Racing Discussions

I don't think we need to ask the rabbit to make a radio call or sound signal. I think we can gauge on our own 90 seconds from when the rabbit started.

Once the race starts there's a lot going on and the rabbit may be too busy for a signal, especially on short handed boats.

These are "fun" races, and as long as we agree a minute and a half is the absolute latest we can tack I think it solves the problem we had last week where port was favored and we were stuck on starboard.

Overall though this is a great discussion and a great problem to have! I'm glad to still be on the water.

So, in the context of this week's discussion, and with the first week in the rear view mirror, I'd like to make a couple of (short) observations:

1) The start of the race is when the Rabbit passes the pin - with that in mind I suggest that if the Rabbit is early that is OK, as is being late.  The fleet will focus on the Rabbit and not on the clock.  Hence, the Rabbit should go close hauled as soon as it passes the pin irrespective of the clock.

2) The Rabbit should not be obliged to tack after the start, however, a 90 second signal (whether by radio or sound) should be used to allow boats to tack if that is what they wish to do.  Ideally the signal will come from the Rabbit, but it is a lot to keep track of, so I don't care who makes the call.

Thanks,
Keith

My thoughts regarding rabbit starts, and that’s all they are, take with a grain of salt:

Please refer to the attached sketch. I’m sorry that the grid squares did not scan. I know it is busy, but hopefully will help illustrate my points.

1. The clock times prior to a rabbit start are only approximate. The five minute warning should be a heads up to racers that the rabbit is beginning its starting maneuvers with the objective of arriving at the starting mark five minutes later. But there are too many possible variables to ensure that the rabbit arrives at the starting mark exactly five minutes and zero seconds later. Thus, as the time to the start decreases to within a few minutes, racers should be watching the rabbit, not their clocks.

2. The SIs depict a single reach away from and towards the starting mark for the rabbit’s pre-start maneuver. That is probably the simplest track for the rabbit (least maneuvers) but also leaves a long distance for the rabbit to judge the time back to the starting mark. My preference when I have been the rabbit is to stay closer to the starting mark, which would involve more maneuvers, but I think aids me in judging the time for my final approach. Each boat and skipper are different.

3. Assuming all boats have similar close-hauled sailing angles (more on that later) any boat who starts by crossing close to the rabbit’s stern on starboard tack obtains an equal start. The diagram depicts four boats (A, B, C, D) starting just behind the rabbit at different times (0, 30, 60, and 80 sec) after the start. Note that after 90 seconds, all four boats and the rabbit are equally up the course. Thus you don’t need to start at the pin to obtain a great start, but you MUST start close to the rabbit’s stern. Boat E depicts a boat who starts by crossing the rabbit’s stern late. Boat E has given up its time behind the rabbit’s transom to the other starters.

4. Note on the diagram the difference between what is the pre-start maneuver area for a traditional start with a fixed starting line, and the similar pre-start maneuver area for a rabbit start. For a fixed line start, reaching back and forth will keep boats in the starting area and relatively close to the starting line. The corresponding maneuvers to stay in the rabbit starting area are port tack close hauled and starboard tack run. Reaching away prior to the rabbit start will usually take a boat too far away to get back and closely cross the rabbit’s transom.

5. Sometimes boats get so far out of position they end up like boat F in the diagram. This was the primary reason a time limit (90 seconds) was included in the SIs to allow the rabbit to tack a reasonable time after the start. Theoretically, a boat could chose to “start” from position F (if they thought the right side was favored, or if they could fetch the mark without tacking, etc.). However, that violates the concept of all boats starting from essentially the same location (traditional starting line).

6. The 90 seconds was an arbitrary selection. But note, that at 6 knots the rabbit travels ~300 yards, at 4 knots ~200 yards, distances typical for our traditional starting line lengths. At lower wind speeds and slower rabbit speeds, the 90 seconds becomes almost meaningless. E.g., at 2 knots the rabbit only travels ~100 yards, a very short distance for about ten boats to fit between the rabbit and the starting mark.

