South Whidbey Yacht Club 2011 Summer Racing Season Notice
SWYC's summer race season starts May 25th, and all Pelican sailors are invited to join us.
New this year will be the addition of a Miscellaneous fleet. Members and any others with small trailerable sailboats who are interested in "around the buoys", fun sailing are welcome to join the Pelican fleet on race days and sail the courses, initially on a non-interference basis. We will provide a separate start and record the order of finish for the Miscellaneous fleet. If there is sufficient participation and interest, we will consider moving to a Portsmouth Yardstick handicap scoring system. There is no fee for non-member participation in the race program, but newcomers must provide the skipper's name, boat class and sail number and an e-mail address to the race committee before starting.
Race dates are as follows:
Wednesday, May 25 @ Lone Lake
Wednesday, June 8 @ Lone Lake
Wednesday, June 22 @ Lone Lake (Party After Racing, Hosted by Dick and Marijke Robbins)
Wednesday, July 13 @ Lone Lake (Party After Racing, Hosted by Ken Evans)
Wednesday, July 27 @ Holmes Harbor (Party After Racing, Hosted by Russ Ernest and Deb Richardson)
Wednesday, August 24 @ Holmes Harbor (Party After Racing, Hosted by the Brown's)
Wednesday, September 7 @ Holmes Harbor (Party After Racing, Hosted by Ed and Chris Halloran)
Wednesday, September 14 @ Holmes Harbor*
* Racing for series score will be held on the September 14 make-up day due to racing cancellation May 25.
(Note: Summer Series Racing will start at or shortly after 4:30 PM unless there is a notice of change. Notice of time changes or any other changes to this notice will be provided via postings on the SWYC website and the Pelican3 yahoo website and by e-mail to SWYC Pelican sailors and others who have provided a contact e-mail address.)
Scoring and Throw-outs: For the Pelican fleet, scoring will be in accordance with The racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), Appendix A Low Point System, including Rule 9, (Race Scores in a Series Longer Than a Regatta), plus the following provisions:
SWYC members and guest racers will be scored together in each race. Those individual race scores will then be totaled separately to determine member and guest season standings. Members will be allowed 25% throw-outs, rounding down. Guests will be given 50% throw-outs, rounding down, to allow for their additional logistical challenges in attending our races.
A boat that is present in the launch area on a race day any time between two hours before racing is scheduled to start and the end of the last race will be considered as having come to the starting area for all races on that day.
Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place in both member and guest fleets.
For the Miscellaneous fleet, we will post the order of finish on the website, but no series scores will be kept, and no trophies are planned. If there is sufficient participation and interest, we will consider adopting a scoring system and awarding trophies for a series composed of the races not yet run at the time of any such change.
Special Race Committee Provision: SWYC members who serve as Race Committee will receive the average score for their other races sailed (after throw-outs) for those races that they are on committee duty. This provision is limited to one race day, the first one that the member is on the Race Committee.
SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR OFF ISLAND SAILORS: For off-island sailors wanting to participate in multiple SWYC races, Dick Robbins has offered boat and trailer parking space in his yard (adjacent to Lone Lake). This will reduce expensive ferry crossings. Space is limited and so will be on a first call, first served basis. Also, parking will involve driving across Dick's septic system area, so large tow vehicles cannot be accommodated. If you are interested in a space, contact Dick directly at (360) 321-5241 or robbins@whidbey.com.
Sailing Rules: Racing will be subject to the RRS 2009-2012 including US Sailing national Prescriptions. Sailing instructions with courses will be distributed on race days. Make sure you get one and follow the instructions.
With respect to protests, we will follow the same protocol as last year which is as follows:
"Protests will hopefully be avoided. However, if a protest is lodged in accordance with all applicable provisions of the sailing rules, an attempt will be made to resolve the issue through consultation with the rules and the parties involved. If this is not possible, a properly constituted protest hearing will be scheduled at a later date."
Disclaimer of Liability: Competitors participate in SWYC sponsored races entirely at their own risk. See rule 4, Decision to Race. SWYC will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during or after said races.
Further Information: For further information, please contact Ed Halloran 360 321 2067/ ed_halloran@msn.com or Bill Brown 360 222 3178/ bbrown99@whidbey.com
Best regards and good sailing,
Bill Brown, SWYC Commodore