starboard. Us classic cruisers are not that competitive but the xod class is a little more serious.

Remember to navigate - not just know where the next mark is, after a tense 10 minutes I passed closer to Bramble Bank then I've ever done before or ever intended to. I swear I saw zero on the depth but didn't touch.

Don't let your crew go below to make a phone call. Especially as they could turn off the radio and you don't notice for quite a while.

It's ok to call into to race control to ask "how many laps" because everyone else seemed to have disappeared. In my case it seemed to remind them I was still on the long course.

Overall a great afternoon. I think on going to love this racing. Hmm now how does that square with owning the least capable racing boat in the marina.

 

[Daydream believer]

T
Hmm now how does that square with owning the least capable racing boat in the marina.

I think i should take you to task here as you suggest your boat is not a good boat to race
Ratings are meant to equalise differences in design & do so fairly reasonably to an extent
Ratings do not compensate for poor setup or poor crewing
So what i am saying is that blaming the boat is no excuse.
It is up to you to learn how to sail it, handle it well & get the boat into a good working trim
Those things are basically learning the art of sailing & what makes sailing such a joy whether you just go for the odd hour, the long offshore passage or a race round the cans
Racing just emphasises to you & others how good you have become at it
Learn the art of sailing & have great fun
Good luck

 

[PhillM]

I think i should take you to task here as you suggest your boat is not a good boat to race
Ratings are meant to equalise differences in design & do so fairly reasonably to an extent
Ratings do not compensate for poor setup or poor crewing
So what i am saying is that blaming the boat is no excuse.
It is up to you to learn how to sail it, handle it well & get the boat into a good working trim
Those things are basically learning the art of sailing & what makes sailing such a joy whether you just go for the odd hour, the long offshore passage or a race round the cans
Racing just emphasises to you & others how good you have become at it
Learn the art of sailing & have great fun
Good luck

I agree with every word you say. Poor setup, poor skipper = poor results. What u mean is from a racing perspective both the boat and the crew are "least capable". Which is not suprising when you consider that for the whole of the 3 year refit racing has never been a consideration.

Just working out the course set and making it round with neither mishap or protest against has been an achievement so far. I'm sure skills and knowledge will develop over time

 

[KREW2]

I think i should take you to task here as you suggest your boat is not a good boat to race
Ratings are meant to equalise differences in design & do so fairly reasonably to an extent
Ratings do not compensate for poor setup or poor crewing
So what i am saying is that blaming the boat is no excuse.
It is up to you to learn how to sail it, handle it well & get the boat into a good working trim
Those things are basically learning the art of sailing & what makes sailing such a joy whether you just go for the odd hour, the long offshore passage or a race round the cans
Racing just emphasises to you & others how good you have become at it
Learn the art of sailing & have great fun
Good luck

I go out racing occasionally.
I don't have a regular crew sometimes just 2 of us, and going round the cans with a short down wind leg is just too much like hard work on my Westerly storm.
There is no way I can compete with smaller boats who have larger crews, some who have been sailing together for years.
So I don't tend to put my lack of winning down to poor crew, boat, or skipper.
I do tend to do a lot better on passage races, but by in large these are not well subscribed to.
Going round the cans is new to me, it's just an evenings sail with a purpose.

 

[l'escargot]

One small word I would like to add is during the races you will most likely come across a few "solent" sailors not racing, who in my experience take great delight in going for a "jolly" during the races and seem find it necessary to zig-zag over the race course. These kind folk appear to presume as they are there all year round, sailing across a course as slowly as possible is some sort of sport. But hey, that's just my humble opinion.

What do you suggest, that they shouldn't leave Cowes when there is a race on?

 

[flaming]

What do you suggest, that they shouldn't leave Cowes when there is a race on?

+1. Everyone's entitled to be on the water.

 

[PhillM]

+1. Everyone's entitled to be on the water.

