The Conundrum, to be held Saturday April 18th, 2015, will be one day of long distance bay racing - with a TWIST! You get to choose how you will go about the course! AND - at the request of the GBCA Cruising Club, we've added a class for you! This is a single hand or double hand competition. Three boats required to form a class.
NOR: click here (https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumNOR.pdf)
Registration: click here (https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_registration_form.php?regatta_id=10090)
See who is racing: click here (http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_registrant_list.php?regatta_id=10090&custom_report_id=2)
Racing to be followed by the usual festivities at the GBCA lounge and deck, replete with the customary rum, mixers and nourishment.
Flying Kiss is signed up :o! Now to renew our PHRF certificate. Don't forget the after-race party at True
North Marine (1907 Lawrence Rd. Suite 400, Kemah, TX, 77565) in conjunction with the Race to the Border
Kickoff.
Thanks for the correction, Scott. I was waylaid by cut and paste.
The Conundrum is only two weeks away. Get your favorite crew, or be your only crew and come on out to play. Should be a fun race!
The Fleets are beginning to fill in! It should be a nice weekend for a change. Check the weather, tides, and rum supplies and come on out for a fun weekend. Don't forget the after-race party at True North Marine. Food, Music, and fun! ;D
Nice weather indeed, Scotty. Chance of rain way down to 80%.
Looking for more entries for Cruising club, Single non spin and single spin. Don't wait, LAte fees apply after tomorrow.
A fellow New Yorker can always appreciate fine sarcasm.
Believe! ;)
Looks like Eduardo is a guaranteed a spot on the podium. Perhaps I should change over to Cruising Class.... A little Ericson duel at noon.
Must have three boats to form a class. No guaranteed wins - ya gotta fight for it.
OK Chris. Stow the bedsheet and join the party.
Did all the boats get re-rated? Looks like we are now considered 9 seconds faster per mile with just two on the boat. Must be the reduced crew weight?
Chris
Considering the current forecast for thunderstorms during the racing period, what are the provisions for onshore postponement or abandondonment?
They cancelled tomorrow's first leg of the MS 150 due to dangerous weather.
If the Race Committee feels we are endangered by going out then we will abandon.
We will broadcast on VHF 69, and post on the regatta network notice board for this race.
All racers are reminded of RRS: Decision to Race, "The responsibility for a boat's decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone."
If you decide NOT go out on the water tomorrow due to weather conditions you feel are unsafe, please contact us on VHF 69, or leave a message at 281-216-4082.
All of this is covered in SI 12, now posted.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will sail!
I can find the SI's Bob, but some may not be able too. Might be a good idea to post a link.
Sailing Instruction are here:
https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumSIs.pdf (https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumSIs.pdf)
On consideration, I would like to have the ability to postpone if necessary rather than be forced to abandon in the event a storm comes through at a bad time.
If the weather looks questionable, please monitor VHF channel 69. If we postpone the RC will announce it over VHF.
Postponements will be in increments of 1 hour. Starting time will be adjusted accordingly, so for example if we postpone hour, you will add one hour to your start time.
Finish cut off time will also be adjusted accordingly.
Here are a few photos from yesterday.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lacyphotos/sets/72157652041869492/
Enjoy!
;D
Just got back from my more or less daily walk on an absolutely gorgeous Sunday. Along the way I mysteriously came up with what I felt was a good idea.
Considering the abandonment of the Conundrum yesterday under what were at best terrible weather and mark (as in missing) conditions in conjunction with today's spectacular weather conditions, why not add Sunday as a makeup day. We could still do the party and then have the awards at some other GBCA event. The RC could also fix the missing mark issue. I am sure you guys will let me know what's wrong with this but it does seem like a great race committee option at the moment.
Bee, we have a board meeting Tuesday and that is an excellent idea. It was fun yesterday, but we would be still sailing today to finish!
