Round the Island race for idiots

[HereBeDragons]

I'll hopefully be moving my yacht back from France this springtime. Just got a mailer about RTI entries being open and thought it might be a bit of fun to do with some mates.

I am not a racer. I have done a bit of regatta stuff as crew, doing as I was told, but have never entered my own yacht for a race before. On the flip-side, I've done 6000+ miles cruising over the past 12 years and have had current boat for 5 years and 4000 miles, so I know her well.

My crew will be racing idiots, as am I. We will go out and do a bit of practice beforehand over the early summer, but I imagine nobody will be mistaking us for an America's Cup entry.

My concerns are that there are 1500-odd entries, which surely will be carnage? I know my Colregs, but that generally happens at a much slower speed, and far less traffic than 1500 yachts all setting off together (I know it's staggered, but, you know what I mean). Will an idiot like me be ok?

Secondly, will we get hooted in the street at the after party for turning up with a rolling main and a gennaker rather than a carbon mast, selection of spinnakers, matching polo shirts and a jaunty plume?

We obviously aren't aiming to win, but if we enter, I'd like to give it a good shot at least.

She's an Elan Impression 384, so a sort of cruising racer, or racing cruiser, depending how you look at it.

 

[stranded]

I'll hopefully be moving my yacht back from France this springtime. Just got a mailer about RTI entries being open and thought it might be a bit of fun to do with some mates.

I am not a racer. I have done a bit of regatta stuff as crew, doing as I was told, but have never entered my own yacht for a race before. On the flip-side, I've done 6000+ miles cruising over the past 12 years and have had current boat for 5 years and 4000 miles, so I know her well.

My crew will be racing idiots, as am I. We will go out and do a bit of practice beforehand over the early summer, but I imagine nobody will be mistaking us for an America's Cup entry.

My concerns are that there are 1500-odd entries, which surely will be carnage? I know my Colregs, but that generally happens at a much slower speed, and far less traffic than 1500 yachts all setting off together (I know it's staggered, but, you know what I mean). Will an idiot like me be ok?

Secondly, will we get hooted in the street at the after party for turning up with a rolling main and a gennaker rather than a carbon mast, selection of spinnakers, matching polo shirts and a jaunty plume?

We obviously aren't aiming to win, but if we enter, I'd like to give it a good shot at least.

She's an Elan Impression 384, so a sort of cruising racer, or racing cruiser, depending how you look at it.

We are I suspect way closer to the idiot end of the scale than you. We did it 3 or 4 times without mishap and had great fun. But we wimped out of the last one we could have done because we had Nooka all shiny and ready to sail to farther shores...

 

[lw395]

You need to understand the basics of the racing rules.
You will be in one of the ISC classes. A lot of people in these classes are not serious racers either. Some of them won't have a clue about the rules, some of them may have been drinking.
The key to a good day in the RTIR is avoiding trouble. 360degree vision and resaonable anticipation of what other boats will do.
Spot boats getting too close to each other and go around them. Try not to get caught in a pack.
The pre-start is the worst bit, as you need to guess who will do what. Once you've started there is more logic to it.

As you have a fair size boat, there will be some good smaller boats starting after you and overtaking you.
It's not trivial. But lots of people do it with not much more experience.

 

[HereBeDragons]

Racing rules was something I was going to study beforehand, but it's good to know if I even have theoretical knowledge of the rules I might be half a lenght ahead. Any recommendations of reading material that isn't purely wordy? I was reading up about Rule 17 recently but got totally lost, a diagram would have helped!

Is it worth getting crew versed on various positions rather than just sticking to the same job throughout? I imagine helming for 8 hours is going to be tiring for one person, and main trim a bit boring, etc.

Any recommendations for smaller, novice races we could take part in prior to this, to get a bit of practice?

 

[lw395]

I like the Brian Willis book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rules-Prac...qid=1516015184&sr=8-2&keywords=willis+sailing

Don't buy an old edition!

