Yesterday (5th May) was by far and away the warmest day so far this year for WS Racers sailing at Chipstead and we had sufficient wind for 12 entrants in Race # 2 to cover 6 laps of the course.  The Start  Line was between the Committee Boat and Mark C with the first leg being a beat into the SW breeze to the windward Mark K, which had been moved out into the lake to mitigate the effect of a possible wind shadow formed by the Clubhouse and high ground beside it.  Mark K was to be rounded to Starboard before starting the second leg which was a run to the downwind Mark B which was also to be rounded to Starboard. After gybing round Mark B, there was a reach across to complete the lap by tacking round Mark C.

Being only the second race of the 2016 season, it is not surprising that the procedure to START the Race still seemed to take many of the 303 and Liberty helms by surprise.  Well done to the 2.4s and Martin helms who were quickly over the start line, despite having to contend with the early leaders bearing down upon Mark C on a starboard tack.

Ed. We are planning to find time for a briefing before races to CONFIRM helms’ knowledge of the course (which will have been put up of the Clubhouse Race Board by 1030) and to answer any other questions about the Race, including the Starting Procedure.  Also, this week the  Race Control Boat was not stationary and this made matters difficult for all the helms to judge exactly the position of the Start Line. We plan to rectify this by either anchoring the Race Control Boat or using a clearly visible buoy as a Distance Marker . 

KEY LEARNING POINT #1: The first fleet class (303 Double Handed) to start are told by a WHISTLE BLAST EXACTLY 5,4 and 1 minutes before their start time. Therefore the helms should use that time to work out how long it will take them to sail the last, say, 50 meters to the START LINE and use that information to decide how many seconds BEFORE their KNOWN  start  time to start sailing along their chosen tack up to the Start Line.  The wind will change in strength and direction during those 5 minutes and that is part of the challenge. Ed. Next week please  experiment. Give it a go, instead of hanging back away from the Start Line and waiting for the boat in front of or beside you to make a move which you then follow. 

KEY LEARNING POINT #2: For  fleet classes 303 Single Handed and Liberty, all the helms need to REMEMBER (and then countdown) is the DELAY after the 303 Double Handed have started. That is 1 minute for  303 Single Handed and  2  minutes (or 3 mins for 40 minute races) for Liberty .  

KEY LEARNING POINT #3: The 2.4  and Martin Classes should stay well clear of the Start Line whilst the 303s and Liberty fleets start since 2.4  and Martin Classes, being delayed 7 and 8 mins after the Liberty start,  have their own 5-4-1 countdown.

Once all the boats got away, the course provided a tough sailing challenge, especially with the high number of boats racing and trying to round Marks at the same time, and also with the variable wind – both its direction, swinging between SE and SW, and its strength, from a lull to 15 knot squalls.  And, as can be seen from the schematic below, there was lots of catching up, overtaking and then being overtaken, going on throughout the 40 minute race. All in all everybody had a good day on the water and the standards already being set bode well for the season.

Final Result:

1. Peter G 2. Mike B 3. David 4.Kim 5. Ann 6.  Paul 7. Fay 8. Peter W 9. Mark 10. Bob 11. Brian 12. Steve

Last Thursday (28th April 2016) was a lovely sunny day with a keen wind blowing mainly along the length of the lake, initially from the NW and then backing through W to SW by the afternoon.  The wind was forecast to increase in strength  during the morning but although there was a gusty 10 – 12 knot wind blowing as the eight Racers jockeyed for position on the Start line, it had dropped to just 4 or 5 knots by the end of the race . The PY Handicapping system is used by WS Racing and this means that 303 Double Handed boats (Mark Cayzer and Fay  Watson plus their crews) get a one minute advantage over the 303 Single Handed boats, and the get a two minute advantage over Liberty (Brian Mac) and he got a seven minute advantage over the 2.4s (Peter Gregory and Peter Wagner).

A key learning point is to USE YOUR BOAT’S PY ADVANTAGE to the maximum by getting across the Start Line as soon as your Class is given the green light. Fay Watson was the first helm to cross the Start Line and she managed to gain over 200 yards over Mark Cayzer before he crossed the Start Line. (Ed. I later heard that many helms and crews could not hear the  Whistle or the Loudhailer – on the shore – over the flapping of sails, the slapping of waves on hulls., and the general hullabaloo.) 

Once racing, the 303 fleet made good use of the stiff breeze at the beginning of the race to get away promptly from the Start Line and make good progress around the first lap. This resulted in four 303s completing their first lap before the 2.4s had started! Nevertheless, as soon as the two Peters finally got the green light in their 2.4s they set to overhauling the slower Liberty and 303 fleets. Peter Gregory’s experience and sailing competence was quickly apparent as he carved this way through the 303 fleet not just once, to unwind their “lapping” him but twice as he eventually caught up the back markers and it was only on the last leg of the fourth lap that he finally vanquished Kim Sparkes in her 303 just before rounding Mark D and finishing. Peter Wagner has only sailed a 2.4 a few times and therefore it wasn’t surprising that he was not able to make as much use of the 2.4’s superior speed as Peter G had done. This meant that Kim and Steve held him off during the last lap forcing him into a hard fought 4th place. The other 303s and Brian all finished within a few minutes of the winner.

In summary, Race 1 was a great start to the season and allowed eight very eager and competent helms/crews to shake themselves down. The wind’s decrease in strength and variation of direction challenged all helms to ensure they were heading in the right direction between the Marks and to set their sails most effectively – and differently on every lap! All-in-all, an excellent performance by all involved.

The final result was: 1 Peter G; 2 Kim; 3 Steve; 4 Peter W; 5 Fay ; 6 Mark; 7 Bob; 8 Brian

As I mentioned in the Welcome to 2016 Season post to this website, we will continue this year offering WS Racers Training Sessions. We plan to start them  at 10.45 on alternate Thursdays to fit in with the revised Race Start time of 11.30. These are our initial ideas but PLEASE tell us when you see us or write YOUR comments and ideas below for subjects /skills which YOU would like to be covered.

As those of you who have been dinghy racing with WS Racing before will know, we start our races using a WHISTLE BLAST from the Committee Boat (or sometimes from the pontoon ashore).  We ensure that all the helms are clear where they are in the sequence of blasts by shouting out after each blast (and giving the information if asked directly by a helm/crew).

The final start time between each Class’ Start Position is determined by using the  handicapping system called the Portsmouth Yardstick (PY).  The PY for each Class of boat is calculated by some clever folk who look at the measurements of each Class and then decide how much faster/slower each Class travels through the water – all things being equal (e.g. wind strength, ability of helm, condition of boat).  The longer/shorter a pursuit race lasts also affects the calculation.

NB. 1) We will be treating the 303s with a helm AND a crew as Double Handed (=DH) and they will have the advantage of starting before 303s which are Single Handed (=SH). 2) If RS Venture or RS Stratos are racing then these Classes will Start two minutes AFTER the Martin.

Here is the Starting Sequence which WS Racing will be using in 2016 for a 35 Minute Race:

And for a 40 Minute Race: