RACE COMMITTEE INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Equipment:  Pick up the race equipment (horns, tally sheet, megaphone, stopwatches, wind gauge, etc.) from INGLE/JOHNSON'S on Saturday. 

2.  Show-time:  Be on the course at approximately 9:15 am for the 10 am Race Start (8:15 for 9 am starts).   Ben and Peter will have already set out the race course.
3.  Set the Start Line:  The Committee Boat crew will attach to the WHITE buoy at the START line.  The start line is from a person on the front of the committee boat to the farther of the two orange buoys.

4.  Record Sail Numbers:  Record the sail numbers of all racers as they arrive on the race course.   

5. Mast Flotation:  All boats shall have mast-head flotation to race. 

6. Life Vests:  If wind speed recordings exceed 10mph, the RC shall raise the red flag.  All sailors shall then wear life vests as mandatory. If a sailor does not comply, they shall receive a DNF.

7.  Wind Speed:  Periodically take wind speed measurements up to the start of the race.    Mark the wind speed at the start of the race on the race sheet

LOW WIND:  The minimum wind speed to start the horn sequence is 5mph.  If wind is insufficient, delay the start and reevaluate in ~15-minute intervals until 11:00 a.m.   If the race start is delayed by low wind, reduce the race to 2 ½ laps.  If the race can’t be started, cancel the race, and it will be rescheduled.   During the race, the lead boat must finish the first lap in one hour, or the race shall be cancelled.  If mid-race conditions deteriorate, the Race Committee may cancel or shorten the race.  The Race Committee can consider consultation with members of the rules committee (Peter, Ben, John, Mike, Glenn)

Maximum: If at any time when the Race Committee is setting the course and preparing for the start a wind gust reading of 20 mph is recorded on the wind meter, the race may be cancelled (consider consultation with the Rules Committee- Peter, Ben, John, Mike, Glenn).  If mid-race conditions deteriorate the Race Committee may cancel or shorten the race.

  6.    Starting Horn:  Follow the instructions on the horn.

7.  Chase Boat:  After the last boat crosses the Start Line, the Committee Boat may trail the fleet to serve as the chase boat.  Assist any sailors in need.  We allow sailors who receive help in righting a boat to continue racing. If the Committee boat is helping sailors and it is time to go and set the finish line, choose to stay with the downed sailor until all is safe. If you are late to the finish, sailors on the course will finish themselves.

8.  Finish Line:   Anticipate when the lead boat will be at the last mark before the finish.  As the lead boat rounds the last upwind mark, proceed to the finish line and anchor starboard of the starboard buoy creating a finish line that is approximately 90 degree angle to the race course.  The finish line is a line created by a person on the boat and the closest buoy.

9.  Finishing:  

At the finish, as any part of a boat's hull crosses the line, the committee boat assistant will call-out the sail number in a timely manner to ensure that everyone’s finish is properly recorded in sequence by another committee boat member.  The horn will be sounded for each finisher to mark their time.

10.  Post-Race: 

a. The Committee Boat will retrieve the buoys and store them at Ben Johnson's

b. Send a photo of the Race Results form to Ben (312-532-3997) and to John Hamilton (608-235-3864)

 11.  Points awarded.  

Points are awarded in order of finish: First place receives one point, Second place receives 2 points, and so on.   A Racer volunteering to run the race committee boat also receives 3 points for that week (there may be more than one).  Racers that are disqualified (DSQ)(infraction not corrected by an appropriate 360-degree turn) will receive last-place finish points plus 1 additional point.  Racers who do not finish (DNF) a race also receive last-place finish points plus 1 additional point.  Members who do not race that day (DNR) receive last-place finish points plus 2 additional points (unless there are no disqualified racers or 'did not finish' racers, then they would just receive one additional point).

12.  Final Standings:

a. The cumulative final points for each racer for the season will be added, then each racer will have their three highest point races subtracted from the finish total to determine the final rank of racers for the season. 

b. Ties are broken using the ‘Count back’ method:  Racing Rules of Sailing 2017-2020 - A8 SERIES TIES  -- A8.1 - If there is a series-score tie between two or more boats, each boat’s race scores shall be listed in order of best to worst, and at the first point(s) where there is a difference the tie shall be broken in favour of the boat(s) with the best score(s). No excluded scores shall be used.

• If a tie remains between two or more boats, they shall be ranked in the order of their scores in the last race. Any remaining ties shall be broken by using the tied boats’ scores in the next-to-last race and so on until all ties are broken.

EXAMPLE

Best finishes in order

For RACER 1:   1  2  3  3  3  4  8  9  9  10 10

For RACER 2:  1   2  3  4  5  5  6  8  8    9 10

Race 1 - wins with the 3 vs 4 in the 4th comparison.

https://afleet.app/great-example-of-sailing-rrs-a8-1-and-a8-2-countback/

c. The Harry S Truman race at the end of the season is scored separately and is not included in the season total.  All racers in the Harry S Truman start at the scratch start (4th horn).   Two trophies are given for this race- one trophy for the overall winner and another trophy for the first finishing 2-person boat.

d. The Lauderdale Lakes Regatta series will be ranked by the combined numerical finish for each racer for the three races.

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FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE HORN BOX

START SEQUENCE AT 10 AM

1. FIRST HORN  5 MINUTE WARNING

2. SECOND HORN 4 MINUTE WARNING

3. THIRD HORN 1 MINUTE WARNING

4. FOURTH HORN SCRATCH START

5. FIFTH HORN 2 MINUTES DELAYED START HANDICAP

(Racers that have finished 1st,2 nd,  or 3rd in a previous race) 

6. SIXTH HORN 4 MINUTES DELAYED START HANDICAP

(Racers that have had a  1st or 2nd place finish after having a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a previous race) 

THE HORN IS THEN SOUNDED FOR EACH FINISHER AT THE END OF THE RACE

RACE COURSE DIAGRAMS