Fellow racing sailors,
Jimmy Buffett brought out the largest racing fleet so far this year. The first week we had 5 boats, the 2nd 7 boats and this week’s 9 boats provided a beautiful sight on Lake Arthur that actually attracted some non-sailing boats as spectators. Thank you to all that participated. I hope you all had your cameras handy because there was a lot of opportunities for great pictures.
With 3 weeks in and 4 to go, Siren Song has taken a strong lead in the points race, followed closely by Hakuna Matata. Nimeve and Amelia Marie are also in close competition. We’re not quite half way through the season, so there’s still plenty of time to put a couple good performances together. Good luck.
The sky was mostly cloudy with light winds that were, although not great, the best this season. That was a great improvement from the first two races that challenged us with an abundance of dead spots. Luffing sails were disastrous to some finishing times, especially when at the start line. I’ve had a question about poor starts. To qualify for placement in the size classes all boats are placed as they cross the finish line. However, the handicap system is based on your time on the course. For those that don’t get off in a reasonable time at the start, whether because of late arrival, sitting in dead air, you don’t like being in the scrum at the start or the dog won’t let go of the mainsheet, please keep track of your own time in minutes and seconds. This exception is only for boats that legitimately have a late start. The goal of the hcp system is to keep every boat as equal as possible to encourage more participation.
I don’t keep track of clock time. I use a stop watch. It’s been a long standing tradition to call in our wristwatch times as we cross the finish line and I think it’s a fine idea. However, calculating times from clock times is difficult and what I actually need for the spreadsheet is minutes and seconds. So it’s important to call in your finish when you finish. If your radio is being temperamental, give a toot on your horn. I’ll know what it’s for. If you see someone finish without reporting in, give a shout out for them.
We have a new boat in our fleet this week, Sennie Ann skippered by Ben Loose. I hope to see you on the course often. Thank you for joining in. You may check out our guidelines and course layouts on our Lake Arthur Sailing Club Facebook page.
Got questions, feel free to email me at dmacd@zoominternet.net.
The results for this weeks race:
Dave MacDonald
LASC Racing Coordinator