7. There was a question whether the windward mark needs to be directly upwind for the rabbit start to be fair. It does not. Boats starting close to the rabbit get an equal start. Even if one side of the course is favored, the starting line created by the rabbit is typically less than 300 yards, while our first mark is about 1 nmi (2,000 yards) upwind, the same situation we have with our fixed line starts.

8. Our SIs state “After starting, all boats shall remain on starboard tack until the Rabbit has tacked to starboard.” This could inadvertently create the situation where the rabbit realizes the right side of the course is favored, and by not tacking to starboard forces the fleet to the left side of the course. I don’t think this is our intent. Once the rabbit is free to maneuver, all other boats should be free to maneuver. I suggest we modify theSIs to be: “After starting, all boats shall remain on starboard tack until the Rabbit has tacked to starboard, or until 90 seconds after the start, whichever occurs first.”

9. Rabbit starts are most often used by dinghies; i.e., one-designs, where all boats have the same close-hauled sailing angle. In such a case a boat starting by crossing close to the rabbit’s transom has an equal start whether it starts near the starting mark or anytime after. For a mixed fleet, such as ours where boats have significantly different close-hauled sailing angles, where you start should be affected by your boat’s close-hauled angle compared to the rabbit’s. If the rabbit can sail closer to the wind than you can, the rabbit will always be the favored end, so starting at the rabbit later theoretically advances you further down the course. The converse is true if you can point higher than the rabbit. Then the starting mark will always be the favored end of the line, and you should try to start just behind the rabbit close to the starting mark. Whatever your starting plan, aim to cross close to the rabbit’s transom. Otherwise you are giving up valuable time.

Those are my thoughts.

Ted

Looks like we screwed up. There was a lot going on and I know we thought a boat was really far away from the line and we were trying to wait for them. Maybe Ted can fill in some of the details.

Sorry about messing everyone up.

Eunice

Sorry Doug I wasn't referencing you, I'm just saying none of us were allowed to tack onto port until the rabbit tacked, and in this race there was no incentive for Liberty Prevails to tack for quite a while.

Can we use the same 90 second threshold that applies to the rabbit? Or until after the rabbit passes all starboard tack bows?

Thanks to LP for performing rabbit duties during a soggy evening. Since these are practice races where some boats are learning the rules, last night's course, like most of the courses, required that the A bouy be kept to port at the finish. We saw one boat pass it to starboard.

Lots of fun. Thanks again to the organizers.

John

I think your right.

We had to pass the line on starboard tack and not harden up and pass on port tack to have a valid start.

Ah, good practice.

In a race like tonight when everyone wants to get on port tack, the rules as written don't allow the fleet to tack until the rabbit tacks onto starboard.

Am I reading that wrong?

Jubilee will join in the fun, but if it is pouring with rain at 5:00 this evening my crew may abandon ship and head to a sheltered place for Dark 'n Stormies and snacks ... which will otherwise be consumed after the race.

Thanks,
Keith

Rabbits, email me your official start time for the worksheet at revolution4515@gmail.com. I'll drop it into the worksheet for the time calculation.

Cheers,

Doug

I updated the signup sheet with columns for skippers to input their time. It will auto calculate. Just follow the format of the time in the cell for the finish time. I added columns for each of the 4 weeks. I also added spin A and Spin B class following the breaks for the NS A and NS B.

Depending how many spin boats we have, we could just make 1 SPIN group if their PHRF ratings are not two spread out.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wb-ipc3g_cTN8zaXhAXHEIGK4r-JTnYfiIa3-cCE1wo/edit?usp=sharing

-Doug

Revolution would like to practice Spinnaker racing.

Doug

I would suggest we allow creative use of sails, spinnaker, double headsails, staysails, etc. However,if you use more than one head sail, you go I Spinnaker scoring. If we have enough Spinnaker boats, we spit the class mid PHRF rating.

Revolution would like to practice Spinnaker racing.

Doug