No Results from 5/12

Well it was just a little Stormy on May 12th, so it seemed only prudent to head to the Club for a Dark N' Stormy (rather than test our luck out on the water). It was ugly and it definitely rained, but I never saw any lightning hit the ground.

No results for this week, but we'll see you out there on May 19th!

New Hotline

Next to opening presents, there is nothing my Mom loves more than hearing my voice. Now you too can hear me blather on about nonsense. Just call the new phone number for the Hotline:

410-745-4983

If the weather is not looking friendly, I will update the message on this number during the day. If we plan to cancel, you can be sure that I will tell you on the hotline.

I won't make any updates to the message with less than 45 minutes to the warning of the Star class. So get your boat ready and then call the hotline to see if we're racing!

Once it is within 45 minutes of the warning of the Star class, you can reach the Race Committee on VHF channel 78.

Here is the amendment to the SI for you official like people.

Results from May 5th

It was an awesome night to start the season! Not a cloud in the sky, plenty of wind, and very warm for early May.

Well, it wasn't completely perfect. The wind was a bit troublesome for the start of the race. We Set up the course with a dying wind that was clocking to the west, but we were expecting it to fill in and hold on for the evening. Good guess, but bad timing. By the time we had set the starting line, the the wind had already started to shift back south. Once the sequence was underway, we had another huge shift requiring us to postpone and reset everything.

Fortunately, the wind was increasing and people could see that the wind was messing with the start. After a 15-minute pause to reset the marks, we were underway for a very active evening evening.   As the race progressed, the wind from the south filled in even more to allow most boats to race in about 10 knots of breeze. We had two new people on the RC this week, so I couldn't follow the races as close as I usually do. Thanks to Anita and Dick for helping out.

The Stars had plenty of open water and a fairly long course for a Wednesday night. Jim Ryan on Locus managed to build up an impressive lead coming into the finish. The Stars had a second pick-up race with four competitors after the main race. Andrew Parish on Black Seal managed a commanding lead in the second race - good thing since the pick-up races are his idea!

PHRF A class had a new boat come out for the first race; the Cal 40 named Freestyle with the crew from last year's  PHRF B class boat of the same name.We were also happy to see Harry Seeman's Rumor back out on the course this year. We thought she might be headed to other waters. But the boat of the day was Bob larsen's Blue Bird who held in after to big boats sailed away and managed to correct over all to come in first!

PHRF B class had most of the usual suspects along with Jan White's Irwin 28 Whisper and Mike Kabler on a Freedom 21 called Solo. Solo will only make a few races this year, but we hope Whisper will be around all year. The big story was Norm Brown's Pagan which dominated the race course. Not only did Pagan take the gun, but her time was good enough to correct over all PHRF A boats. Fortunately for A, the classes are not scored together.

All the results can be found in the link below:

May 5th, 2010, WNR results for Race 1

Why doesn’t the Race Committee throw them out?

The question comes up a lot. If something happens on the race course, why doesn’t the Race Committee just disqualify the boat that did something wrong? Short answer: We’re only the Race Committee - not judge, jury, and executioner.

It’s an interesting question. What if a competitor does something in full view of competitors that is obviously wrong? Let’s say that a boat hits a mark of the course and does not attempt to exonerate herself. Can the RC throw her out for breaking a rule? The answer, according to the Rules of Sailing, is no. The RC is just like any other boat out there on the race course when it comes to witnessing competitors break rules. Only the Protest Committee can throw out a competitor for hitting a mark and not exonerating herself.

So what should be done? If you see a boat breaking the rules, you should protest her. You could say, “Protest. I saw you hit that mark!” This lets the boat attempt to exonerate herself. If she does not, then you should inform the RC at the finish and file a protest (using the protest form) as per the Sailing Instructions.

So why can’t the RC just do this for you? Well, there are several reasons. First, you are the competitors and we are just impartial third parties. Second, you are sailing close to the other boats and are more likely see a rule being broken. Third, you can hail to the competitor that you are protesting – the RC cannot hail to competitors. Fourth, we’re actually working on other things and do not closely monitor the boats for rule violations.

