by Marty Chrisman,
Rear Commodore for Sail
Perhaps you have already heard that there was an accident during the St. Patrick’s Regatta. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt, though Pam Rudolph-Walne will have a story to tell for the rest of the year, and hopefully won’t be singing “All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth” by the time December rolls around. Accidents are a possibility we deal with constantly, whether in our houses, on the road in our cars, or on the water in our boats. Next month’s Ships Log will be focus on boat safety and I invite all of you to be reminded that safety is a primary concern every time we take our boats out on the lake.
Thanks to all the sailors who continue to come out and test their skill on the water with and against other sailing colleagues. We had 12 boats in 3 fleets for the St. Patrick’s Regatta. It was sunny and there was really good wind when the 1st race started, but just as the forecast predicted, it dropped steadily throughout the afternoon. The race three of the Regatta was abandoned after conclusion of the 2nd race.
Results: First Place in the Non spinnaker fleet went to Birch Smith in Freedom. First Place in the Big Boat Fleet went to Johnni Badder in Lucky the new boat on the lake belonging to Johnni and Bill Fahey. And First Place in the Multihull Fleet went to Frank Forcelli in D’Expresso.
Thanks to Jim Clower, Philip & Sharon Austin, Jeff Konop & Marsha Teague for their assistance on the Race Committee boat and to Charlie Teat and Pam Rudolph-Walne for their support on the Chase Boat.
I would like to “clue-you-in” on what happens on the committee boat as we prepare to start a race. You will hear a horn sound as we leave the dock with the blue “RC” flag hoisted to the top of the mast, and head out to the racing area. That’s to let any competitors still in the marina know its time to move out!
Once the committee boat’s anchor is set at the location of the starting line, appropriate flags are displayed. A key point to remember: since all racing boats may or may not have radios, our official means of communication is by signal flags.
Normally, the next flag to be displayed is the numerical pennant 1 (a white pennant with a red circle). This means that the starting sequence for fleet one has begun. If there will be a delay in the start sequence the postponement signal, or AP flag, (often referred to as the “candy stripe” flag) accompanied by two horn sounds will be displayed. When the cause of the delay has been resolved, the AP flag will be dropped accompanied by one horn signal, to let the racers know that in one minute the starting sequence will begin. I plan to cover more on this in preparation for the Novice Regatta in June.
Fair Winds,
Marty Chrisman
Rear Commodore for Sail