Stories about Race Committee
Below are the latest stories which have been categorised as being about Race Committee.
LTW Readers Q but no A | 039; Finishing Seaweed?
Posted 13 hours, 58 minutes ago by Look To Windward
The following case was send in by two LTW readers from 'Down Under'.
The asked me to post this as they wrote it, without me giving any answers. They want you - as experienced LTW readers - to do this. I'm happy to oblige. Tell us your answers in a comment.
Finishing Line Problem – Seaweed
Here is a problem at the finishing line. Your comments are invited.
Scenario
- The course to be sailed was windward-leeward with four legs. The leg length was 1 mile. The leeward mark was a gate comprising marks (3A) and (3B).
- The gate marks were set approximately 12 boat lengths (300 feet) apart.
- Sailing Instruction 7.7 said. "In the event, that the race committee decides a change of course is necessary for the first downwind leg, leg 2, one of the gate marks (3A) or (3B), will be removed and the remaining gate mark, set in it’s new location, shall be rounded to port.
- There was no change of course signal made.
- The race committee displayed the “S” flag with two sounds after several of the lead boats had rounded the windward mark at the end of leg 1.
- The race committee intended the course to be shortened by boats passing through the gate in accordance with rule 32.2(c).
- Because of difficulty in anchoring, the race committee boat was moored amidships alongside Gate mark 3B with the mark on her port side and gate mark 3A to port. Due to the light winds and strong current the race committee signal boat subsequently aligned itself with the current and the starboard side of the signal boat faced towards the course side of the course obscuring Mark 3B from boats approaching the gate.
- When sailing the downwind leg and approaching mark 3A Seaweed could not see mark 3B nor hear any sound signals and, was unable to distinguish the “S” flag displayed. Other boats sailing near Seaweed corroborated this.
- Seaweed said that she did not see a change of course signal made at the windward mark but when she saw only one gate mark, mark 3A, she considered the possibility that a change of course signal could have been made at the windward mark and that she simply failed to notice it which, in the absence of a sound signal and the apparent absence of gate mark (3B), led her to believe mark 3A was to be rounded to port according to SI 7.7.
- The wind was very light, approximately 2 knots, and the “S” flag was not “flying” but rather “laying limp” (drooping down) on it’s staff.
- Seaweed rounded the gate mark 3A to port. Seaweed was approximately 8-10 boat lengths in front of the nearest boat behind her when she rounded the gate mark.
- When rounding mark 3A Seaweed saw the gate mark 3B on the leeward side of the signal boat and then made out the “S” flag displayed on the signal boat. Seaweed sailed back between the gate marks to the course side of the shortened course finish line then sailed back across the finish line between the gates in the direction from the previous mark as shown in the diagram.
Questions:
A. Did Seaweed make an error under rule 28.1 at the finishing line?
B. Has Seaweed corrected any error made at the finishing line under rule 28.1?
C. Has Seaweed finished in accordance with the definition of finish?
D. What should the Race Committee do?
more »
R/C Assist
Posted 1 day, 8 hours ago by Proper Course
Check out the latest iPhone app for sailors. R/C Assist is a tool for race committees which provides complete countdown timer functionality for several of the most common starting sequences used in sailboat racing. It allows your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to start the races completely with sounds broadcast through an amplifier, or to help your race committee time start sequences and use the proper flags and sound symbols at the correct time. See the support page for full details.
You may remember that back in 2008 I nominated the ubiquitous Ollie Box starting system as the Best Sailing Innovation Ever. I wonder if R/C Assist will be as successful. It's certainly a lot cheaper at $4.99.
Check it out. And by the way the creator of this nifty little tool is B.J. Porter who writes the sailing blog Sail Evenstar.
more »
Azzurra delivers stand-out performance on opening day
Posted 2 days, 14 hours ago by Sail Karma
Azzurra, the Italian boat with the old name and the young crew, defeated Britain’s TEAMORIGIN in the closest of four hard-fought races on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland.
© Bob Grieser/outsideimages.co.nz Louis Vuitton Trophy
Italian skipper and helmsman Francesco Bruni snatched a victory from Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie at the first weather mark of their race as their boats rounded the mark overlapped. Sailing above the mark, Ainslie tried to luff his opponent only to see the Italian execute a swift spinnaker set, sail clear and go on to win.