 

[johnalison]

A club associate of ours did it for many years in a Nonsuch 30, which is a heavy cat-rigged boat and about as far from a rqacing yacht as you could imagine. He raced it with his wife into his '80s but sadly died last year. I believe they did quite well on occasion but don't remember the details. I'm pretty sure that nobody laughed at them, actually, they wouldn't have dared.

 

[Sandy]

Best check with your insurance company to see if you will be covered. I usually sail with a mile exclusion zone round the boat so there is no chance of me even thinking about participating in the event.

 

[HereBeDragons]

Best check with your insurance company to see if you will be covered. I usually sail with a mile exclusion zone round the boat so there is no chance of me even thinking about participating in the event.

Good shout. Insurance renewal is April and I need to make sure she's covered for the return trip by trailer, etc. so I'll ask about novice racing at the same time. With so many entrants, I'm sure it can't be too difficult to get cover?

 

[Motor_Sailor]

It all very much depends on the conditions - sometimes just completing the course is a challenge even if you weren't surrounded by other boats.

I wouldn't worry about too much about the racing rules. As has been said, keep clear of boats you're overtaking, hold a steady course when you're being overtaken, be wide awake when close hauled, (especially when on port tack) and clear off if anyone asks for 'water'.

Probably more important is know where all the hazards and shallow bits are around the IOW. Nothing makes you appear like an amateur (even when being highly paid to sail on a boat), if you run aground, hit a rock or require assistance.

Finally, the more versatile your crew, the more you will enjoy it. Rotating jobs, eating well and being warm all help finding crew easier the next time you ask them.

 

[Mister E]

In the spirit of the title.






Keep the island on your left.:encouragement: and enjoy

 

[flaming]

Brush up on racing rules, but really for this event you only need the basics.

This is a really useful quiz, play this on basic level and you'll be fine for RTI.
http://game.finckh.net/indexe.htm

If you've done that, and some practice, then in my experience you'll be better prepared than half of the ISC fleet. Go for it.

There are plenty of tips for how to make the most of your day once you've decided to enter and are gearing up for it, but a wet day in January isn't the time for them!

 

[KevinT1]

Good shout. Insurance renewal is April and I need to make sure she's covered for the return trip by trailer, etc. so I'll ask about novice racing at the same time. With so many entrants, I'm sure it can't be too difficult to get cover?

Most of the "Good" Insurance companies will include RTI as part of their standard policy - or if not will be a small premium

Whilst it is a race - it's aimed at Cruisers just as much as "out and out" Racers, as Lw395 mentioned, there are loads of different classes and you hopefully will be in one of the more Cruiser orientated

 

[Poey50]

I've done it for the last four years. It's a great day out and not to be missed but it's a long tiring day (for most) and needing a lot of concentration on the upwind legs. If the wind is westerly expect a long slog short tacking up the eastern Solent against the tide back to Cowes. That's a killer - good to have some nice pre-prepared eats for that section to cheer you and the crew up. Generally don't expect to make food on the way - have something to grab quickly.

Most people are not serious racers and many will know little more about the rules than you so (on the upwind legs particularly) keep a very good 360 lookout. In the upwind sections it can get crowded so you need to watch carefully for the best time to tack. If you want to do well then you need to try to keep out of the dirty air of others or you can spend a lot of time blanketed.

Other than avoiding collision you only really need the three main 'when boats meet' rules - port giving way to starboard (look under your genoa very regularly especially on port tack), windward boat giving way, and overtaking boat keeping clear.

We found a lot of port tackers not able to judge whether they would clear us safely so don't be too much of a stickler and prepare to take evasive action yourself rather than stand on your rights. Just let it go, if it happens. It's a long day and there's plenty of other stuff to enjoy.

 

[lpdsn]

I've done it just once. I flew over to take part on a boat in the IRC classes with a cruising skipper and an inexperienced crew. I quickly realised that my only task was to get them around the course in one piece. It might be easier in the ISC classes.

