St. Michaels Wednesday Night Racing

Apr 28, 2021

One week to find the boat

Only one more week until the fun begins. How is your boat looking?

Remember, we are registering online here:

https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/22154

If you have a new PHRF certificate, just forward it over to us at:

marshall.patterson@gmail.com

If you're still looking to fill out crew for the summer, we're putting together a list of boats looking for crew. Just let us know you want to be on the list.

If you have any questions about the upcoming season, just send them along. It has been so long since we raced, I would not be surprised if we're missing something.

Apr 27, 2021

Hotline for Racing!

Will we race? Gee, I don't know yet.

Every Wednesday afternoon that is the question. Is the weather good enough to go ou sailing? Is there a storm coming? Will there be enough wind?

There is a pattern in the decision process. First, we don't want to sail in a hurricane. If there is a hurricane warning or a watch, we are not going to race. You should be putting your boat away.

Second, we look at storms in the area. If there is lightning, tornados, or heavy downpours, we are not going to race.

When we know these things might happen, we will send you an email the day before and cancel races. But there are times when we're just not sure. Maybe there is a chance of thunderstorms. For all those times, there is the...

HOTLINE
410-745-4983

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum very graciously provides this phone for us!

Every Wednesday, we will leave a message by 4 pm. If you're unsure, just call the hotline to see if we are racing. If we're still unsure, we will tell you on the hotline.

What about no wind? It's Wednesday, so the wind is probably light to terrible!

It is pretty unusual for us to cancel racing for wind while on the shore. We almost always go out to the course and wait for the wind to build. Maybe we will get lucky. Pack your cooler with tasty beverages, and come join us. The worst thing that will happen is that you will enjoy a Wednesday night on the river with friends.

The RC is watching carefully. Wind and weather forecasts run on a loop on the signal boat. If we're on the course and think it's time to give up, we will let you know. Guaranteed to be more fun than staying at work, so come on out!

Apr 24, 2021

Taking a Scoring Penalty

Taking a scoring penalty instead of going to the room?

Yep, you can take a 30% penalty instead of going to that protest hearing.

Wait - What is this?

If you look in the Sailing Instructions under section 12 (penalties), you will see that there is an option for penalties. You can do the normal thing when you foul someone and take two turns, or you could take a Scoring Penalty. This additional option can help you a lot.

What happens if you break a rule, but you don't realize that you're at fault until after the race? You have finished, so you can't take two turns. You don't want to get disqualified. What do you do? That's where the scoring penalty comes in to help you out.

How does this work?

Read my description >HERE<. The example shows how this can help you out. Just something to keep in mind when racing - If you really think you are in the right, take your time and research it. You can still exonerate yourself with a scoring penalty.