Sailing Instructions: 2012 RC Laser North American Championship

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Bill Blevins
Click Here to download a .pdf version of the Sailing Instructions

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

RC Laser North American Championship Regatta
June 8–10, 2012

Organizing Authority: Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet 14 and the Canandaigua Yacht Club

  1. RULES
    1.1  The RC Laser North American Championship will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012, as amended under Appendix E radio controlled boat racing rules
    1.2  RC Laser Class Association of North America rules will apply
    1.3  The RRS and Class Rules are amended as follows:
    1.4  Rule 2 Fair Sailing.  Sailors will exhibit sportsman like behavior at all times during this regatta.   Any sailor deemed to be in violation of Rule 2 may be issued a warning by the race committee.   Second infractions may result in disqualification from the race.
    1.5  Rule 31.  Marks of the course must be rounded in the proper direction and on the proper side. Touching a mark will not result in a penalty with the exception of  the starting mark after starting and the finishing mark before finishing.
    1.6  Rule E4.2(b) Outside Help.  Boats aground or entangled may be freed by anyone.
    1.7  A five minute hold may be requested by a competitor who is unable to make it to the starting line.  One hold per competitor per day will be granted.  The request MUST be made and ACKNOWLEDGED by the RC before the starting sequence for that heat begins.  No holds will be granted for sail changes or after the starting sequence has begun.  You may attempt to repair your boat and re-join the race if possible.
  2. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS
    2.1.  Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located in the scorers tent
    2.2.  Changes to the sailing instructions may be given verbally to the competitors.
  3. SCHEDULE OF RACES                               Time of Warning signal for first start
    Friday June 8th                 (Championship Seeding Regatta)                             2:00 pm
    Saturday June 9th                                                                                                    9:00 am
    Sunday June 10th                                                                                                     9:00 am
    On the last day of the regatta no warning signal will be made after 12:30 pm
    We will break for lunch mid-day on Saturday.
    Lunch will be served after racing on Sunday.
  4. RACES
    4.1.  The regatta contestants will be divided into 3 or more heats of no more than 15 starters
    4.2.  The progression/recession equal opportunity system with top 4 finishers moving up and bottom 4 moving down will be followed.
    4.3.  Each heat will sail the same course in each race. Course direction may change to accommodate a wind change
    4.4.  Heats will be yellow, blue, and orange.
  5. RACING AREA
    5.1.  The races will be held in the area of Canandaigua Lake adjacent to Steamboat landing.
  6. BOAT LAUNCH
    6.1.  Boats may be launched from the Eastern side of the dock
    6.2.  Boats will be retrieved from the Western side of the dock
    6.3.  Only Race Committee and Competitors sailing in the heat racing will be permitted on the end 3 docks
  7. THE COURSES
    7.1.  The course to be sailed will be displayed on a course board near to the control area and announced verbally
    7.2.  The course may be twice around windward-leeward with the start at mid course, and a midcourse or weather mark finish   The weather marks will be a turning mark with an offset. The leeward marks will be a tuning mark with an offset or a “Gate“, with two marks of the same color.
    7.3.  If a leeward gate is used the sailor must pass in-between the two marks. The Starboard mark will be rounded to starboard and the port mark will be rounded to port and there is no offset.
    7.4.  The course may be a triangle, windward, leeward, windward course with a midline start/finish
  8. MARKS
    8.1.  The windward and leeward marks will be red, yellow or green round balls. Start marks will be small blue cylinders. The gibe mark will be a small pink cylinder
  9. THE START
    9.1.  The race director will announce a warning for the start of starting sequence
    9.2.  The race director will announce the heat starting and the heat colored flag will fly near the start area
    9.3.  The races will be started using the 2 minute starting sequence.
    9.4.  The I flag rule will be in effect for all starts.
    9.5.  The start will be between the two blue cylinders.
  10. THE FINISH
    10.1.           The Finish will be between the two blue cylinders or at the weather mark.
  11. PENALTY SYSTEM
    11.1.           Rules 44.1 and 44.2 are changed so that the two-turn penalty is replaced by a one turn penalty
  12. PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS
    12.1.          Protests.  If protested by another competitor, you may choose to do the following:  Sail clear and complete a penalty turn consisting of one tack and one gybe in the same direction or, if you are unable to do a penalty turn, before you exit the water you can alert the RC that you would like to retire from that race.  You will receive a DNF which can be thrown out or, you can proceed to the protest hearing. If found to be at fault by the protest committee, you will be awarded a DSQ which cannot be thrown out.
    12.2.          Rule E5, Protests.  A competitor intending to protest another competitor or petition for redress must inform the RC immediately following the relevant race.   A protest form is not required.  The protest hearing will be conducted using the “Three minute format”.  One minute for the person lodging the protest to be heard, one minute for the offending boat to rebut and one minute for the committee to issue its findings.  The finding of the protest committee is final and cannot be appealed.
  13. SCORING
    13.1.           Friday races will be scored as a separate regatta. Finish positions will be used to determine starting heat for the championship on Saturday morning.
    13.2.           A minimum of three races must be sailed to constitute a regatta for the North American Championships
    13.3.           When fewer than 6 races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores.
    13.4.           When 6 or more races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score. For every 6 races sailed one worst score will be discarded
    13.5.           OCS, DNF, and DNS will be scored last place in the heat + 1
    13.6.           DSQ will be scored number of registrants +1.
  14. REPLACEMENT OF CREW OR EQUIPMENT
    14.1.           The contestant must remain the same throughout the regatta.
  15. EQUIPMENT AND MEASUREMENT CHECKS
    15.1.           A boat or equipment may be inspected at any time for compliance to the class rules and sailing instructions
  16. PRIZES
    16.1.           Prizes will be given for the Championship Seeding Regatta
    16.2.           Prizes will be awarded to the first ten finishers in the North American Championship, the top placing junior contestant (younger than 21 years) and the top placing woman contestant
  17. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
    17.1.           Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See rule 4, Decision to Race. The organizing authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta.
Click Here to download a .pdf version of the Sailing Instructions

