Stepping up to club racing

[Judders]

Having raced one design and IRC for years, this weekend I'm stepping up to club racing which so far as I can tell is much tougher.

That doesn't sound right does it? But think about it; I'm already using a smaller sail plan so the boat will presumably be harder to get going. I'm also told that tuning the rig is a big no no and hiking is practically cheating!

How do I get the boat going with such restrictions?

Worse still, as soon as it's lunchtime we have to manage everything without spilling beer!

It's madness I tell you. Does anyone have any survival tips?

 

[roblpm]

Having raced one design and IRC for years, this weekend I'm stepping up to club racing which so far as I can tell is much tougher.

That doesn't sound right does it? But think about it; I'm already using a smaller sail plan so the boat will presumably be harder to get going. I'm also told that tuning the rig is a big no no and hiking is practically cheating!

How do I get the boat going with such restrictions?

Worse still, as soon as it's lunchtime we have to manage everything without spilling beer!

It's madness I tell you. Does anyone have any survival tips?

Get on the committee? Make sure the courses suit your boat??

 

[flaming]

The absolute biggest thing to note is that under no circumstances should you - an active "IRC type" win. To do this would be unspeakably bad form.

We nearly fell foul of this many years ago. We went down for Torbay week, and the first event was a charity pursuit race the evening before the racing proper started. We thought this sounded fun and merrily set off at our appointed time with a crew made up of whoever had made it down to Torbay in time and assorted other people who happened to be hanging around. Despite not bothering with a spinnaker or anything we had a lovely evening gradually chasing down all the boats in front of us until it dawned on us when they announced the end of the race and set a finish line there was only one left and if we kept up our current rate of progress we would fairly easily pass them before the finish. Panic. We can't win this, just not the done thing as a guest, and an IRC boat to boot! We decided to have a riding turn on the last tack to the line and they crossed just ahead.

Then we found out first prize was a brand new VHF.

 

[Judders]

Not too many worries on that front, they've given our under canvassed Impala the same rating as a Westerly Typhoon. Round the cans we might need to be careful but in a passage race I'm pretty sure they've saved any such potential embarrassments

 

[mrming]

Forget anything you know about the RRS and instead, when boats get close, either:

a) get locked in a classic British politeness loop "no, no after you I insist".

or...

b) do Dick Dastardly / Wacky Races style manouevres with no concern for your opponents. If questioned shout a made up rule.

Inexplicably lose on handicap to much larger boats who don't fly a spinnaker, and whose two crew appear to be cooking a full Sunday roast in the galley.

Receive feedback from said competitors in the bar afterwards, allowing you to understand exactly why you sailed badly and thus achieved a poor result on handicap.



Edit - despite it being "gentleman's racing" and "not serious at all", start surprisingly aggressively, with much shouting, preferably barging and ignoring any calls to head up.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Having raced one design and IRC for years, this weekend I'm stepping up to club racing which so far as I can tell is much tougher.

That doesn't sound right does it? But think about it; I'm already using a smaller sail plan so the boat will presumably be harder to get going. I'm also told that tuning the rig is a big no no and hiking is practically cheating!

How do I get the boat going with such restrictions?

Worse still, as soon as it's lunchtime we have to manage everything without spilling beer!

It's madness I tell you. Does anyone have any survival tips?

Sure:
1/ emptying out all the rubbish on board is cheating
2/ practising is frowned on
3/ hang back a bit at the start or you wont know where to go
4/ ignore that coloured sail at all costs - instead enjoy the others cocking it up.
5/ under no circumstances should you protests - its not friendly and in any case the protest committee decides on the basis of who they like.
6/ in the bar remember that your handicap is wrong and so is that of the winning boat
7/ there must be no signs of boat named uniforms
8/ sails must be at least 10 years old
9/ never luff the moorings officer
10/ above all, dont take it seriously and throw money at the boat IRC style. Its fun, or supposed to be. Leave the miserable gits in your old fleets to take themselves oh so seriously.

Dont forget to patronise the families enjoying racing their old bilge keeler. After all, they must be ignorant not to want to spend hours hiking out and getting wet and cold. Thats what real men do of course.

 

[adwuk]

Sounds like us:

- ensure that the boat is setup as if you are either back from, or on your way to, weeks of cruising (lots of food, clothes, kayaks etc)
- a fishing rod must be worn on the pushpit
- at least 2 extra 5 gallon cans of diesel should be lashed to the rail
- do not remove any dodgers. Doing so only makes it easier to sit on the rail
- make sure that water and fuel tanks are completely topped up, along with a new gas cylinder for good measure
- the odd shout of "mast abeam" will reassure others that you are up to date with the rules
- sail around a random mark, even if it is not a mark of the course, particularly in the first race of a series.
- everyone in front of you is a bandit, especially if they are of the quarter ton variety

Above all, aim to have fun! We do.

 

[olly_love]

George, you forgot your life raft, full HPX oilies and 275 lifejackets in 1 knot of wind and 30C



and the dog

 

[TallBuoy]

Presumably everybody withdrew once there was a 5 in the forecast.

 

[Judders]

Indeed it was cancelled by the club on Wednesday which seemed a little early though ultimately was probably the right decision

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Presumably everybody withdrew once there was a 5 in the forecast.

Thats the wrong way round. Come winter racing, its always the J boats and similar that cry off whilst the NHC boys go out. In the past with a 9 in the forecast, and I dont mean 9 knots. Bloody daft it was but one went so everyone else had to go bar the IRC lot and the sports boats.

After all, if you have this thin bendy stick and you have paid multi £ for black sails, you cant afford to risk them when its windy. And where is the fun in a series of wild rounding ups?