Down the river race inRock Hall

[windwalker]

Never raced a sailboat, but have raced many other things, canoes, kayaks, motorcycles, mountainbikes, and a lot of running events. So I guess racing is sorta in my blood. Recently becoming the new owner of a DSII and seeing there is some somewhat local racing, my son and I are thinking about trying this just for fun. I sent the race guy an e-mail with no response. I'm pretty new to sailing, coming up to the DSII from a Phantom, but my son actually lives on a 32' just across the bay from Rock Hall and is quite the sailer. When ever I sail with him I always learn a lot.

Just wondering what is needed to sign up? The boat has numbers on the sail. What should I expect on race day? Do we need a spinnaker? Is this something I could sign up for the day of the race?

Any general info on how the day will go would be great.

Thanks, Mike

[jeadstx]

I race some. If you have other Day Sailers around they may let you race as a class. Some of the local races in my area require at least 3 of the same class boat to race as a class. Racing as a class does not require a handicap. If you are racing in a group of mixed class boats you will need a Portsmouth handicap. for the Day Sailer I and II that number is 98.5. They will need to know your sail number as well. Those are the two main things usually required (from my experience).

I'm sure some those that race more than I do will comment and correct anything I might say in error. Generally when you arrive on the course, you sail by the committee boat and call out your number to the race committee. Pay attention to the signals for the starting sequence (5 minute warning, 1 minute warning, start). If you go over the line early, you have to come back and restart. When the 5 minute warning sounds keep your boat close to the start line while trying to figure out which tack you want to be on when the start is sounded. First leg of the race will be into the wind. There are several course shapes, usually ellipses or triangles and can be one or two laps. The committee boat will display what type of course you are sailing. A lot is discussed at the pre race skippers meeting.

Before starting you (and the other boats) will maneuver behind the start line. Sailboat racing doesn't start from a standing still type start. You maneuver to get your best start.

If you don't have a spinnaker (I just installed the hardware on my DS II, but haven't used it yet), get a whisker pole so you can wing & wing on the downwind run. I race with several boats that don't have a spinnaker. If you like other forms of racing, you'll probably like sailboat racing as well. If you get to class race, a DS I is faster than a DS II in general. Most yacht clubs have free racing seminars for those that have not raced their boats before.

It has been my experience in racing my DS II to leave the outboard at home to reduce stern weight and to sail with you and your crew forward as much as possible. An easy addition you can do to your boat is to add barber in-haulers for the jib. There are a couple threads on the subject. It will help your boat point better. Hope this helps some.

John

[klb67]

John covered most of it. We run 3 starts usually, Flying Scots, Sunfish and Open and combine starts if less boats show up. Tell the committee boat you are new. I'll encourage you to refresh your memory on right of way rules dealing w other boats and also when rounding marks. But for me rule 1 when starting is don't hit anyone, even if you think you are right. Familiarize yourself with the type of courses and flags. My first few races I laid back at the start and followed the rest, watching what they did while staying out of their way. Most important, have fun whether you finish first or last.

[GreenLake]

Here's a link to the "Racing Rules of Sailing":.http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/ ... 2016Final-[13376].pdf (because it contains square brackets you need to cut&past it into your browser).

The "Definitions" and rules of "Part 2" are the most important (in the sense of most constantly needed), but you might poke your nose into part 3, because it talks about the race as a whole, including starting sequence.

Some details will be specified only in the notice of race or the sailing instructions for the race (or generalized sailing instructions for the series or club).