“Azzurra sailed a good race today, they seem to have a knack of overtaking us which is getting very frustrating!” Ainslie said. “We were fully in contention at the top mark and tried to hold them up, we were unfortunately set up for a gybe set and they were set up for a straight hoist which allowed them to gain some distance.”
In their efforts to stay on schedule, the race committee spent a long first day on the water. In the morning, cloudy skies killed any chance of a sea breeze developing and delayed racing. The Rangitoto Channel entrance to Auckland Harbour was so glassy at late morning that Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio joked that it appeared to have been paved.
The long wait for wind ended at 2:45pm as the first pair started on the Blue Course at the mouth of the channel between Rangitoto Island and the Takapuna cliffs. The breeze was five to seven knots from the northwest. After a second race in similar conditions, the breeze switched to the south for the third race inside the harbour. The last race didn’t start until 7:10pm and finished after sunset just before 8:00pm
Race One: All4One def. Mascalzone Latino Audi Sailing Team, 00:44 – In the draw last night, the German/French boat All4One chose the starboard entry for the start and they protected the right side in the pre-start today. They split before the gun with All4One going out to the right on port tack, while Mascalzone Latino Audi enjoyed an early lead on starboard. All4One skipper and strategist Jochen Schümann said a man up the mast had spotted wind out to the right and they chose to concede an early lead to reach the stronger pressure. All4One eventually tacked to starboard to cover and Gavin Brady steering the Italian boat initiated a tacking duel. However Sébastien Col on the helm of All4One had already worked out to a controlling lead on the right that he never relinquished.
Race Two: Azzurra def. TEAMORIGIN, 00:53 – Great Britain’s TEAMORIGIN enjoyed the starboard entry in its match against Italy’s Azzurra and used it to advantage in a dialup that took both boats well above the line before they sailed back with Ben Ainslie on the British boat chasing Italian Francesco Bruni. Ainslie grabbed the right as they split away at the gun but Bruni kept it close and when they crossed for the first time Ainslie on starboard came down and hunted the Italian who tacked close to leeward and forced the British boat away. It happened again before they came into the weather mark overlapped, with Ainslie holding his opponent out from rounding. They tacked above the mark and the British boat luffed the Italian until Bruni capitalized on a miscommunication on Ainslie’s boat. Bruni was first to set a spinnaker and rolled over TEAMORIGIN forcing the British boat to gybe away. From there the Italians controlled the next three legs, finishing with a comfortable 53 second margin.
Race Three: Emirates Team New Zealand def. Artemis, 01:40 – Dean Barker overcame the handicap of a port entry in the pre-start to grab the right side of the course off the start line. Strong outgoing current and shifty breezes played a major role as Terry Hutchinson steering Artemis took the fight to Emirates Team New Zealand but trailed by 55 seconds at the weather mark. Artemis came charging back on the run to close within 12 seconds at the leeward gate but then lost ground in lighter air under North Head. The Kiwis extended to win comfortably.
Race Four: ALEPH Sailing Team def. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 03:26 – The Russian boat steered by Karol Jablonski dominated Bertrand Pacé’s French entry in the pre-start only to see ALEPH wriggle clear and lead by three boat lengths at the gun. Jablonski kept it very close, pressuring Pacé on the first beat and was only 11 seconds astern at the top mark. As the sun set over the Auckland City skyline it was also sunset for the Russians as they ran over their spinnaker at the leeward mark. The French sailed away to a comfortable victory.
LIVE Sport Sailing 103.0 FM is featuring all-day live coverage of the Louis Vuitton Trophy. On television, during the seven days of the round robin, TVNZ is carrying nightly reports on its sports news. From March 16, during the elimination rounds, TVNZ will feature nightly half-hour reports. For the finals on 20th and 21st March there will be live coverage of the racing from noon to 4:00pm.
Live streaming web coverage of the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland is available on the event website, www.louisvuittontrophy.com. The official site (in English, French, Italian and Russian) is also rich in team content, as well as features, audio, video and images.http://www.sailkarma.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss more »
Comienzo en Auckland del Louis Vuitton Trophy, Azurra bate a Team Origin. Triunfos también para All4One, Aleph Sailing y ETNZ
Posted 2 days, 15 hours ago by Juanpa Cadario
Foto copyright Paul Todd/outsideimages.com.nz
Fuente info LVT
09 Mar, 2010
Azzurra delivers stand-out performance on opening day
Azzurra, the Italian boat with the old name and the young crew, defeated Britain’s TEAMORIGIN in the closest of four hard-fought races on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland.