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Regatta information

NOTICE OF RACE
SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
REGISTRATION
PLACES TO STAY
PLACES TO EAT
AREA ATTRACTIONS
DIRECTIONS
SPONSORS
DECORATIONS CONTEST

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Gorbold Defends Title In 2nd Squaw Island Race

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Bill Blevins

“A” rigs were the sails chosen by nearly everyone in the 2nd Annual Squaw Island “Offshore” Race held on Sunday. Jonathan Gorbold sailed past Bill Blevins just after they both rounded the windward mark at Squaw Island. He then managing to keep his bow out of the water for the downwind leg and ended up at the finish first. Jonathan stayed out in the lake on the downwind run while Bill hugged the shore line. For Gorbold, this is his second win in the Squaw Island Race. Blevins finished in second this year, closely followed by Jay Niggli who ended up in the third spot.

For one reason or another, many skippers ended up sharing a ride up the lake and back which again this year caused a lot of problems. Controlling multiple racing RC Lasers from one chase boat inevitably caused one skipper to become frustrated by being too far behind and holding up the other skipper on the boat. After two years of learnings, it is clear that it is best for each skipper to be in their own chase boat if they want to be competitive.

The full results from the 2nd Annual Squaw Island Race have been posted.

Keith Calkins posted photos from the race on Picasa.

Thanks again to our race director Keith Calkins (and Joan) for judging the event and also for lending his cooking skills after the race. Another big thank you also goes out from the fleet to our race committee pontoon boat drivers Jay and Jean Gilfus (and Ashley)!

It was a fun event and people were already discussing strategy for next year. (Team racing was even mentioned, where the idea would be that a team of racing skippers would race as a group and share the same chase boat!)

North American Championship News Update

Our last weekend of practice before the big race will be this Sunday at 4 p.m. at the docks in Kershaw Park behind Steamboat Landing. Everything has been going along smoothly and we expect to refine our process a little more this weekend. We will have a short meeting after racing on Sunday at CYC.

Remember, your skill level doesn’t matter with the format we are using because you are always sailing against others of like ability, so please, if you have an RC Laser, come out this Sunday so that the race committee can have as many boats on the line as possible.