Except out in front it's nothing like a real race. People won't know the racing rules or might be working to some made up mixture of half-remembered ancient racing rules and half-understood ColRegs. You'll be fouled by a port tacker or two so you just have to live with that. Don't even think of doing anything racy like luffing another boat (it rarely pays anyway).

The place where the RRS beyond the basics will most likely come into play is when approaching an obstruction (a.k.a the Isle of Wight). People maybe calling for "Room" before running aground and you have to let them tack. Read up the Bryan Willis book to get an understanding of the niceties but very roughly you can't run someone aground because you're on starboard. Of course it won't be a two-boat situation so think ahead.

Train up your crew a bit. When manouvering in a large pack of boats, especially as a port tacker, you need to make small adjustments to trim in good time. Having a crew that don't respond for 20 seconds then just dump the sheets will help you avoid the first boat but will likely get you into an unplanned situation with half a dozen others.

 

[Poey50]

The place where the RRS beyond the basics will most likely come into play is when approaching an obstruction (a.k.a the Isle of Wight). People maybe calling for "Room" before running aground and you have to let them tack. Read up the Bryan Willis book to get an understanding of the niceties but very roughly you can't run someone aground because you're on starboard. Of course it won't be a two-boat situation so think ahead.

That's a good point. Lots of boats stay in close to the shallows in the first sections of the eastern Solent to minimise the worst of the foul tide so there is more to keep an eye on here including depth and - as above - a boat calling for water for an obstruction - or just panic-tacking.

It's a good plan to at least practice tacking with an inexperienced crew as it often needs to be done smartly. As Ipdsn says those used to cruising don''t always get the urgency or just may not have done much beating.

 

[Dawnrazor]

She's an Elan Impression 384, so a sort of cruising racer, or racing cruiser, depending how you look at it.

Nice to know I won't be the only one out there in an Elan Impression 384. Didn't think there were many of us around!

 

[HereBeDragons]

Great advice, thank you everybody.

I'll get reading the book, and will also ask first mate to read up as well so we have at least two of us that know the rules. If we don't manage to get at least a bit of practice done over the early summer, then it'll have been a wasted trip back for the boat!

To be honest, if weather isn't great, we will probably duck out early or just spend the day in the Folly Inn instead. We're keen, but not that keen.

Any suggestions for a bit of local racing in the Solent? Nothing serious, just a weekend cruise around the cans or something.

 

[HereBeDragons]

Nice to know I won't be the only one out there in an Elan Impression 384. Didn't think there were many of us around!

Not many indeed! Have you got a spinnaker/gennaker of any kind? I'm going to invest for UK sailing (didn't seem worth it in the Med with just me and wifey on board), interested in any advice on size, etc.

 

[Poey50]

To be honest, if weather isn't great, we will probably duck out early or just spend the day in the Folly Inn instead. We're keen, but not that keen.
.

You're my kind of skipper. I always crew with my mate on his 22 foot Django and unfortunately he is not one to suggest bailing out to the pub. I'll not easily forget the 2106 race in winds gusting to 40 knots. I heard wistfully that the other 22 foot class was banned because of the conditions but it didn't apply to us. Fortunately he is buggering off round the UK coast this year so I plan to anchor up on our boat and watch the damn thing - I've never seen the bigger boats as they are long gone before it is our start.

 

[Dawnrazor]

Not many indeed! Have you got a spinnaker/gennaker of any kind? I'm going to invest for UK sailing (didn't seem worth it in the Med with just me and wifey on board), interested in any advice on size, etc.

I've got an 85m2 Gennaker on board, and had a Selden Bowsprit kit and GX-Furler fitted for easy sail management.

Mine is a 2009 model, in pretty good shape, but the original sails are in need of replacing this year. I'm tempted to go with some DCM-X laminates from Hyde, as they made my Gennaker and the service is good. This year will be my first RTI race, so i'm already nervous!