Italian skipper and helmsman Francesco Bruni snatched a victory from Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie at the first weather mark of their race as their boats rounded the mark overlapped. Sailing above the mark, Ainslie tried to luff his opponent only to see the Italian execute a swift spinnaker set, sail clear and go on to win.
“Azzurra sailed a good race today, they seem to have a knack of overtaking us which is getting very frustrating!” Ainslie said. “We were fully in contention at the top mark and tried to hold them up, we were unfortunately set up for a gybe set and they were set up for a straight hoist which allowed them to gain some distance.”
In their efforts to stay on schedule, the race committee spent a long first day on the water. In the morning, cloudy skies killed any chance of a sea breeze developing and delayed racing. The Rangitoto Channel entrance to Auckland Harbour was so glassy at late morning that Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio joked that it appeared to have been paved.
The long wait for wind ended at 2:45pm as the first pair started on the Blue Course at the mouth of the channel between Rangitoto Island and the Takapuna cliffs. The breeze was five to seven knots from the northwest. After a second race in similar conditions, the breeze switched to the south for the third race inside the harbour. The last race didn’t start until 7:10pm and finished after sunset just before 8:00pm
Race One: All4One def. Mascalzone Latino Audi Sailing Team, 00:44 – In the draw last night, the German/French boat All4One chose the starboard entry for the start and they protected the right side in the pre-start today. They split before the gun with All4One going out to the right on port tack, while Mascalzone Latino Audi enjoyed an early lead on starboard. All4One skipper and strategist Jochen Schümann said a man up the mast had spotted wind out to the right and they chose to concede an early lead to reach the stronger pressure. All4One eventually tacked to starboard to cover and Gavin Brady steering the Italian boat initiated a tacking duel. However Sébastien Col on the helm of All4One had already worked out to a controlling lead on the right that he never relinquished.
Race Two: Azzurra def. TEAMORIGIN, 00:53 – Great Britain’s TEAMORIGIN enjoyed the starboard entry in its match against Italy’s Azzurra and used it to advantage in a dialup that took both boats well above the line before they sailed back with Ben Ainslie on the British boat chasing Italian Francesco Bruni. Ainslie grabbed the right as they split away at the gun but Bruni kept it close and when they crossed for the first time Ainslie on starboard came down and hunted the Italian who tacked close to leeward and forced the British boat away. It happened again before they came into the weather mark overlapped, with Ainslie holding his opponent out from rounding. They tacked above the mark and the British boat luffed the Italian until Bruni capitalized on a miscommunication on Ainslie’s boat. Bruni was first to set a spinnaker and rolled over TEAMORIGIN forcing the British boat to gybe away. From there the Italians controlled the next three legs, finishing with a comfortable 53 second margin.
Race Three: Emirates Team New Zealand def. Artemis, 01:40 – Dean Barker overcame the handicap of a port entry in the pre-start to grab the right side of the course off the start line. Strong outgoing current and shifty breezes played a major role as Terry Hutchinson steering Artemis took the fight to Emirates Team New Zealand but trailed by 55 seconds at the weather mark. Artemis came charging back on the run to close within 12 seconds at the leeward gate but then lost ground in lighter air under North Head. The Kiwis extended to win comfortably.
Race Four: ALEPH Sailing Team def. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 03:26 – The Russian boat steered by Karol Jablonski dominated Bertrand Pacé’s French entry in the pre-start only to see ALEPH wriggle clear and lead by three boat lengths at the gun. Jablonski kept it very close, pressuring Pacé on the first beat and was only 11 seconds astern at the top mark. As the sun set over the Auckland City skyline it was also sunset for the Russians as they ran over their spinnaker at the leeward mark. The French sailed away to a comfortable victory. more »
Azzurra delivers stand-out performance on opening day of LV Auckland
Posted 2 days, 20 hours ago by Valencia Sailing
[Source: Louis Vuitton Trophy] Azzurra, the Italian boat with the old name and the young crew, defeated Britain’s TEAMORIGIN in the closest of four hard-fought races on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland.
Italian skipper and helmsman Francesco Bruni snatched a victory from Britain’s three-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie at the first weather mark of their race as their boats rounded the mark overlapped. Sailing above the mark, Ainslie tried to luff his opponent only to see the Italian execute a swift spinnaker set, sail clear and go on to win.
