Round the Island Race. (2)

[jimbouy]

I'd be very interested to hear your experiences of the RTIR. Especially from the point of view of the "Lets do it for the fun of it" sailors.

Would it be fun for a "less" experienced crew in a small (slower) boat or a nightmare.

Thanks

<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[Aardee]

Hi Jim,

Very timely post, as I was just about to ask the same question myself. We're doing the RTIR for the first time this year, very much as a "fun" entry.

I'll confess to being a bit nervous (especially about the start).

Have you formally entered yet??


Graham.

<hr width=100% size=1>"I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me" - A A Milne.

 

[jimbouy]

Hi Graham,

No we haven't entered yet and need to decide soon, before the higher entry fee kicks in. (how do they justify that?)

I and one of my crew are pretty keen with one or two reservations. The start being one of them.

Our relatively tiny boat being another.

And the possibility of foul weather being another.




Jim

<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[boatless]

I've done it around ten times - always to win... best ever was second in class though :-(

Yes it is fun if the weather is good. A fleet full of spinnakers is an unforgettable sight.

St Kats bit can be rolly if strong downwind over tide. Stay clear of crash gybing boats. Use a preventer. Wight Hazards is a must if you want to cut corners.

My experiences: reaching at 11 knots, g/friend points to the wake. A torpedo going at about 22 kts on the surface with spray flying three feet up from it's nose slams into our stern, boat rounds up. Actually a crab pot marker round one rudder.

One port and starboard dsq. I was on port, lost the protest - even though it wasn't my fault (I can explain why). Bang went first in class. Literally.

Broke all front halyards on a charter boat. That was a slow one.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[Will_M]

Hello,

We do the RTIR most years, currently we are in IRC2... Do not be put off!!!!

Its a fantastic event, it really does not matter if you are racing or otherwise. It deffinetly does not matter how fast/slow or small/large your boat us, it does not matter what time it takes you to get round. Its all fun.

The start can be busy though!!! But the fastest stuff starts first, so that its out the way, the idea being you should not have to worry about faster boats closing down on you!!

Enter & enjoy the day.

http://www.islandsc.org.uk/rtir/index.htm

Cheers, Will.

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[wiggy]

Asuming up wind start/finish, these are the trickyt bits with boats cross tacking. All together a fab day preceeded by a fab night, I thinks Cowes on Friday is a must, get in early or just raft up anyhwere you can dont bother to try and book.

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[lumphammer]

A great event that you take as seriously as you want to. I've done it about 4 or 5 times. How enjoyable mostly depends on the wind. The first time, it was calm enough to go for a cooling swim., with boats all pointing in different directions. Then the breeze filled in and suddenly it was spinnakers everywhere.

Do check up on your knowledge of the basic racing rules though, and keep a good look out, if you try to hold on to your course when you shouldn't you will get shouted at a lot by the "serious" racers.

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[boatless]

PS. A word for our sponsors. Page 57 of June's Yachting Monthly will be useful!

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[tross]

Just do it ! It is a great experience and not that hard if you go just for the fun. - yeah, like every sailor doesn't try to out pace the next boat even when cruising.

I have raced it many times as crew ( first in class) but last year I did it for myself with a friend and my youngest son (13) in our Hunter 23. It was a great feeling of achivement for all onboard. This time, my friend will skipper so he can have the tin mug. Next year the kid. Then we wil start racing

We stayed away from the crowd at the start and it was fine. The only thing you have got to watch at the start is the tide taking you over the start line in light airs. The only other times you get close to other boats is rounding the five marks, of which, only the fort is only the real problem - just stay clear and pick you path.


Go for it you will enjoy it.




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[EdEssery]

We've done it lots of times - until this year it's been the only race in the year we sail in. It's actually several races in one. In the IRC fleet and the one-design fleets it can be taken pretty seriously. As a fun competitor, enter the ISC Handicap fleet - you'll be amongst a bunch of boats out for a good day out who are probably also participating in the only race they do all year.

