J/22 races at HYC - an invitation to join us for practice!

[billvanrav]

Howdy you all, as you know we have three significant J/22 events coming up - the HOOD, the J/22 North American Championship and the Heritage Cup.  For J/22 practice we have a series of three Sunday races every Fall (Fall Series 1 -3) typically closed to non-members (they are pretty casual events involving beer...) which we are opening up to any J/22 racers who'd like to come practice with us.  We will be setting up a formal windward/leeward line with gate and an offset pin at the windward mark - pretty much what you'll see at the big races.  We are going to kick off a series of rule 26 starts (min 3 for J/22's - there will also be an Ensign line which will only do 2 starts).  The first race in the practice series is this Sunday September 13th at 1:30.  The remaining two will be September 27th and October 11th.  You can just meet us out on the bay - there is no registration nor fee.  There will be ONE skipper's meeting this Sunday only at 11:30.  But you can also see the sailing instructions at http://houstonyachtclub.com/Racing/RaceSchedule.aspx and hit me up with questions at billvanrav@gmail.com.  Good luck everyone!!!

[BJSailor]

Looking at the SIs...
-  9d specifies "...On the distance course the starting line AND finish line will be between a floating orange ball on the port end and a signal boat on the starboard end..."  but the diagram adjacent specifies that the finish line for the distance course has the RC boat on the port end and a mark (unspecified color or shape) on the starboard end.  Needs correction / clarification.
-  11.  This does not describe a race, it describes a cruise.  How does a competitor determine what boats they are racing against, where they are during the race in relation to other boats, or where they finish?
-  11d - Does this mean that distance race boats are expected to loiter in the starting area until they decide to cross the start line?  This sounds very risky in that it will cause any number of competing boats from different classes to interfere with each other and potentially cause conflict and collision as all these boats congregate in the start area waiting for the wind shift or velocity increase or starting as close to the 30min limit as possible.  A more considered approach to safety and good race management might be considered.
-  13b - Is it the RCs expectation that, even though the RC says they will record start times, that a finishing boat is now responsible for reporting their own finishing times?  If the RC is taking ownership for recording start times of the boats cruising on the long course, they should also own the finishing times.  Clarification is needed.
-  15a - If boats cruising on the distance course have no idea of the start times or finish times of other boats, how are they to determine the time limit?  Without specific start times known to the racers, they have no way to determine the duration of the race or the time limit.  And, DNF without a hearing?  This needs serious reconsideration in light of the above.

Though the idea of increasing participation in the one-design aspect of the HYC Fall Series by inviting other J/22 boats is a wonderful idea and should be considered for other HYC club series in the future, the pursuit race (the single area of sailboat racing not only in this area, but also across the USofA that is actually increasing participation) has been eliminated in favor of a cruise for non-one-design boats with no way of determining where you are with respect to competition and advantage possibly granted to boats that start either earlier than their regular handicapped start times or later.  What's the point?

Hopefully, the changes to the Sailing Instructions will provide some clarification to some minor oversights in procedure and proofing.  As for the cruising format???...

[BJSailor]

Might add some clarity to others if the applicable SI sections were included...
9d - On the distance course the starting line AND finish line will be between a floating orange ball on the port end and a signal boat on the starboard end.

11 - 11.THE START
a. On the windward / leeward course races will be started by using rule 26 with the warning signal made 5 minutes before the starting signal.
b. The distance course will be a handicap race.
i. All starts will be between 13:00 and 13:30 hours.
ii. Each skipper will make their own decision to start the race at the time of their choosing between 13:00 and 13:30 hours.
iii. When a boat is ready to start she shall signal her intention by flying a white flag, shape or object from her backstay. The race committee will capture her start time as she crosses the start line.
iv. No starts will be accepted after 13:30 hours.
v. This changes rule 26.
c. The starting line will be as described in the section above "MARKS".
d. Boats whose warning signal has not been made shall avoid the starting area during the starting sequence for other races.
e. Boats that are not flying a white flag, shape or object from her backstay shall stay clear of a boat that is.

13b - If the race committee is absent when a boat finishes, she should report her finishing time, and her position in relation to nearby boats, to the race committee at the first reasonable opportunity.

15 - Boats failing to finish within 20 minutes on the windward / leeward line (and 60 minutes on the distance line) after the first boat sails the course and finishes will be scored Did Not Finish without a hearing. This changes rules 35, A4 andA5.

[Sunket65347]

Billvanrav - I applaud your efforts and your thinking 'out of the box' to get more people (new skippers and tired old skippers) out racing on the pursuit line.  Our crew did not find an issue with the Sailing Instructions.  The diagram clearly indicates from the direction of the boat finishing that the orange ball will be on your port end and the signal boat will be on the starboard end.  Additionally it is clear that all boats whose warning signal has not been made and those pursuit boats who are not flying a white flag shall keep clear of the starting line.  We thoroughly enjoyed the race on Sunday and the beautiful weather too!  Thanks again for everything that you do for the sport of sailboat racing.  You have done allot to get new and old racers of big boats out racing.

[BJSailor]

Sorry for the delayed reply - I was off the grid working an event on the west coast.
I've got to admit that the first Fall Series event was surprisingly enjoyable.  Bill provided some explanations and clarifications at the Competitors Briefing so that we understood his intent for what he was trying to do.  The conditions were great and we had a great sail.  the RC was spot-on with keeping up with the starts and finishes.  The cruising type race was actually fun to sail. 
Bill should be applauded for trying something new and different with this.  It's thinking outside the box that introduces innovation to racing and hopefully increases participation.