so what sort of course do racers prefer?

[Birdseye]

Doing race officer on Sunday for one of our longer club races with a 6 hour time limit. Forecast is top end F4 NE and the tide looks like neaps. The options open to me are a beat of 7nm direct to the forecast windward followed by a run of 10nm and then a reach back to the line of maybe 6nm. The alternative is a couple of laps including a beat and a reach. So the question is, do racers prefer lap type courses or passage type courses?

Allmarks are channel markers - no ability to do a laid course

 

[Resolution]

A six mile reach is likely to be unexciting for most of the crew. Shorter legs mean more crew action, more opportunities for boats to change position.

 

[bignick]

Windward leeward courses every time for me.
More opportunities for tactics. IMO.

 

[Woodlouse]

Windward leeward courses every time for me.
More opportunities for tactics. IMO.

Windward leewards are great for evenly matched boats but for club racing with a varied fleet it becomes pretty dull for those with boats that don't point so well.

I'd say a course with a solid beat and run but also a good reach or broad reach just for variety. Maybe a short leg or two to keep the crews working.

 

[bignick]

Not every boat goes its best to windward by stuffing it as high as it will go....

I agree with your comment about short legs, sort of anyway. A good number of Mark rounding so to test coordination and crew work is also a good thing! Sometimes it's good to come off the water completely knackered - in fact I think I prefer it that way!

(I'm not quite sure what that says about me)

 

[mrming]

The most frustrating thing you can have is a course that creates a procession with no opportunities for boats to gain (or lose) places, usually involving a lot of reaching or fetching straight to the mark. For that reason I prefer a windward leeward, although obviously it depends on whether that's possible in the sailing area.

 

[Kerenza]

I think your IRC fleet require to be given equal length beat, reach and run distances. However with 1720's v 1/4 tonner and everything else in between .....and you can't do it all cross tide.

 

[savageseadog]

The most frustrating thing you can have is a course that creates a procession with no opportunities for boats to gain (or lose) places, usually involving a lot of reaching or fetching straight to the mark. For that reason I prefer a windward leeward, although obviously it depends on whether that's possible in the sailing area.

I attended a major event which will remain nameless that set a series of courses which were described, I think, as "Trapezoid" which had very long reaching legs. For our boat with symmetric kite it was a waste of time.

 

[yoda]

6,7 and 10 mile legs seem a bit long for a day race. I would think that at least 2 windward legs of 2 or 3 miles with whatever other legs can be fitted in would be good for a mixed fleet. In my mind short windward leeward courses will put off the family/older cruiser type participants - Falmouth week lost my business because of the insistence of locals to avoid varied courses for mixed handicap fleets.

Yoda

 

[lw395]

I think it's different when it is as the OP says 'one of our longer races' so I'd expect it to have long legs in contrast to most of their races being shorter jobs with more marks.
Great as a change, but maybe not what you want every week?

I find enough of our races that are supposed to be w/l or triangle-sausage turn into 'pointless harbour tour', so we never need to plan any offbeat courses.

 

[Birdseye]

I was idly wondering what people preferred because I had the choice of a broadly triangular course which involved a passage between islands and off a "tidal gate" headland ( ie a course with real tidal navigation skills involved) or setting a course that involved laps round amybe 3 channel marks. Seems to me that for cruisers you dont simply want big olympic dinghy courses bu courses that involve other skills such as tidal and navigation.

Anyway they seemed to enjoy it.