+2
I have to say just how pleasent the Solent is on weekdays. It's beautiful weather but so far this week the water is quiet and I have not had wake from one mobo. Contrast that to last Saturday when wake and avoiding other people were the norm.

 

[lw395]

One small word I would like to add is during the races you will most likely come across a few "solent" sailors not racing, who in my experience take great delight in going for a "jolly" during the races and seem find it necessary to zig-zag over the race course. These kind folk appear to presume as they are there all year round, sailing across a course as slowly as possible is some sort of sport. But hey, that's just my humble opinion.

I am totally in favour of other non racing sailors going about their travels.
I have had some unpleasant experiences at Cowes Week where certain large yachts cruise around, taking paying spectators and getting in the way or casting huge windshadows at marks. They loiter in places where the action is, spoiling the event they are making money from.
Certain 'Round the World experience' operators are the worst culprits.
This is one of the things that has turned me away from Cowes Week.

 

[lpdsn]

13

Doesn't appear to be a rule 13 infringement to me. As soon as the tacking boat reaches a close hauled course, even if the sails aren't sheeted in, rule 13 ceases to apply.

Sounds like it's down to rule 10 (port/starboard) and rule 15, giving you time to react to him acquiring rights under rule 10. You really need to have been made to make a clear unseamanlike manouvre to have much of a case under rule 15 (I'm assuming you were the port tacker) and even then it could be a bit of a lottery.

Would definitely support Flaming's advice about protesting to show you're no pushover. Sometimes a clique develops at the top of the fleet and there can be a tendency to be dismissive of mid-fleet boats. If you're an improving boat you have to force them to respect you and accept you belong.

 

[PhillM]

So the results are in.

127 boats in the fleet

1 came 15th

There were 16 I'm my class

Sounded good until the class number, didn't it!

Found I have a lot to learn about race procedures and on course navigation. But we followed every course perfectly.

Discovered a lot about how my boat handles. Have a few ideas that will make general cruising easier.

Fantastic week. Great weather, great spirit between competitors in the marina and a good time was had by all.

Wish I had done this years ago!

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Just working out the course set and making it round with neither mishap or protest against has been an achievement so far. I'm sure skills and knowledge will develop over time

absolutely right. I have found it very helpful to have a crew member dive below and put the course ( assuming it isnt a simple upwind / downwind laid course) into the plotter with waypoint arrival alarm set for 200m. At this distance you can see the next mark and want the plotter to tell you the bearing of the following mark so you can get the course change organised.


but warning. yes you will learn and enjoy but the enjoyment will turn into frustration if you remain the slowest boat there and the frustration will turn into urges for new sails or even a new boat. got the t shirt on that one.

 

[PhillM]

I have found it very helpful to have a crew member dive below and put the course ( assuming it isnt a simple upwind / downwind laid course) into the plotter with waypoint arrival alarm set for 200m.

but warning. yes you will learn and enjoy but the enjoyment will turn into frustration if you remain the slowest boat there and the frustration will turn into urges for new sails or even a new boat. got the t shirt on that one.

Hmm, well perhaps its me but I didn't think that using a GPS to find the racing marks to be that sporting for a classics race. I wanted to use traditional nav methods to make make it round and by doing so I had a few close calls with Bramble Bank but in the process learned a lot about my sailing grounds.

As for coming at the end of the fleet, we need to learn to tack faster, to use the 1960's winches instead of luffing up to get the sails in for close hauled and at some stage a some stage, sort of down wind head sail like chute or ghoster. So, at this stage more skills with what we have is the order of the day.

I did notice quite a bit of rule "bending" going on in the fleet. But when we were awarded 1st for crossing the line after retiring and missing out a substancial leg, I was compelled to tell the race officer. There is no way I would collect a trophy when I did not complete the course.

I am sure that frustration of last ir near last will kick in one day, but I also think that taking my 1961 boat and "race tuning" could spoil her - so its never going to happen. I'm happy to have enjoyed the week and am looking forward to next year.