VIEWING GUIDE:

How to get the most out of watching a sailboat race while respecting the sailor’s space.

If you’ve ever been out on Lauderdale on a Sunday Morning, you’ve probably seen the majestic white sails of the racing boats from around the lake. The Lauderdale Lakes Sailing Club has been sailing on these lakes since 1967. They sail every Sunday, weather permitting, starting the week after Memorial Day until the week after Labor Day. Normally they race on Green Lake but try to schedule a race on Mill and Middle during the season. On the Sunday after Labor Day, we have a race called the Harry S Truman when we sail one race covering all three lakes.

Typical racecourses involve sailboats starting at the downwind end of the racecourse. Here there is a buoy and the Race Committee Boat (the pontoon boat with the flag). The starting line is between these two points. The sailors are given a horn 5 minutes before the start, another at 4 minutes, another at 1 minute and then the starting horn. They cannot cross the starting line before the starting horn, or they must turn back and restart. Upwind = towards the wind, wind in your face. Downwind = wind at your back.

Following the start the boats are headed upwind to the upwind mark, an orange buoy, known as a Mark. When they reach the Mark, they round it counterclockwise careful not to touch it or they incur a penalty and must make a 360-degree spin. There is a second mark called the offset. The sailors must round this too before heading downwind. Going downwind they head back toward the starting line where there are also two marks. These two are called a gate and sailors must pass between these marks and can go to the right or left. The course is generally 3 ½ laps and they will always finish at the up-wind mark. The finish line is between the Committee Boat with the Flag and the up-wind mark.

Because they rely on wind power, sailboats cannot sail in a direct line between the starting line and the finish line. They cannot sail directly into the wind. Normally they sail about 45 degrees off the wind. At this angle they can go fast, actually faster upwind than the wind is blowing. Instead of going directly to the upwind mark, they sail a zig- zag pattern always trying to maximize the wind's lift on the sails. 

Wind lift gets its name from the airplane wing. A wing is curved on the top. When wind travels over a curved surface it moves faster than the wind under the wing. This faster-moving wind creates a vacuum on top of the wing. This is a very serious vacuum when you consider this vacuum is lifting a 747 off the ground, 900,000 pounds. The faster the wind moves over the wing the more vacuum. That’s why the 747 must reach around 200 mph to take off. The sail works the same way as the wing except our wing is vertical instead of horizontal as on a plane. Our sail is curved in the front and that curve creates the same vacuum and literally pulls the boat forward. The wind does not push the boat, it pulls it when we are going upwind. And the faster we go the more it pulls. When we go downwind, it’s a different story. Downwind we go straight as we can to the downwind mark and in most cases going downwind, we are pushed by the wind and travel at the same speed as the wind.

Remember, sailboats don’t have brakes or reverse, so they are limited in the direction they can go and how fast they move. That’s why the laws give sailboats the right of way over powerboats. The kind of boats raced on Lauderdale are called MC Scows. It is 16 ft long and weighs over 400 lbs. Normally it is sailed by one person, but sometimes you will see two. Scows are unique sailboats in that they have a flat bottom. For this reason, they are fast, but are greatly affected by large waves and swells. So do them a favor and maintain a slow-no-wake speed when within 100 yards of the racecourse.

You will know the race is coming to an end when you see the Race Committee boat with the RC Flag anchored near the up-wind mark. The line between the RC Boat and the upwind mark is the finish line. As each boat crosses, you will hear a horn from the Committee Boat. 

After the race, the sailors are offering free rides. So, if you or anyone on your boat would like the experience, stop by the committee boat after the race has started and before the finish. Let them know and they will arrange for a sailor to come to your boat to pick up the passenger for a great ride.

Thanks for watching!

Lauderdale Lakes Sailing Club 

HORN SEQUENCE FOR THE RACES

FIRST HORN TO START THE STARTING SEQENCE IS 10 AM

SEQUENCE

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  HAD A 1,2 OR 3 FINISH) 

6. SIXTH HORN 4 MINUTES DELAYED START HANDICAP

(RACERS THAT HAVE HAD A FIRST OR SECOND PLACE FINISH AFTER PLACING 1,2 OR 3 IN A PREVIOUS RACE) 

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

BOAT NUMBERS AND RACER'S NAME

RACE COURSE DIAGRAMS