Suggestion for future pursuit races: in the SIs designate the reference time/clock that will be used for start times. Apparently, for yesterday's Conundrum, it was not the Atomic Clock accessible on the Internet.
Hmmmmmmm???? The RC count down was exactly on Atomic time and Half Fast started exactly on her Atomic clock time. Could you explain the difference between Atomic and non-Atomic times?
Set my watch Friday morning using the internet GPS time. Had the same time as the RC.
I compared the GPS time on two Garmin units before the race. They were 3 seconds apart.
For pursuit races I like HYC's time penalty options.
I set my watch with the time at this number: 303-499-7111
The suggestion was simply to post the official race time reference in the SIs, e.g. http://www.time.gov/. Congratulations on a great start Bee.
Thanks Jack. Its actually nice to be the first boat to start. Not a single other boat in our way.
My watch gets its time from the Denver Atomic Reference. Its always within a fraction of a second from true. That's why I know the RC was pretty darn accurate. My iPad (also my chart plotter) and my iPhone get their time from Apple's reference on the net. All three were in agreement on Saturday morning.
Just wish the wind had not died completely. The current was nice though. Might not have been able to get around H if it hadn't helped.
BTW, there were at least two times Stinger did the Heald Bank when marks were missing. The first time was by far the most interesting. The big 47.7 Eclipse blew out to where the original Heald Bank mark was supposed to be. Got there before sundown as the rest of us enviously beat our way along. She circled for a while and then headed home and protested the RC. At the Monday night protest meeting the judges asked entrants to show their GPS tracks (always helps to keep a track going) to see if we had actually rounded the mark's position. After a lengthy discussion, the protest was disallowed. If I remember right we wound up either winning or being the first Spinnaker boat across the line. Either way a missing fixed mark is generally not the RC's fault. Protesting a missing mark will generally not work. Round what the GPS says is the mark position and keep your finger's crossed.
However, that solution would be improper for our situation. There was no provision in the SI's to round the GPS coordinates. There can't be a race if there's no mark!
An excerpt from the 2014 Heald Bank SI's:
"The race committee has not directly verified the presence of the offshore marks for this race. In the event that any mark of the course is missing, roundings should be made and logged with reference to onboard GPS coordinates."
No need to cross your fingers. If a buoy starts drifting in a windward/leeward course it's generally considered unacceptable and the race is abandoned or there's a change of course. It's the same racing rules of sailing on a distance course. That provision made what you, and I, did on that Heald Bank course acceptable.
I'm not trying to criticize anyone. It happens. We've lost a lot of our big fixed marks. It's just a provision that will probably have to be added into future distance courses on the bay.
On a side note, it was entertaining to see how many people thought they were winning at the time of abandonment...
I'm absolutely certain we were winning. ;D I confirmed it with Lisa who is the ultimate authority in my world.
Chris
Section 8.2 of the SI's does specify that a boat's start time is "GPS" time.
Quote from: Emmett715 on April 20, 2015, 10:35:45 AM
On a side note, it was entertaining to see how many people thought they were winning at the time of abandonment...
I know Half Fast wuz!
Re Section 8.2 of the SIs: Which "GPS" should be used? Yours, mine, Bee's, Gerhard' W's? Nope, that doesn't work because Gerhard has two from the same manufacturer that didn't agree with each other. Surprised the Conundrum RC hasn't wayed in on this complex issue. Question for the RC: How long after a boat is judged to be OCS is the horn signaled?
Until your start time the RC doesn't know if you have started and are OCS or just sailing on the course side of the line and planning on returning for your proper start.
WHAT?
I meant W H A T ! ! !
At ten minutes before 12:00, the RC counted down the official clock over the radio, and then again at 12:00, so everyone should have been able to see if their clock was in sync.
The race I mentioned was way before 2014. Vic Forsyth was still sailing on the Bay. There was absolutely no provision in the SI's relative to a missing mark.