If the RC witnesses a competitor break a rule and no other competitor could have witnessed it, the RC will protest someone. The RC wants the race to be fair for everyone, so the RC will protest if necessary. But remember that the RC can only Protest a competitor just like you. We will protest if necessary, but it is better for you to protest since you are a better witness.

That being said, there a couple times when the RC can make decisions. If you are on the course side of the starting line at the start, the RC can record that without a hearing. The RC can also record that a boat didn’t finish within the time limit without a hearing. Other than that, everyone gets a hearing in front of a Protest Committee. It's kind of like getting your day in court.

Here is a copy of the protest form. Be sure to use it (or one like it) if you want to protest. 

Looking for your Registration

Have you had a chance to register yet? We have several registrations from people who attended the Skippers Meeting and a few more, but no huge ground swell yet.

Remember that you can send your registration and $50 to:
St Michaels Wednesday Night Racing
215 S Hanson St
Easton, MD 21601

Or you can give your registration to us on the Race Committee boat.

You have three weeks to register, or we will stop scoring you. Be sure to get registered in time!

If you need the forms again, here is the Star Registration and here is the PHRF Registration.

2010 Sailing Instructions

The 2010 Sailing Instructions are ready to go! If you're going to the Skipper's Meeting tonight, you can pick up a copy from us. If you can't make it, you can get a copy of the Sailing Instructions by clicking here:

2010 Sailing Instructions

New stuff to note:

We are taking off two Wednesday evenings this year. We will not race on July 7th, or on September 8th. These two days off correspond with federal holidays on the Monday before, so enjoy your time off and plan a vacation!

Also this year, we are starting a new "Cruising" boat subdivision of the PHRF B class. If you race 1/3rd or more series races without a spinnaker, you qualify as cruising and can be scored twice!

As usual, we'll have more info later.

Charts and more

Where am I going? What do those flags mean? What was that horn?

All excellent questions that can be answered by going to the Skipper's Meeting this coming Wednesday, 6 pm, April 21st, at the Miles River Yacht Club. Not only will I answer those questions, but I'll give you a spiffy laminated course sheet and a cheat sheet for what the flags and sounds mean on the Committee Boat!

If you want to print your own, click here to get your copy of the
Reference Sheet

Besides handing out course sheets and registering boats, we'll talk about the Sailing Instructions! There are at least two new things for this year; all very exciting. Will you be eligible for a new award?

And you don't have to be a skipper to attend. Is your skipper too busy to make it? Come to the meeting for your skipper and be the person in the know.

It's a Burgee

We have an official burgee now. Who would have thought that you could show you love of sailing on Wednesday nights by simply flying a burgee, but it's true! Now you can be the talk of your next raft-up by displaying a burgee no one else has seen.

We will be taking orders at the Skipper's meeting on April 21st, but you can order them now for only $20. Here is an order from, or you can pick one up at the meeting. $20 is a good deal for a burgee!

You didn't forget the meeting did you? MRYC at 6pm on April 21st. See you there!

2010 Season is here!

No more nights huddled under the blankets waiting for sailing to start again. Clean up those boats and get ready for sailing. The first race is on May 5th!

There will be a Skipper's Meeting on April 21st and we're ready to register you right now.

Find out more in the Notice of Race!

2010 Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe Schedule

By far, our most popular post from last year was about the log canoe schedule. Well, I hate to disappoint, so here is the schedule for 2010.

June 26th/27th	Miles River Yacht Club
July 10th/11th	Chester River Y & C C
July 17th/18th	Rock Hall Yacht Club
July 31st / Aug 1st	MRYC Governors Cup
Aug 14th/15th	Tred Avon Yacht Club
Aug 28th/29th	TAYC Heritage Regatta
Sept 11th/12th	MRYC Labor Day Series
Sept 18th	Miles River Yacht Club
Sept 19th	Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Normally there are two races on Saturday, one at 10 am and one at 2 pm, and one race on Sunday starting at 10 am. The exact start times for the races is really just a guess. Times can change once the race committee measures the wind conditions on the water.

Spectator boats are welcome, but you should watch your wake. Even a small wave can cause big problems for these boats!