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Enterprise Dinghy racing at Southport in gale

Commodore — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:10:30 +0000

Enterprise dinghy racing on the Marine lake in Southport. Wind blowing at about 30-40mph. Increased later to 66mph (force 11)!

Saiboat Dinghy Racing Capsize — Surviving Total Inversion (boatsafetymaintenance.suite101.com)

ISAF : The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2009-2012 – Amendments Effective 1 January 2010

Ralph Varcoe — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:35:43 +0000

We have looked at the interpretation of rule 18 in previous posts. Here the ISAF are making changes to avoid dangerous tactics that were resulting from the new rule.

Rule 18.2(c) will be changed to prohibit a newly discovered and potentially dangerous tactic that was an unintended consequence of the current wording of this rule. The revised rule will no longer permit a boat to tack just before she reaches a mark and, as a result of her tack, become entitled to mark-room from boats that had been clear ahead of her when they reached the zone.

A parallel change in rule B3.1(c) outlaws a similar tactic in a sailboard race. The definition Obstruction will be changed so that a boat racing will no longer be an obstruction to other boats that are required to give her room or mark-room. This change will simplify the analysis of some situations near a mark in which both rules 18 and 19 apply, and it will not otherwise change the ‚Äògame‚Äô.

Additions will be made to the definition Party to correct unintended omissions. The revised definition will mean that, whenever redress is requested for a boat by the race committee or considered for a boat by the protest committee, that boat will be a party to the resulting hearing. Also, a race committee that requests redress for a boat will also become a party when its request is heard.

A new rule, rule C2.12, will be added to the Match Racing Rules. It will prohibit a tactic at the windward mark that the match racing community does not wish to allow.

After the 2009 rulebook was printed, ISAF revised its Advertising Code and, in so doing, eliminated all references to Category A advertising. References to the Advertising Code in Appendices J, K and L will be changed to make them consistent with the revised Code. Click here to show the changes made in detail.

See more at their website sailing.org

Want to Race on a VOR70?

Commodore — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:36:49 +0000

You have to be slightly mad. I mean to spend 8 months with no women around, sharing a pillow with 11 other men, sleeping in 4 hour shifts and having to ‘dump’ on a gimbled toilet. Madness! Oh yes, and you are permanently wet from spray or sweat, you’re dirty and the food is pretty bad too.

The upsides are….that you get a colour chart to check your urine to see if you’re clinically dehydrated and a lovely crew uniform – waterproofs, jackets, caps….

These guys are purists in the extreme. The goal is to sail. Sail fast. Sail the right weather pattern. To beat the opposition.

What most normal and sane people consider to be basic needs are of secondary importance to the VOR racer. He has one goal in mind and nothing gets in the way……sailing fast and winning…in a giant surfboard with sails.

Me? I’m happy to let them do their thing and to watch their progress from the comfort of my own computer.

If you want to see what it’s like have a look at this video:

Can sails be considered ballast?

Commodore — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:49:59 +0000

Short answer is ‘YES’. Move a sail around to give a weight advantage on one side or another and it is ‘moveable ballast’. Clearly a sail that is in use is unlikely to be much use as ‘moveable ballast’ as most of the time the sails will be on the leeward side. So the answer is that any sail not in use should be stowed and left in its properly stowed position until racing has been completed.

New rule 51 states that sails that are not in use are ballast and hence can’t be moved. Aha! You say. In some ocean races, such as the VOR, sails are moved around, up to the windward side. So are they breaking the rules? The answer would be yes if they were bound by the standard racing rules, but with an event the size and stature of the VOR, they sometimes set their own rules and rule 51 has been re-written so that the un-used sails can be stored anywhere on the boat.

What about a Spinnaker though? Out in the Solent you are on the way up to the mark and the wind has shifted. You realise you need to set the spinnaker on the other tack. The bowman reworks the guys and sheets. He quickly swaps to the other spinnaker halyard. He expertly unclips the spinnaker bag from the rail and hauls it over to the other side, re-clipping the sheets and guys and halyard to the kite.