“Azzurra sailed a good race today, they seem to have a knack of overtaking us which is getting very frustrating!” Ainslie said. “We were fully in contention at the top mark and tried to hold them up, we were unfortunately set up for a gybe set and they were set up for a straight hoist which allowed them to gain some distance.”
In their efforts to stay on schedule, the race committee spent a long first day on the water. In the morning, cloudy skies killed any chance of a sea breeze developing and delayed racing. The Rangitoto Channel entrance to Auckland Harbour was so glassy at late morning that Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio joked that it appeared to have been paved.
The long wait for wind ended at 2:45pm as the first pair started on the Blue Course at the mouth of the channel between Rangitoto Island and the Takapuna cliffs. The breeze was five to seven knots from the northwest. After a second race in similar conditions, the breeze switched to the south for the third race inside the harbour. The last race didn’t start until 7:10pm and finished after sunset just before 8:00pm
Race One: All4One def. Mascalzone Latino Audi Sailing Team, 00:44 – In the draw last night, the German/French boat All4One chose the starboard entry for the start and they protected the right side in the pre-start today. They split before the gun with All4One going out to the right on port tack, while Mascalzone Latino Audi enjoyed an early lead on starboard. All4One skipper and strategist Jochen Schümann said a man up the mast had spotted wind out to the right and they chose to concede an early lead to reach the stronger pressure. All4One eventually tacked to starboard to cover and Gavin Brady steering the Italian boat initiated a tacking duel. However Sébastien Col on the helm of All4One had already worked out to a controlling lead on the right that he never relinquished.
ALL4One beats Mascalzone. Auckland, 9 March 2010. Photo copyright Paul Todd/outsideimages.co.nz
Race Two: Azzurra def. TEAMORIGIN, 00:53N – Great Britain’s TEAMORIGI enjoyed the starboard entry in its match against Italy’s Azzurra and used it to advantage in a dialup that took both boats well above the line before they sailed back with Ben Ainslie on the British boat chasing Italian Francesco Bruni. Ainslie grabbed the right as they split away at the gun but Bruni kept it close and when they crossed for the first time Ainslie on starboard came down and hunted the Italian who tacked close to leeward and forced the British boat away. It happened again before they came into the weather mark overlapped, with Ainslie holding his opponent out from rounding. They tacked above the mark and the British boat luffed the Italian until Bruni capitalized on a miscommunication on Ainslie’s boat. Bruni was first to set a spinnaker and rolled over TEAMORIGIN forcing the British boat to gybe away. From there the Italians controlled the next three legs, finishing with a comfortable 53 second margin.
Azzurra beats Team Origin. Auckland, 9 March 2010. Photo copyight Ian Roman / Team Origin
Race Three: Emirates Team New Zealand def. Artemis, 01:40 – Dean Barker overcame the handicap of a port entry in the pre-start to grab the right side of the course off the start line. Strong outgoing current and shifty breezes played a major role as Terry Hutchinson steering Artemis took the fight to Emirates Team New Zealand but trailed by 55 seconds at the weather mark. Artemis came charging back on the run to close within 12 seconds at the leeward gate but then lost ground in lighter air under North Head. The Kiwis extended to win comfortably.
Race Four: ALEPH Sailing Team def. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 03:26 – The Russian boat steered by Karol Jablonski dominated Bertrand Pacé’s French entry in the pre-start only to see ALEPH wriggle clear and lead by three boat lengths at the gun. Jablonski kept it very close, pressuring Pacé on the first beat and was only 11 seconds astern at the top mark. As the sun set over the Auckland City skyline it was also sunset for the Russians as they ran over their spinnaker at the leeward mark. The French sailed away to a comfortable victory. more »
LiveSport Telecom New Zealand Women's Match Racing : Katie Pellew wins championship
Posted 4 days, 6 hours ago by BYM Sailing News
Australian Katie Pellew (nee Spithill) won the one and only race in the finals against rival and fellow Australian Nicky Souter to win the LIVESPORT TELECOM New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championships. The Race Committee was unable to complete ... more »
ISAF Q&A 2010 - 010 | SAILORS, this one is for you!
Posted 6 days, 6 hours ago by Look To Windward
This ISAF Q&A 2010-010 is something EVERY sailor , who's ever been or will be in a regatta where the race committee is posting OCS - boats at the windward mark, should read. It can make the difference between getting a place in the race or being scored points as DNF or OCS.
