“Protest” is not a dirty word. It is a required hail to inform another boat the she has (in your opinion) broken a rule. It does NOT mean that you have to go into a protest hearing. Over 90% of the time it is clear if a rule has been broken, and by which boat. The appropriate next step is for the boat that broke a rule to take a penalty per rule 44.1, and the race continues.

There are situations when a protest hearing IS warranted. But this is only in complex situations when the competitors really DO NOT KNOW who was at fault, and a panel of experts is required to find facts, interpret the rules, and make a decision. Otherwise, everybody is better off when rule violations are handled on the water. But, this only works when the competitors know the rules!

There is no sugar-coating that the rules are complex and can be difficult to learn.  And, they change every four years, so while you may have learned them in the past, you probably do not know them in the present form. While this half-day experience will not make you an expert, you WILL learn why and how the rules work. One thing is for certain – you cannot learn the rules by reading the rule book. But, you do need the book! The most reliable place to get it is from USSailing.org. If you join US Sailing, you get one for free…

Protest hearings are expensive! They require that a panel of experts be assembled (who often are not otherwise already onsite), delay trophy presentations, and deny participants the enjoyment of after-race events.  For this reason, BCYC is sponsoring a one-time special offer for this event:

Participants, skipper or crew, in the 2018 16 week BCYC TACO TUESDAY series are offered a discount of over 50%! The more that rule violations are handled on the race course, the better the famous after-racing party, weekly trophy presentation, and raffle!

Click here to register.

The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2017-2020 book is available here.

 

Participation in H20 Class races in Fleet 1 requires that the helmsman be either an Owner or Skipper member in good standing (see Fleet 1 bylaws I.F.2 and I.E.2). A new “Expired Memberships” page is now included on this website. Links to this page can be found at the top of the “Members Roster” page, and near the top of the “Fleet1 > Divisions” page.

Helmsman who race in High Point, or Rain or Shine, races will not be scored by Fleet 1 if their membership is expired. High Point race scores are used for awarding the High Point trophies at the end of the season, and for promotion, re-qualification, and demotion between the A, B, and C divisions. Please also note that the organizing authority of a race or regatta may reject an entry for an event under RRS rule 76.1 if it is known that the entrant is not a member in good standing.

We encourage all Fleet 1 members to keep your membership current. If you are included on the “Expired Memberships” page, please renew the membership using the “Members > Membership Renewal” page. All renewed memberships will expire on February 1, 2019. As such, the payment amount will be prorated by the number of days remaining between when you renew and 2/1/2019. Please note that if you pay by check, your “Expired” status will not change until the check has been received, and manual steps to change the status in the database are completed.

Alternatively, you can delete your membership by clicking the “DELETE ACCOUNT” link on the “Members > My Account” page.

We appreciate your cooperation.

The Membership Committee of the Fleet 1 Board of Directors

One on the most common comments I have received from attendees of my “Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing” seminar over the past 10 years has been “Can you do it in half a day?”. The all-day event does require a large commitment of time, and is admittedly exhausting. But, I always knew that the answer was “no’ unless I came up with an entirely new approach and teaching technique. Well, I am excited to say that I will be offering “Rules Around the Race Course”, an interactive clinic in a half-day format on March 10, 1-5 PM at LIYC. Two years in the making, the focus is on how and why the rules work, and how they apply to the situations that occur in every race. While it may sometimes seem like there are an infinite number of ways that boats can “meet”, there are not. The patterns are recognizable and relatively small in number. The same things happen during every start, on the windward and leeward legs, at obstructions, and around marks. One thing is for certain – you cannot learn the Racing Rules of Sailing by reading the rule book.

For those of you who have attended my full-day seminar, some as many as 6 or 7 times, this is an entirely new and different experience. It is better.

The more knowledgeable the fleet is, the better the quality of racing for everyone. This goes for skippers and crews because more heads are better than one! And because youth are our future, a discounted price is offered for those 18 and under.

For more information, click here.

I hope to see you there!

Peter Haynes

Brand new! A three hour seminar on the Racing Rules of Sailing will be premiered free of charge Thursday night, September 28 at BCYC, two days before the Championship. Great for skipper and crew because two heads are better than one!

For the best experience, please bring a 2017-2020 rule book. Walk-ins will be welcomed, but registration by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, 9/27 is required if you want to be guaranteed a copy of the handout.

Beverage service will be available.

Be rules-smart for the Championship!

We hope to see you there!

To register click here. To see who is registered, click here.

Instructor: Peter Haynes

Posted on behalf of Philip Thompson:

A number of trophies will be awarded for the Harbor 20 division in the “2017 Flight of Newport Beach” on Sunday, July 16:

 

– 1^st place over all     (Beautiful brass clock and barometer set mounted on wood base)

– 1^st B sailor

– 1^st C sailor

– 1^st lady skipper

– Random participation trophy  (For racing and showing up to trophy presentation at BYC)

– Random trophy for most unique boat  (Best dressed or unique guest or high profile crew)

 

For information and registration click here.

If you have any questions about this new event for Harbor 20’s, please give me a call. We hope to see you there!

Philip Thompson  714-329-1995

You have probably heard of the annual “Flight of the Lasers”. This year, for the first time, it is the “Flight of the Lasers AND Harbor 20’s”! The Organizing Authority is the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Commodores Club, and the event is open to all Harbor 20’s that meet the Class rules – you don’t have to be a member of Harbor 20 Fleet 1. No “A,B,C”, just Harbor 20’s. The start will be in the vicinity of “N” mark and the warning signal for H20’s is at 12:30. Trophy presentation will follow racing at Balboa Yacht Club.

Click here for information and registration.

Click here for current entries.

This is a new event, and should be a lot of fun!

Last Thursday evening, several H20’s passed close enough under the bow of a very large charter boat so as to cause them to sound the international danger signal of five short blasts. The privilege we enjoy to race our boats in Newport Harbor is jeopardized by such actions. This has come to a head in the past, causing a charter company to go to the Harbor Patrol, which escalated to the Harbor Commission, which resulted in meetings attended by all the charter companies and yacht clubs. At stake was our privilege. The yacht clubs agreed to work more closely with the charter boats, and race committees are, or should be, in radio contact with charter boats as they approach and cross our racing venues. But there is only so much the race committees can do to help coordinate these activities. Ultimately, it is up to the racers to be respectful of the charter boats right to use the harbor as well. We can take up a very large footprint with 20 or more boats spread out, and without our cooperation, the charter boats would not be able to operate. They do, in fact, have the right-of-way as they are large enough to have restricted maneuverability. As hard as it is to give up an advantage by not passing close to these boats, it is not worth risking the privilege we all enjoy. So, let’s play nice. There are plenty more races…