It was the 2004 Heald Bank that was disputed. Mike McGagh beat Stinger by 30 seconds corrected in his Olsen 30. Stinger was the first spin boat across the line only because Parrot Tales did not round the proper mark at the finish. Larry and Crate withdrew. The image below is from Scott Baker's GPS. The mark that we are shown rounding is in fact the missing Heald Bank light.
Charles.. It was 10 min before 11am. Not 12 sir.
Quote from: Eric713 on April 21, 2015, 07:15:58 AM
Charles.. It was 10 min before 11am. Not 12 sir.
OK.. I'm old! But I was on time!
What was the idea of using M53 as a mark?
Has a reschedule date been determined? Would I be able to enter if the reschedule date works?
Quote from: STuma on April 22, 2015, 09:13:46 AM
What was the idea of using M53 as a mark?
Has a reschedule date been determined? Would I be able to enter if the reschedule date works?
M54 has an exposed pipe hazard nearby and M53 kept the total distance around 22nm. M54 will need to be changed for the Rum races.
We're looking at a few dates to reschedule. The calendar is so full, that it might have to be on a Sunday. Yet to be determined, but we will give at least a months notice. Yes, you will be able to register as the event is brought forward and reopened.
Thanks Chris. I've seen the pipe mentioned. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Good news! We've decided on a date to run the 2015 Conundrum!
Sunday July 25th, the day after the GBCA Junior's regatta.
Changes apart from the date that are reflected in the Sailing Instructions:
- Mark M53 is replaced with Mark M52, since M53 is missing.
- Course length is 20.4 NM. The pursuit start table is updated with those times to reflect this.
- In the event a mark is missing, yachts shall round the coordinates of the missing mark.
- Awards will be as soon as possible afterward at the GBCA clubhouse.
The new SI's are available on line at:
https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumreduxSIs.pdf
If you wan to see the markups that were made this is available at:
https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumreduxSIsmarkup.pdf
For those wishing, we will have a brief skippers' meeting immediately after the junior's regatta skipper's meeting on July 24th.
See you then,
Bob Hunkins
2015 GBCA Fleet Captain
Correction- the Date is July 26th, the day after the juniors regatta.
The start times for the Cruiser Class will need to be updated after Rum #4 on 7/18. Or so I would think. The current start times are based on pre-rum race ratings for this year.
I see that the boats entered before are listed, will boats that did not enter on the first attempt of the Conundrum be able to enter as well.
Ron_1056
Definitely.
Ohoy STELLAR OF COURSE!!
I will change the Sailing instructions so that current cruising class handicaps are used.
I will advise the fleet when that has been done.
So do I need to pay the late fee as it is after April 15th????
Ron E
Late fees will apply for those who register after July 22.
The Sailing Instructions for The Conundrum are posted, along with the Pursuit start times. GBCA club handicaps are updated as of Rum Race #4.
We will run a short Competitors' meeting after the Juniors' regatta meeting Friday evening.
See you then or on the water,
Good Luck,
Bob Hunkins
SI's are on line at:
https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumreduxSIs.pdf
Quote from: Bob H on July 23, 2015, 08:17:47 PM
The Sailing Instructions for The Conundrum are posted, along with the Pursuit start times. GBCA club handicaps are updated as of Rum Race #4.
We will run a short Competitors' meeting after the Juniors' regatta meeting Friday evening.
The Juniors NOR shows the briefing at 0900 on Saturday. Is this changing?
There's an error.
The juniors regatta skippers' meeting is on Saturday at 0900 as per that NOR.
The Conundrum Skippers' meeting will occur afterwards. Also on Saturday. The Conundrum NOR is incorrect.
I am trying to revise the Conundrum NOR.
My apologies for the confusion.
I will advise all competitors through the regatta network email messaging.
Becky's photos of the Conundrum Redux! https://www.flickr.com/photos/lacyphotos/sets/72157656421862616 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/lacyphotos/sets/72157656421862616)