Registration is still open for the event.

And finally, by now you all know about the “Deckorations” contest so I won’t mention that again today but I did want to remind everyone that we have Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet 14 shirts available and if you wanted to order one today or tomorrow, they would most likely be here in time to wear for the regatta. Very nice shirts and inexpensive too!

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2nd Annual 2012 Squaw Island Offshore Race & Cookout

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Bill Blevins

Why not kick off the Memorial Day weekend with the RC Laser fleet by coming out to sail in the 2nd Annual Squaw Island Offshore Race this weekend?

This 2-mile race requires skippers to sail their radio controlled sailboat up the lake to a mark at Squaw Island and then back to a finish line at the club. It was one of the more fun but challenging sailing events we held last year.

Registration can be done online or can be handled Saturday starting at 1pm at the concrete dock on the CYC waterfront. Skippers will need to figure out their mode of transportation on the water to follow their boats up the course and back. We are getting close to the event, so if you need a ride and don’t have one, please let us know asap and we’ll do our best to find you a chauffeur.

If you have a powerboat and would be willing to take spectators or skippers for a ride on Saturday afternoon, please show up at 1:30 to be paired with a sailor.

Our Race Director, Keith Calkins (who thought we were crazy last year but has learned we are actually crazy this year) will hold a skipper’s meeting at 1:45 pm.

Racing will begin shortly thereafter with an on-the-water start this year with a line set somewhere in the vicinity of the south end of the mooring field. We’ll attempt to have a start line set to that we have a windward start and so that onlookers from shore will get a good view. The finish line will again be at the concrete dock area.

We will have a cookout following the race. The fleet will provide meat and rolls but you can bring beverages, sides, salads or deserts to share. We should be finished in plenty of time to allow CYC members wishing to attend the wine tasting at the clubhouse later in the evening to make it there on time.

2012 North American Championship Update

Registration is still open for the 2012 RC Laser North American Championship event.

We are at the point where we are starting to count heads for meals so if you are reading this and you are planning to attend and haven’t yet registered, please do so soon.

We will be holding our normal Sunday racing this Sunday, May 27 at 4pm at Kershaw Park behind Steamboat Landing and again at 4pm on Sunday June 3. We will be practicing the regatta format on both days and a short skippers meeting will be held before the “official” scored races start.

Please try to attend both of these days if you are sailing, working the event or volunteering to help. We are expecting 35 competitors at the main event on June 8-10 so having as many sailors and volunteers at our two remaining practice sailing days will be a huge help.

 

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RC Laser Sail Numbers

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Bill Blevins

Do you need sail numbers for you new RC Laser? Here’s the “how-to” article for options on where to buy them, fonts and sizes, and how they need to be placed on the sails.

Each RC Laser is shipped with a piece of paper that lists the 4-digit hull number. The sail number for that boat hull would be the last two digits of the hull number. For instance, if you hull number is 3068 then your sail number would be 68.

Hull numbers for RC Lasers aren’t officially recorded anywhere so if you don’t know your hull number, or you don’t like the numbers on the piece of paper that shipped with your boat, then just pick two numbers you like for your sails.

If you are planning on racing your RC Laser regularly, you might want to look at the sail numbers of the current members and pick a number that isn’t in use or use the last 3 numbers of your hull number instead of the last two numbers. (We have 3 hulls with the last two digits of 72 already in the Canandaigua fleet so we have a #72, #172 and #272 already!)

There are several options to put numbers on your RC Laser sails. You can use a stencil and black markers to color in the numbers on your sails or you can order stickers from a graphics shop and peel and stick them on your sails. If you use markers, be careful near the edges because the black markers occasionally will bleed  beyond the stencil.

Download the document at the end of this article for the proper sizes and font for the sail numbers and also for the country designation.

Mobile Graphics in Victor, NY has the proper font and size for the numbers and country designations for the RC Laser sails on file. This company cuts out all of the numbers on one piece of backing – no crooked placement! Call them on the phone at 585-742-3370 and ask them to look up the order details on file for the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet. They can use that information to make your numbers to the correct class specifications. If you need proofs, they can email those to you and with your approval, you can pay over the phone and then they can mail the finished stickers to you after they are cut.