Even if you successfully request redress in which you can prove that your boat was not OCS, the wording in the sailing instructions can make a BIG difference. That is because getting a result does not depend solely on the fact that you must convince the PC that the Race Committee made a mistake, it also depends on what you did (or did not do).
Most sailors seeing there number posted at the windward mark will leave the race. That is normal practice. That is what is expected, they claim:"If I don't do it I will get a DNE!"
It all depends on the wording in the sailing instructions. Posting numbers is not something that is written in the rulebook. There is a guideline how to do it in Instruction 14.6 of Appendix LE (Expanded Sailing Instruction Guide available at the ISAF website) and normally restricted to a boat that failed to start or has broken rule 30.3, where a clause requiring such boats to retire immediately is included in the sailing instructions.
But if that clause is written badly and does not place an obligation on boats to leave you MUST not leave the course and should finish the race. If you don't finish the race, redress cannot be granted because it is partly you own fault that you did not.
Here's the link to the Q&A: ISAF Q&A 2010-010
I suggest you have look.
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more »
Geographe Bay Race Week Day 5 - Delayed Action
Posted 13 days, 19 hours ago by Sail World Australia
It was a tough day for the race committee today, with a postponement and late start for all fleets. more »
Geographe Bay Race Week Day 5 - Delayed Action
Posted 13 days, 22 hours ago by Sail World UK
It was a tough day for the race committee today, with a postponement and late start for all fleets. more »
North Sails 2010 International 420 Class NZ National Championships
Posted 14 days, 8 hours ago by Sail World UK
Day One of the 420 Class Nationals being held off Murrays Bay was a frustrating one for the Race Committee more »
ISAF Jury Report Website
Posted 14 days, 10 hours ago by Look To Windward
The communication between Protest-Committees / Juries in different events has been difficult at best. Only a few issues ever get discussed on a wider scale. Mostly it is the individual panels who have to decide the problems as best as they can.
A few bigger events - particularly World Cup events - have the luxury of a large group of IJs, NJs, IUs and NUs who can discuss issues, they have encountered in the past.
It is however expected that every IJ and IU hands in a report to the ISAF about an event he or she has attended. These reports are not only used to assist the ROC in finding difficulties with individual ROs, but also to have some feedback from the actual events under the ISAF-umbrella.
Since a couple of years excerpts of these Jury Reports are published on the Internet: ISAF JURY REPORT.
And instead of sending in a paper you can fill in the public sheet of the ISAF IJ Report directly on-line.
Every report is checked by the site-administrator (IJ-Report Editor) and a member of the International Judges Sub Committee before it is posted on-line. The site is also used to create a database with the numbers. (So and so many Request
for Redress for OCS, or total number of hearings, etc.)
Example: From 2010 Rolex Miami OCR:
Judges were split on the new definition of party: does this new definition allow a jury to make a boat that may be affected by a redress decision a party to the hearing, when the jury is not considering redress for this boat?
Requirement for the three highest-ranked boats to wear coloured bibs: one team requested to be exempted from this requirement because of an existing contract with a team sponsor.
There were difficulties in some hearings to get in due time the race committee staff involved in the situation in question.
Too many support boats were not properly identified with national letters. The requirement for coach boats to stay clear of the starting line and its extensions was not popular but we believe this should be applied in all other Sailing World Cup regattas. The course designation based on the number of beats to windward to be sailed should be a standard. When three fleets are racing simultaneously on a trapezoid course the race committee decided to start them on an Outer-Inner-Inner sequence and this caused delays.
If you want to know what is happening at events and what special issues the Juries encounter, have a browse trough the reports. At least it is a glimpse into the IJ-world.
By clicking on the text on the front page you get specific information and wich officials attended.
In case you want to keep up-to-date on the latest, (at least those of you who are using Google-reader) fill in this in your RSS reader: http://www.ijreport.org/ Google feed. This is a new feature of Google-Reader: You can track any changes to a website by letting Google create a feed for it
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more »
2010 Melges 24 North American Championship: Rochester Prepares A Warm Welcome As Notice Of Race & Online Entry Go Live
Posted 16 days, 9 hours ago by Melges 24
Rochester, NY, USA – It may be cold in Florida but things are heating up at the Rochester Yacht Club, host of the 2010 Melges 24 North American Championship taking place from 20-26 September. Established in 1877 the Rochester Yacht Club prides itself on an excellent race committee, a great clubhouse and wonderful facilities and grounds [...] more »
RC 44 Maktoum Trophy
Posted 17 days, 21 hours ago by Sail Karma
Report by Paul Cayard
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Photo by Sander van der Borch
Today was a practice day here in Dubai and we had 15-17 knots of wind with 1-2 meter seas. A breeze known as a "Shamal" blew in increasing the wind strength from the normal 8-10 knot thermal breezes we usually experience here.
