200621 report

Day Two Auckland Champs Sailors ReportI woke to rain on the roof but the day had feeling like there was going to be some wind pressure :) I got a prime park in the car park and then headed off for a walk around the suburbs. By the time i got back the car park was full of action and sailors on the water practicing and the drizzle had just cleared

Day Two, Race Five, Heat 1 and we were off with a southerly cross lake breeze all walking up and down the car park again. I was lined up 2 metres out, five seconds to go, perfect, then I was shunted up the arse and pushed across the line as the gun went... As I sailed up the course I heard a couple of spectators say I was over followed by a distance call a bit later from the RO "01" "01" ? Ten was in this race and I was not "01" and really wanted the practice so I carried on up the race track testing my speed against the top boats.

A good tight race and I crossed the line 1st. I had great speed with just a slight change to my RNB Sail Shapes today.

A great start to day two :)

I threw the boat in the truck, put on the observer jacket, and grabbed a pad and started observed for contacts in the next heat.

After that heat I checked the board and was not surprised to see I had been OCS. (over the start) I challenged the RO for an incorrect sail number call as i was "1" which did not go down well to say the least...E3.8 Individual RecallIn rule 29.1 replace all after ‘the race committee shall promptly’ with ‘twice hail "Recall (sail numbers)"’.From contests like this I try and learn as much as possible.

We had two international umpires, one at the top mark and one at the bottom. It made for a very different dynamic and very little was being said by the normal bullies at the marks which is very, very unusual. If you did not do your turn as soon as practical, the umpire would tell you to do two turns on the spot. I learnt heaps from them this weekend. Mega thanks to them for volunteering for the whole weekend. Really, really, Appreciated.

With only 4 races completed Saturday, time was now against us to get as many races as possible on Sunday.

The next race was generally being started as the last boat finished on Heats One and Two.

When Heat three finished the results needed to be finalized,

so you could see if you are in the next race Heat One of the next race. (watch the board closely and be ready to sail !)

We stopped for Lunch and while we ate,

the RO splitting the Fleets into

Gold (top 12) Silver (middle 12) and Bronze (final 11)

The RO called a briefing and asked if we preferred to have Bronze, Silver, then Gold, so the last race of the day would be the premier race, We agreed and did one set of a race.

However the computer program did not expect this and put racing people as observers of their own race

so in the presiding races we revered back to Gold, Silver, then Bronze and the software caught back up after one more race.

In the Gold Fleet racing starts were a lot easier with everyone lining back from the start line and all running in parallel on starboard giving each other room for a speedy clean starts.

I really enjoyed the Sunday afternoon session with the good tight racing between all the top boats.

Wattle Farm cross lake breeze was still interesting.

The Left had the high tack which generally got higher towards the top mark so the left was always the shortest distance to the top.

However the Right always had more breeze, you were a lot faster out there.

"Sometimes" there was a vane out to the right in the top 1/3 of the course which "might" let you beat back across to the top mark.

With this lefty, most of us approached the top mark on Port it should have been messy, however this weekend it worked... was it the Umpires watching? The top mark was nice and close (not a eye sight test this weekend) So a port approach within four boat lengths seemed to work with minimal incidents happened this weekend..

(I never recommend a port approach inside four boat lengths, it's Really Messy !)

Ian V had the day wrapped up with one race to go and the rest of us were fighting it out for the minor places.

A wrap was called at 3.30pm and then prize giving with many thanks was given to all the officials who worked all weekend behind the scenes to make this event happen. Mega thanks everyone

We had a question / answer session with the umpires after prize giving.

They can only call mark contact, boat contact and gross misconduct. (Smashing in on port at the top mark or barging on the start-line)

The rest is up to us to make the protest call.

E5.2 Informing the Protestee

In rule 61.1(a) replace all after the first sentence with ‘When her protest concerns an incident in the racing area that she is involved in or sees,

she shall twice hail "(Her own sail number) protest (the sail number of the other boat)".’

Then the umpires can get involved and make a determination on your protest request.

If you don't follow there determination as soon as practical, they can dish out a further penalty.

I asked a question which myself and John Mc have been discussing for a while.

What is the definition of "Seaman Like Round " when you have a buoy room at the bottom mark.

18 ROUNDING AND PASSING MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONS

In rule 18, room is room for an inside boat to round or pass between an outside boat and a mark or obstruction, including room to tack or gybe when either is a normal part of the manoeuvre.

CASE 103

The phrase ‘seamanlike way’ in the definition Room refers to boat-handling that can reasonably

be expected from a competent, but not expert, crew of the appropriate number for the boat.

These Umpire's Answer was the inside boat had to do a tight parabolic curve. The outer boat has a shallower parabolic curve as he enters wider in and exits wider out.

Other Words they said, how you would round if there were no other boats present, a normal expected rounding.

(not super wide in to gain tight advantage out like a lot of us have been doing)

4.30pm I hit the road heading back to Tauranga. 5.30pm if got very dark with rain but luckly the rain soon cleared and the trip home was not too bad. 7.30pm Home, Tea, Bed. (clean up tomorrow :)

See ya all at the next one with a different personal sail number

Graham

X NZL 1

To Learn about Umpires Click Here on there Library

(Note 99.9% of us will only be ever be Observers (Calling Contacts or missing a Mark),

Umpires are highly trained and skilled in the rules and they can make a call on the water

E5.1. Observers

The race committee may appoint observers, who may be competitors.
Observers shall hail the sail numbers of boats that make contact with a mark or another boat and shall repeat the hail as appropriate.
At the end of a heat, observers shall report to the race committee all unresolved incidents, and any failure to sail the course as required by rule 28.

Umpiring has many advantages to traditional protest hearings:

• Quick decisions, while the boats are still racing

• Most penalties are one/two-turns, and therefore less than disqualification

• Competitors can play to the whistle

• We know the winner at the finish line

• No more protest hearings (normally)

• Language (or lack of it), is not a disadvantage for the competitors because they do not have to explain and describe the incidents.

• The presence of the umpires encourages rules compliance

Umpire can directly call Penalty when

Q4.1 When a boat

(a) breaks rule 31 and does not take a penalty, (Touching a mark )

(b) breaks rule 42, (Illegal propulsion)