Here is the link to download the document showing the correct placement of the country designation and sail numbers for the RC Laser sails.

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Mother’s Day Racing And Other Updates

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Bill Blevins

The RC Laser Fleet 14 weather station is predicting that the storms will have passed on out of the area by 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon for the start of Week 3 of the Spring Series.

Spring series low point scores as well as the overall 2012 high point scores have been updated.

Please try to attend tomorrow because we want to give the race committee experience starting 15 boats at one time in case we get in that situation during the upcoming North American Championship Regatta.

If you have not yet registered for the North American Championship, please do so soon. Also, you should be seriously thinking about how you want to decorate your boat for that competition at the regatta.

Finally, here is the link to sign up for the Squaw Island Offshore Race that we will hold on May 26th. You can also register for that regatta before the race. Don’t forget to make plans for how you are going to get up the lake and around Squaw Island!

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Final Chance to Win a Transmitter Glove!

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Bill Blevins

Hey Canandaigua sailors!!! There are only a few hours left to sign up for the North American Championship and be in the running to win a transmitter glove after racing tomorrow!

Of course, you can still sign up for the regatta at a later date but you just can’t win the “Transmit” tomorrow. Here’s the link one more time if you want to enter to win. Remember, you don’t have to be there tomorrow to win.

Sign up here for the North Americans and sign up here to join Canandaigua Fleet #14

The 10 Canandaigua fleet members in the running for the drawing as of 7 pm on Saturday are: Tracy Blevins, Maggie Atkins, Bill Blevins, Gary Schmidt, Neil Atkins, Nelson Habecker, Jonathan Gorbold, Jack Bennett, Anne Lambert and Terry Schmidt.

We will be taking a headcount for the first race at 1:50 tomorrow because we are racing in 3 heats starting after a brief skipper’s meeting at 2 p.m. so please be at the pump-out dock in Kershaw Park behind Steamboat Landing a little early.

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Were Your Fingers Cold Last Week?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Bill Blevins

For those of you who raced last Sunday, you should appreciate that headline! If you didn’t have a transmitter glove (and multiple layers on) and a hat last week you really need to sign up for the North American championship so you can be better prepared!

After racing this Sunday, we’ll draw a name to win a transmitter glove from those current members in the Canandaigua fleet who have registered for the North Americans.

Click here to sign up!

We currently have 19 skippers registered. I’ve counted about 10 others who I expect to sail but I think just haven’t yet pushed the payment button. Visit the homepage and look at the right side of the page to check out the competition!

The awards are here. The huge scoresheets have been printed. We have our regatta banner. Registration packs are being put together now along with name badges, lunch tickets. Friday night’s happy hour has been arranged. The regatta permit arrived and the city council approved the venue. We rented a huge tent to hold all of our “stuff” while we race. Last night at the club I believe I even heard the dinner menu being discussed! Everything is coming together so come on and lets get registered!

Click here to sign up!

Sunday’s races on April 29, are the first of the 6-week Spring Series but they are the last that will begin at 2 p.m. until after Sailor’s Night in the fall. We will again be racing from the dock behind Steamboat Landing and the plans are to continue racing there until after the North Americans. Start times will be moved to 4:30 p.m. until we get back to CYC in mid-June.

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Bill Schmidt Wins 2012 Warm-Up Series

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Bill Blevins

Bill Schmidt won the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet’s 2012 Warm-Up Series with all first and second place scores contributing to his 15 net points after 11 races with one throw-out.

Bill Blevins finished in second place and in third place, and one point back was Gary Schmidt. In fourth and fifth places were Nelson Habecker and Jay Niggli respectively.

To mix things up for the warm-up series, the first 5 races were scored using even and odd scoring. The next two races were The Walk-About Races in Holiday Harbor where low point scoring was used. The final 4 races were sailed with two heats each and were scored using the HMS 2007 (Promotion/Relegation) format.

The upcoming Spring Series will be scored using HMS 2007 and will be sailed in a 3-heat per race format to give the Race Committee plenty of practice before their duty at the 2012 RC Laser North American Championship in June.