While all the teams went out training today, there wasn't a lot of aggressive match racing practice going on as the conditions were a bit much for that and tomorrow is the first race day.
The format for 2010 has changed just a bit in that the first two days of the RC 44 events will comprise match racing, the third day will be a make up day for match racing and/or the fleet racing practice race. Then the final three days will be the fleet race portion. This new format gives the organizers a better chance to get a good match racing event in, even if faced with difficult conditions such as what we experienced here last November.
Last week the Artemis Louis Vuitton Trophy team....17 crew members....trained on two RC 44s, Katusha and Artemis for five days. The conditions were excellent with 8-11 knot winds almost every day and plenty of sun. We had an excellent organization with two top umpires, a coach and a race committee. By setting up drills that put the boats into critical race situations, as well as running real races, we got into more race situations each day than we would normally get into over an entire regatta. Having the umpires and coaches allowed us to debrief the situations, with video, and really learn the best way to manage these situations on the race course and the rules that apply. It was also a nice team building exercise for team Artemis.
Next stop for the Louis Vuitton Trophy team is Auckland from March 9-21.
For now, Katusha and Artemis are concentrating on the Maktoum Trophy here in Dubai through Saturday.
Cayard Sailing Websitehttp://www.sailkarma.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss more »
Ecklund Leads Audi Melges 20 Winter Series Event No. 2
Posted 18 days, 9 hours ago by Sail Karma
Joy Dunigan
February 20, 2010 (Miami, Fla.) - It was a day of racing that almost wasn’t. Just before three o’clock today, PRO Bruce Golison and his very skilled race committee fired off 2 races to commence the 2010 Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series Event No. 2, hosted by Coconut Grove Sailing Club, supported by Shake-A-Leg Miami and Melges Performance Sailboats. Around 2:30 p.m., the breeze just didn’t appear to be filling in, Golison then registered 4.4 knots (meeting the class minimum breeze limit) at the weather boat. Abundant sunshine accompanied the very light, fickle breeze with seventy-degree temperatures.
The fleet was just itching to go and becoming impatient. With the sound of Golison’s air horn the fleet assembled for the first start. A Course 4 and bearing of 155, the start was clean with series leader Jeff Ecklund (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on STAR, Eric Wynsma (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) on Superfly and Rob Wilber (Stony Creek, Conn.) on Cinghiale heading left for pressure. Wynsma was strong rounding the weathermark in first, Ecklund in second and fleet newcomer John Lucas (Charleston, S.C.) on I-14 in third. By the final downwind leg of the race, Wynsma was ahead by a substantial margin with Ecklund jibing out for clean air and pressure in hopes of taking the win. Wynsma beat him to the line by a couple of boat lengths despite Ecklund making good progress taking a firm second place. Wilber was third.
Race 2 of the day was started almost immediately with Ecklund hammering the fleet with some nice speed and smooth boat handling for the win. Onboard with Ecklund is tactician Harry Melges and Bar Batzer of Morning Light fame. "I really pay attention to the angle of heel. It's everything. Keeping the boat flat is key. By doing so, I can feel the energy of the boat going forward. I watch the front end of the kite too for indications of what to do before it even happens. All this is especially important in conditions like today," said Ecklund during the post-race press conference/tech-talk. Out front early, off the start and around the mark in first was Erik Post (Winnetka, Ill.) on Via Con Dios. Post had a spectacular race, edging Ecklund for the lead up until the last upwind leg. The two rounded almost simultaneously, going to opposite gates. Ecklund looked right for and advantage and took the lead. Michael Kiss (Macatawa Bay, Mich.) on Bacio had a great race place coming from behind to take the second place position from Post who eventually settled for third. Well-known A Scow sailor Joel 'Rock Star' Ronning (Excelsior, Minn.) on Catapult took fourth and Mary Anne Ward (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) on M&M Sailing rounded out the top five.
On the way in, Audi Melges 20 manufacturer Melges Performance Sailboats made sure the fleet had plenty of beer in hand for the drive back AND more waiting at the docks when they arrived.