When the bowman moved the sail it was not in use. Is the boat in breach of rule 51?

No. The important part of the rule is that a sail that is not in use cannot be moved ‘to adjst the trim or stability of the boat’. Moving the spinnaker in order to set on the other side is being done in order to enable the boat to round a mark and set up for the right tack once rounded. It hasn’t been moved to adjust the trim or stability. In fact, with spinnakers being made from angels hair these days, they weigh next to nothing, and if anything, you could argue that having a middle aged bloke dancing around the foredeck like a drunk giraffe would be significantly more harmful to the trim of the boat than any benefit gained.

So, next question. Is water ballast? Can you move water around to give added stability or trim? No, you can’t. Not while racing at least. You can of course drain your water tanks before racing starts. It has always made me laugh that some crews who charter Sunsail yachts and race at their spring or winter series drain their tanks. If an expert crew could get a small advantage from this, then the very average charter racer would get none. Better for the scratch racer to concentrate on boat handling, not broaching on a run, not twisting the kite while madly screaming at each other, and protecting the ¬£2,000 security deposit by keeping away from the ‘T-Bone’ steak.

So you could drain your tanks before racing but you can’t move water while racing.

Or can you? There is one type of water you can move while racing (apart from your own ‘water’ down the inside of your Mustos). What water might it be then?

Rule 19 – Room to pass an obstruction

Commodore — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:24:19 +0000

Rule 19 is a brand new one and applies when the obstruction is:

Not also a mark or ‘continuing’ obstruction
‘Continuing’, including if this is a mark aslo.

Part of this new Rule 19 used to be covered in old rule 18, but to be more precise about the difference between room at a mark and room at an obstruction, this new rule has been added. It is about giving room to pass an obstruction, but not room to tack at an obstruction. That has become new Rule 20, more of which in another post.

So, a right of way boat can choose to pass the obstruction on either side (provided it is safe to do so).

The outside boat must give room to the inside one, if they are overlapped. However, if the outside boat has been unable to do this from when the overlap started then they do not have this obligation. For example, if the outside boat is itself prevented because af another boat on its outside, or another obstruction. Remember a boat is an obstruction but NOT a continuing obstruction.

There is no concept of a Zone in Rule 19, so a boat could aim to overlap on the inside and demand room from the outside overlapped boat. But this only applies if there was sufficient room for the outside boat to give room at the time the overlap started. If when the overlap started, the outside boat was unable to give room for whatever genuine reason then the inside boat is not entitled to room. While overlapped the inside boat is not entitled to room and she has to keep clear.

When does the new Rule 18 NOT apply?

Commodore — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:15:07 +0000

When one boat is approaching the mark and one is leaving it. In this situation, even if the boats are within the Zone, the boat leaving the mark does not need to give room to the one approaching the mark. Normal rules of the road apply.
If a mark is also a continuing obstruction, Rule 19 applies. This is different from the previous Rule 18. New Rule 18 applies only to Marks and not Obstructions.
As above, if there is an obstruction, then Rule 19 applies. Only is an obstruction is also a mark does Rule 18 apply.
Outside the Zone Rule 18 no longer applies. It only turns on when a part of one of the boats enters the Zone.

Rule 18 – when does it apply?

Commodore — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:34:15 +0000

Rule 18 applies when:

Boats are near a Mark (racing mark but not any old obstruction)
Roundig of the Mark must be from the same side as each other
Part of one of the boats must be in the ’3 boat length’ zone from the Mark

There are some exceptions which mean rule 18 does not apply, such as:

If boats are to round the mark on opposite sides (restates 2 above for clarity)
If the boats are on opposite tacks while beating to windward
At the start line (to avoid the inevitable and sometimes costly barging)
When reqiuring room at an obstruction and requesting it. Then Rule 20 applies, which overrides Rule 18.
If boats are on opposite tacks and the proper course is to tack for one of the boats (but not both)

The rule ceases when both boats are out of the ’3 boat length’ zone, and of course it is overridden by Rule 20.

Complicated or what?

In the next few posts we’ll look at each part of Rule 18 in detail.