2015 The Conundrum

[Bob H]

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!

[Bee]

I can find the SI's Bob, but some may not be able too.  Might be a good idea to post a link.

[Bob H]

Sailing Instruction are here:
https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/regatta_uploads/10090/2015ConundrumSIs.pdf

[Bob H]

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.

[Sailaway]

Here are a few photos from yesterday.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lacyphotos/sets/72157652041869492/

Enjoy!

[Bee]

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.

[Deckhand]

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!

[JASpithill]

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.

[Bee]

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?

[Eric713]

Set my watch Friday morning using the internet GPS time.  Had the same time as the RC.

[gwittich]

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.

[ShakenNotStirred]

I set my watch with the time at this number: 303-499-7111

[JASpithill]

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.

[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.

[Emmett715]

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...