Melges’ Andy Burdick also conducted a very informative question and answer session. The conversation involved the only lady helm in the fleet, Ward and her tactician Sam Rogers, Ecklund, Melges and Wally Cross, tactician for Wynsma. For almost an hour the fleet listened closely as Melges and Cross divulged their rig and tune set-up secrets of the day, while the helms discussed where their comfort levels were while racing in conditions as tough and challenging as the ones witnessed today.
For Sunday, the fleet will be on its feet bright and early as the on-the-water excitement will start an hour earlier than previously scheduled.
TOP TEN RESULTS (After two races)
1.) Jeff Ecklund, STAR; 2-1 = 3
2.) Eric Wynsma, Superfly; 1-7 = 8
3.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 9-2 = 11
4.) Mary Anne Ward, M&M Sailing Team; 7-5 = 12
5.) Erik Post, Via Con Dios; 11-3 = 14
6.) Robert Wilber, Cinghiale; 3-11 = 14
7.) Joel Ronning, USA-148; 10-4 = 14
8.) John Lucas, I-14; 4-10 = 14
9.) David Hammett, Simplified Sophistication; 8-8 = 16
10.) John Arendhorst, Blink; 12-6 = 18http://www.sailkarma.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss more »
Audi Melges 20: Ecklund leads Miami Winter Series Event
Posted 18 days, 16 hours ago by BYM Sailing News
It was a day of racing that almost wasn’t. Just before three o’clock today, PRO Bruce Golison and his very skilled race committee fired off 2 races to commence the 2010 Audi Melges 20 Miami Winter Series Event No. ... more »
2010 InterClub Midwinters
Posted 20 days, 13 hours ago by Sailing World Blogs
2010 InterClub Midwinter Championships The InterClub Midwinter Championships has a reputation for being one of the more entertaining, and brutally cold, events of the east coast winter racing circuit. This year’s event, held over the weekend of January 30 and 31 at the Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD, was no exception! With temperatures never reaching above freezing for the entire weekend, and six inches of snow accumulation on Saturday, the 2010 Midwinters was definitely a test of endurance for the 19 teams that competed. Brendan Healy was there, reporting for CompleteSailor.com, and sailing in his first ever InterClub event. The InterClub Midwinters is organized very similar to a college or high school sailing event, with an A and B division, combining their individual scores for an overall total. At this particular regatta, each division completed between two and four races before returning to the docks to rotate, allowing plenty of time for their teammates to put on more sailing gear, and to escape the snow and brutal cold for some complementary chili, pasta, or Soco-coca offered by SSA throughout the weekend. Teams from up and down the east coast, hailing from between North Carolina and Maine gathered for this year’s edition of the event. A total of 18 races were sailed throughout the weekend with breeze ranging between five and eight knots on both days. Saturday was sailed in near white-out conditions, with many competitors sporting ski goggles, full spray gear, and dry suits to get through the blizzard. Sunday, with sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures, was a much more pleasant day, despite the fact that competitors arrived to a frozen Annapolis harbor, and had to spend much of the morning chipping ice and snow from their boats, while the race committee was forced to postpone ashore in order to allow time to clear a path through the ice. Team Vineyard Vines, with John and Molly Baxter sailing A-division and Danny Pletsch, with crew, Megan Magill in B-division, dominated the regatta, winning both divisions and finishing 33 points ahead of their nearest competitors. For somebody who is new to the InterClub, I found the one-sail-wonder to be quite a challenge. The boat is much more “tweaky” than I originally had thought, with a very flexible rig, adjustable forestay, and mast chalks. In addition to sailing the boat for the first time, a good amount of our team’s focus was on keeping rock salt in the boat to prevent the snow and water from freezing, an inside tip gained from our Rochester, NY friends who sail these boats on a regular basis. For those who know how to set the boat up correctly and tune it however, the IC is a great boat to sail. Overall, the regatta was a great experience. The Severn Sailing Association provided an unbelievable dinner on Saturday night and refreshments and cocktails both during and after sailing to keep the competitors warm. The IC fleet is one of the most generous and friendly groups of people that I have ever had the pleasure of sailing with. I can guarantee that I will be back next year in a search of redemption. Complete results from the InterClub Midwinters are available on their homepage. more »
America's Cup Mutiny
Posted 22 days, 9 hours ago by Sail Karma
[Source http://www.nzherald.co.nz/] Photo NZ yachting official Harold Bennett. AP
New Zealand yachting official Harold Bennett faced extreme pressure as principal race officer in the America's Cup this week, as former Cup holders Alinghi tried to exert their influence.
