Hobie 16 Open in Kingston - event has started

SECTION A
RIGHT OF WAY

A boat has right of way when another boat is required to keep clear
of her. However, some rules in Sections B, C and D limit the actions
of a right-of-way boat.

10 ON OPPOSITE TACKS
When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of
a starboard-tack boat.

11 ON THE SAME TACK, OVERLAPPED
When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat
shall keep clear of a leeward boat.

12 ON THE SAME TACK, NOT OVERLAPPED
When boats are on the same tack and not overlapped, a boat clear
astern shall keep clear of a boat clear ahead.

13 WHILE TACKING
After a boat passes head to wind, she shall keep clear of other boats
until she is on a close-hauled course. During that time rules 10, 11
and 12 do not apply. If two boats are subject to this rule at the same

15 ACQUIRING RIGHT OF WAY
When a boat acquires right of way, she shall initially give the other
boat room to keep clear, unless she acquires right of way because of
the other boat’s actions.

Keep Clear One boat keeps clear of another if the other can sail her course
with no need to take avoiding action and, when the boats are overlapped on
the same tack, if the leeward boat can change course in both directions
without immediately making contact with the windward boat.

Room The space a boat needs in the existing conditions while manoeuvring
promptly in a seamanlike way.

Exactly ...

And what we see way too often is the tacking boat pushing the envelope.

Sword vs. shield. Nope, not in the rule book. Both those that right it (and I know some of them), have written the book with that intent.

BTW: Those shots with the camera on the mark are freaking fantastic!

So, what happened in the last race Bob?

BTW, I've been to a few rules seminars this year, as well as race management, and I've heard the

shield vs. sword

metaphor used by USSA instructors at several of them.

Matt, you attended a judge seminar, right? Did they mention it there too?

I think it would be nice if that were written right in as a fundamental rule. It would help to clarify things for everyone.

Mike

My rules come in a little book... where are you guys getting these cool shields and swords??

The tacking-too-close interpretation has evolved in the last few years, and in a good way I think. It used to be that the fouled boat almost had to make contact in order to prove someone had tacked too close.

I already answered that question... <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />

I think it remains to be seen if

shield-based

is really the direction that PCs will actually go, or if that's just a guideline that the rule authors are trying to use. The truth of the matter is that all of the tactical seminars I've attended tend to be more

sword-based.

Admittedly, I haven't been to one in a few years, but it's hard to imagine pro sailors getting paid to be defensive.

Regardless of all of this, I think we have some marketing opportunities here (or at least a chance to have some fun).

1. We should cut some swords and shields out of the plastic they use for the PC hearing boats. (A long time ago, we should have at least made catamarans.)

2. We could come up with a cool logo for some T-shirts. Everyone knows cat sailors are basically pirates anyway!

Mike

when you get to 85, you can help write the rules as well!

You will never see that as a fundamental rule. It is just a description of the concept of how the rules were designed. And, that is they are there to protect the boat this is in the right, not to allow a boat to get 'into the right' a nano-second prior to a collision, etc.

That is my own minor opinion. In 34 more years, they might allow me to actually provide some input to the next rule book.

Looks like Rhodysail has it exactly right.

What I see a lot of is someone tacks in front of someone near A mark. The person behind has time to avoid as long as they start avoiding as soon as the boat starts it's tack. The problem being that they shouldn't have to start to avoid the boat until the tacking boat has completed it's tack.

I don't quite understand why the rules people put in the phrase

above close hauled

. I think that gets sticky a lot of times. Most boats don't have to go above close-hauled to avoid a tacker in the zone. Most boats at the end close to the mark start reaching some to get there. That leaves the door open for boats to tack in the zone.

I'm not sure I agree with that statement. If you don't bang the corners it's a pretty easy exercise to sail a tight layline. Secondly proving someone didn't have to sail above close hauled could be a very tough nut to crack.

Bottom line... coming in on the port layline and tacking at or inside circle with a crowd is a low percentage play and if you're in an aggressive fleet eventually you're going to get flicked.

Oh! Whoever came up with suicide port... Brilliant!

Mike
I just don't have anything nice to say about that one.

BTW:
Go to a team race or a match race with a shield and you will get killed.