You need at least a couple of people on board who know what they are doing as opposed to being day trippers. Sort out your objectives and write them down. Our first is always to get round without damaging ourselves or the boat, our second is to have a fun day out, our third is to beat our friends/relations on other boats on corrected time (you'll probably never actually see them!) - a small wager of a bottle of champagne adds some edge to this one, our fourth objective is to improve on last year's results. Winning our class or winning the race comes way down the list of priorities. It's surprising how well you can do and how good you feel if you adopt this approach and then tally up how you fared against your objectives at the end. We usually have about 10 ranked objectives and usually achieve six or seven of them.

Our final tradition is to award the "Crew's crew of the Cruise" over dinner in the evening - this is the crew's nomination for "player of the match". This person is the one who gets to keep the tankard. The voting is usually unanimous with the exception of the recipient who votes for somebody else! One year the voting changed in an instant, way after the race finished, when during the discussion as to who should receive the award, the ultimate recipient fell asleep at the table and went face down in his pudding! It's a tiring day and you'll be knackered at the end.

On tactics, sail your own race; be prepared to forgo your rights - there will be idiots out there who don't know the rules; have somebody keeping a good look out to leeward when beating - this needs to be somebody who really understands what they are loooking at - it's always the boat some distance away rather than closest that's the real danger; make your course changes obvious and early; when crossing aim at the stern of the boat you are crossing; have someone dedicated to the main and ready to dump it if the helmsman start to lose control and round up; unless you are sure you know where Varvassi is, follow ISC's sighting lines for rounding the Needles; watch the wind shadow of Horse Sand fort or you'll end up being swept on to it in the tide; makes sure you're familar with the pilotage in the east Solent to keep in shallow water - you'll be short tacking with hundreds of other boats in all likelihood and need to be on your toes at a time the crew will be getting really tired; the YM article was right about the opportuinity to make up places between Castle Point and the finish if you are on your toes; make sure you use the correct finish line; ENJOY IT

Ed

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[Innes_Ker]

A really great event! I am another who has done it several times, each year hoping to get the eight key decisions right and win the class. Best score so far about 5/8. Worst score the time we avoided the wreck but got the rock at the base of the Needles lighthouse. Under spinnaker too.
Our way of deciding who got the tin pot each year was to run a sweepstake on our finishing time, with the crew guessing nearest winning the pot.
Go for it!


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[Vara]

Go for it ,great fun,try and avoid the real racers usually identified by expensive shades and uniform shirts(not by expertise or application of col regs or racing rules as we mere mortals understand them).
Best experience for me was an exchange of views as to whether a 28 foot boat on starboard(me) should give way to a 60 foot two master with a television crew aboard on port.Encounter was televised with out sound and my mother who can lip read wouldnt talk to me for a month!

<hr width=100% size=1>If it can't be fixed with a lump hammer dont fit it!

 

[jimbouy]

"It deffinetly does not matter how fast/slow or small/large your boat us, it does not matter what time it takes you to get round"

That's what I needed to hear!!!

<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[jimbouy]

So it's organised chaos at Cowes and a pre race night party?



<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[jimbouy]

Do you know a good source for a guide to the racing regs.

Web based may be.

<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[jimbouy]

As a PBO reader I have, on your advice, bought said issue.

I do have Solent hazards and feel I should get Wight hazards

<hr width=100% size=1> "It is a pleasure to give advice, humiliating to need it, normal to ignore it"

 

[WayneS]

We did it "unofficial" last year. Was a most fantastic day. As a result we are an official entry this year and we are going to win the whole event.

If you think that you have the most tatty/smallest/most unsuitable boat for the race, just get out there and do it cos you will see many more tatty/smaller/ more unsuitable than you on the day.

As we were "unofficial" we started quite early and ended up going through Hurst with most of the big boys and found them all to be very reasonable and not once did we feel that we were screwing people over.

Just be sensible. Losing 5 mins at the start because you hang back to avoid the mayhem with have little effect on your race. Even if you have the right of way, if there are some big chaps around in a close contest, bear away and give them space.

Just be sensible and have a blast.

I bet you enter again next year.


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