It is understood the race committee, comprising members of Alinghi's representative yacht club, the Societe Nautique de Geneve, staged a mutiny before the start of the second race to prevent it from going ahead.
The start was delayed for four hours while officials waited for the wind to pick up. With the cut-off for the start looming, Bennett ordered the postponement flag down around 4pm local time, but the race committee refused.
It is believed SNG's race committee did not want to start the race, claiming the waves were in excess of 1m - Alinghi's sea state tolerance.
In an email to yachting colleagues yesterday, Bennett described the behaviour.
"I have never seen such disgraceful behaviour on a committee boat, trying to influence the PRO [principal race officer] to the point of ordering me to stop the [start] sequence," wrote Bennett.
Unwilling to back down, Bennett called on the help of Oracle's representative on his committee boat, Tom Ehman, plus a support boat driver who is also a qualified umpire, to run the start sequence. The race eventually began just five minutes before the deadline.
Oracle went on to claim their second straight win to snatch the Cup from the Swiss.
Monday was the last day a race could be run before several days of strong wind and dirty weather struck Valencia. Had the race failed to get under way it is likely the America's Cup would still be on hold.
Bennett, a highly experienced yachting official, was clearly furious about the attempted interference from the SNG and said he would have made a lot more of the situation had Oracle not wrapped up the best-of-three series on Monday.
"I can tell you if we had further races to do, those guys would have been left ashore and I would have picked up some more of my Spanish mates to do the start."
Before the regatta, both Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing lobbied strongly to ensure the 33rd America's Cup would be raced in conditions that favoured their respective monster multihulls.
By Dana Johannsenhttp://www.sailkarma.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss more »
JJ Giltinan Championship: Race 3 abandoned
Posted 23 days, 4 hours ago by Yachte.com.au
Race 3 of the JJ Giltinan Championship on Sydney Harbour was postponed when conditions were rules as not suitable for racing by the Race Committee.
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JJ Giltinan Championship: Race 3 abandoned
Posted 23 days, 4 hours ago by Yachte.com.au
Race 3 of the JJ Giltinan Championship on Sydney Harbour was postponed when conditions were rules as not suitable for racing by the Race Committee.
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ISAF Q&A 2010 – 007, 008 & 009
Posted 23 days, 17 hours ago by Look To Windward
Again a triplet from the ISAF Racing Rules Q&A panel. For one thing you can’t say they are not active. With the publication of the new rules cycle 2009-2012 in total now 41 + 9 = 50 Q&A’s have been published, on top of the 20 from previous years. The smart thing to do is to download the most recent Racing Rules Q&A booklet (20100215). That way you have all the pertinent information in one place. The new Q&A’s published on the Website are: ISAF Racing Rules Q&A 2010 – 007 about national prescriptions not complying with rule 86.1(a) and therefore does not validly deny the right of appeal. This Q&A makes it clear that it is not so easy to deny appeal rights to competitors. The OA or even an MNA might want to do this for the sake of simplicity or for any other reason, but they better make doubly sure they do it the correct way. A sentence in a national rules book as prescription does not comply. The only sure way is to get an International Jury to the event. ISAF Racing Rules Q&A 2010 – 008 is about redress when boats get entangled with marks. From the answer: For a boat that gets entangled in a mark’s ground tackle to be entitled to redress under rule 62.1(a), there must first be an improper action or omission by the race committee. This will be so only if there is a risk of entanglement that boats could not reasonably be expected to anticipate and the race committee could clearly have done something different that would have avoided or substantially reduced this risk. ISAF Racing Rules Q&A 2010 – 009 about the finishing mark and rules 18.2 and 18.5. In short; a finishing mark is not different from any other mark with regards to rules 18.2 & 18.5. You have mark-room depending how the zone is entered and you’ll be exonerated for breaking a rule in Section A. The fact that you can sail another course to also reach the finish line, does not in itself switch rules 18.2 or 18.5 off. About the Q&A’s: Unlike the ISAF Cases, which are authoritative interpretations and explanations of the rules, these answers are solely to assist Race Officials in applying the rules consistently. International Race Officials who would like to submit a question to the Q&A Service should do so via email to the ISAF . more »