The Spring Series begins next Sunday, April 29 at 2 p.m. All races in the series will be sailed at the city pier in Kershaw Park behind Steamboat Landing. After racing, we’ll draw a name from the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet members who have registered for the North American Championship to win a transmitter glove. (Several people wished they had them today!) Here’s the form to register for the regatta and to pay online.

The May Downbuoy  (CYC newsletter) will have an article about the Squaw Island Race on May 26. Ask anyone who sailed last year and you’ll hear that this is one of the most fun regattas we held last year. Make your plans now and don’t miss out! If you are participating, start planning for who will be chauffeuring you around the course now. If you run into people with power boats and they are willing to be drivers, please let us know so we can get them information and assign them to sailors.

Finally, a bit of housekeeping for the members of the Canandaigua Yacht Club. The CYC 2012 Member Handbook is being put together this week. This year the directory will include the RC Laser fleet members. Here is the current membership list and the form to fill out to join the fleet. We have already submitted the list of members for publication so we can’t guarantee at this point that you will be listed in the directory even if you pay, but we’ll still submit your information right away and try to get your name in before publication.

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North American Championship Registration Drawing

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Bill Blevins

Fourteen sailors from the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet have not yet registered for the 2012 RC Laser North American Championship that we are hosting, so here is an incentive!

On Sunday, April 29 after the first races in our Spring Series, we will draw a name from the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet members who have registered and that person will win a Transmitter Glove. Register by the end of the day on Saturday, April 28 so we can print out the names and get them cut up and put in a hat!

You don’t need to be present to win. Here is the registration link.

This regatta is a huge opportunity to sail in a large event and to get a lot of time on the water sailing your RC Laser over the course of three days, but doing so by racing against skippers with similar abilities and skill levels.

The format being used allows anyone to have the opportunity to win by working their way up the ladder as they win races. It also allows skippers of similar ability to sail together where everyone feels the competition but not the pressure often felt by novice skippers on the starting line or rounding marks with more experienced RC Laser sailors.

It would be great to have 100% participation from our local fleet but we know that is not really possible. We just want to encourage everyone to try if they are able to sail. If you have more questions, just let us know. If you won’t be sailing, please let us know if you are able to volunteer during the event.

On a totally different topic… If you are planning on ordering any sailing supplies from SailRC.com in the coming days or weeks could you let Bill Blevins know? He placed an order (for Tracy) and forgot two important items. He will split the shipping costs with you.

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Warm-Up Series Finals, Sunday At Steamboat Landing

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Bill Blevins

After seven races in the 2012 Warm-Up Series, Bill and Gary Schmidt are leading the fleet in the competition for the Jack Daniel’s special edition tin (and the whisky inside the tin) that has been donated by East Avenue Liquor.

Races in the fourth and final week of the series will be held on Sunday, 22 April, 2012 on the docks behind Steamboat Landing and the races will begin at 2 p.m.

The list of skippers above also represents the current membership in Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet #14 so if your name isn’t on the list and you want to compete for awards, visit the online sign-up page and you can pay your dues with Paypal or a credit card.

We are going to be changing the calendar to reflect that we’ll be racing on Sunday afternoons at the city’s pump out dock behind Steamboat Landing docks the 2012 RC Laser North American Championship in June. This will help us figure out the logistics of getting boats in and out of the water quickly, the best ways to rescue a wayward boat and how much use those dock get on the weekends.

The 2012 Squaw Island Offshore Race is in the afternoon of Saturday, May 26.  Start making plans for who will be your on-the-water chauffeur or how you will follow your RC Laser up the lake and around Squaw Island and back. I think most sailors who competed last year will agree that this race was one of the most fun of all of our special races last year. Here is the link to sign up and pay your registration fee for the 2012 Squaw Island Offshore Race.

Finally, we are getting to the point where we are needing to estimate sailors competing in the 2012 RC Laser North American Championship. It would be nice to see full support from the Canandaigua Fleet. This is going to be a first-class regatta both on and off the water and we don’t have to travel for this one! Let’s start to spread the word and if you are sailing, please log on and sign up!

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