Bob's last race? ... I was only 1 vote on the jury.

Bob has had better weeks. (I did get some great pictures of them). But, let Bob recover... <img src="<>/smile.gif" alt="smile" title="smile" height="15" width="15" />

Bob, it was great to spend some time with the 2 of you (out of the jury room that is).

Mike

btw, I have over 5000 pictures from the 8 days. This one is my favorite (not bad considering the camera would take a picture every 5 seconds). This picture has not be retouched (or leveled--can't you tell?). Look at the rudder cavitation. There was about a 14 knot breeze at the time and the mark is rolling through the waves taking pictures every 5 seconds. This shot is what I call 'lucky'.

Stuff like this makes me really love photography. You guys are great for providing such a great subject.

Nice pic H20. Can't wait to see it in full res in the Hotline!

J

Hey Mike it was nice meeting you again.It has been a long time since the Canadian Nationals in Kingston.BTW are you going to post any more pics on the web-site?I have already found at least 10 I am going to buy.

I hope to post another couple of hundred in the next couple of weeks. I was spoiled by the high speed network at the university (42mb/sec). I am now back at home with only 800kb/sec uploads. Once I have them up there, I will update this list.

It was great seeing all of you again.

Not trying to stir stuff, Bob, just wondering what was up (and if we can learn).

Mike, maybe it's the angle, but in that pic, it looks like all sorts of overstanding there. It appears that the green one (PUR 340?) is the only one even close to the layline.

Mike

The wide angle on the lens distorts the angle that the boats are coming in. There was a bit of overstanding becuase of an adverse current, but if you were caught in a position like PUR 340 (Francisco Figueroa), you were gasping for air. You can tell he's hardly moving after just being rolled by 544 and 16.

The skippers in the photo are (left to right):
Bob Merrick (16)
Greg Raybon (544)
Todd Wilson (663)
Mario Debeux (825), from Brazil
Francisco Figueroa (PUR 340)
Nicholas Rogers (821), from GUA

In a bigger fleet, nailing the line is deadly unless you're in the lead - everyone else goes a bit farther in order to come in with speed and not get run over. The little bit in extra distance hurts far less than the guys that come in from the port side, cross your perfect layline barely ahead to tack over and shut you down... now you're pinching in bad air just to lay the mark you had just a moment ago.

I know a lot of skippers, even when they're in the lead, that will overstand waiting for the guy in second place to tack. It makes for a fun ride...

I agree with both of you. You also just gave insight to the reason suicide port is just so tempting. By coming in on, or just shy of, the port layline, if you're lucky, you can sail the shortest distance even if you have to go a bit further to poke out before tacking. You can clean house on the mid-to-back of pack, who usually sail way past the layline. Pretty textbook, actually.

Mike

All

I am uploading a few hundred more pictures to my Walker Photography gallery.

Please pass it on to those that may have been at the event and want to sell all the other pictures.

It will take a few more days before they are all loaded. On one day, I was sitting in the dighy behind the R/C boat shotting with a wide angle lens. Count how many people stuck their tongue out at me.

Mike

Wow, for a minute there, that started to sound just like

This one day, at Band Camp...

So, you were taking pics on the barging bouy? Nice!

Cool pics Mike. Can't wait to see more from Friday (the windy ones).

Mike

Uploading pics is interfering with my model airplane flying.

I got one of these, Parkzone Vapor and it is a blast to play with when there is no wind.

It would have been cool to have a few of these in the measurement hall at Cork.

Mike

All

Sorry for the delay. The last week has been a large distraction here at the cottage. A large storm wiped out power and internet (no internet for almost 70 hours)... How can people expect me to survive without internet????

I'm still uploading the final pictures into my All Pictures Gallery

Sorry for the delay, but if I can keep the kids of club penguin for 3 hours, I should have them all uploaded later today.

Remember, they have not been edited at all, so they are either twisted, cropped funny or the colour just isn't right.

All that is fixable.

Mike

All

I had to come home to real internet to get the rest of the pictures loaded. The cottage internet was up and down and the best I could get was dial up speeds. They fixed it last night (after I came home).

So, that last 56 files are uploading now, with last bunch of pictures being those from the camera I had attached to A Mark.

Mike

mike at portcredit dot net