Darin Ballington

Hi Michael, The MYA is trying to address this issue of measurers and training, however,it is the measurers responsibility to stay current but it was brought to the councils attention by the registrars who were being presented with information that was incorrect or poorly presented that this is not happening in all classes, it was agreed that this was for a number of reasons and that the existing system had no formal provision within its processes to either gauge a measurers level of on going competency, or to offer retraining. The TO is trying to address this but with Covid restrictions the work has been delayed. Within the Members area you can find the list of measurers for each class, and if you have any concerns it may be worth contacting the registrar to find out who they would recommend. BTW I am not a measurer, but I would expect that if I was to undertake a task that I hadn't done for a while I would prepare with a "run through" prior to the task. if a measurer is not sure of all the details he can contact the MYA TO for assistance, but they must be given chance to consider the questions. Darin

E 4.3 makes it easier to understand.

Guys, The MYA spoke to the RYA on Friday, and the announcement about team sports had come as a surprise to them and they were evaluating the situation as are the council. Once the council has done this the RYA are our route to approval from the government for the resumption of competitive radio sailing in larger groups. At this stage it is Still up to each club to assess its own risks and compliance with their national government’s guidance and the subsequent format and numbers involved. Darin

The doc below from the RYA is a good read and clearly laid out (although you need to adjust to national guidance) Updated today - 08.07.20 RYA C19 gov guidance QAs.pdf

Thanks All, Some good information here, will post what I end up making- and if it works!

So, finally decided that I’m going to build a roller mast bending jig. I’ve got my wheels via the next people at Amazon, but now have to decide how far apart to set them? The middle wheelbwill go up and down vertically to adjust the bend and Im thinking that the further apart the softer the curve but presumably too far and there are other problems? Any thoughts or tips? Darin

Hi, Extract from the recent MYA newsletter. I think that important line is the final sentence, as this sets out that club sailing will be at the clubs descretion and local planning should take place based on government guidance. Although I hear and read lots of "noise" in the press I suspect that this Sundays' announcement from the PM will not allow us to start racing next week!

I am sure that clubs have been having this discussion from day one of lockdown. The precautions that will be put in place will no doubt be different for each club and event but until their is guidance and recommendations I am not sure what we as members can do? I know that all members are keen to get back sailing and hopefully club sailing can resume at the earliest time but whatever format we use social distancing will be difficult to manage when the “red mist” of competition kicks in.

Lots of questions that others will be able to expand on but: 1. The radio sailing community has a say on the RRS via the IRSA and proposes amendments to the relevant WS committee. 2. Without the use of an international body like WS there would be different localised rules which would inhibite any international events and growth of the sport. 3. Why reinvent the wheel, the RRS cover almost all of the elements we encounter and the Appendix E deals with the variations we need; just imagine the wasted time and differences of opinion if we tried to organise them oursleves!

This still comes down to the basic fact that observers and race committee are asked to comment on what they are sure they actually see. (whatever the incident) A mark rotating at the same time as a boat goes round will usually be accompanied by a disturbance of the sails, so this gives everyone a suitable amount of certainty that the mark has been hit. If you add to this an observer who has walked up the course to be as close to the mark as possible you have a greater certainty. A mark spinning, a boat 2m away and an observer halfway down the course is going to bring in areas of doubt. but... As a competent skipper I would say that there are very few - possibly never- any incidents that happen around the race course involving me that I know nothing about, so if I think I may have hit a mark, I do a turn, If I think I hit a mark and an observer calls it, I do a turn. If I go round a mark and the observers calls it, I moan, but I do a turn. Over the course of a days/series sailing you will inevitably finish where you deserve to finish so arguing about a spinning mark is probably not going to make a difference. Same with port/starboard, windward/leeward, overlaps, you usually know when you are in danger, and if you get called then you have to accept the medicine, thats the game we play. Of course we could bring in video refs and clear up any doubt...🤣🤣 Gordon, I think a good RO gives the skipper the opportunity to retire rather than go to protest to avoid lengthy delays, and most of the top skippers will do so if the evidence is presented by the RO i.e. the observer says that boat X hit a mark and no turn was done. The issue with HMS is that racing often cannot continue until any protest is complete.

Hi Paul, Public liability is £5M as per the schedule: https://mya-uk.org.uk/kb/mya-certificate-of-public-liability-insurance/ Darin

https://mya-uk.org.uk/kbtopic/classes-equipment-and-measurement/

You are in luck, Lincoln Radio Sailing Club sail out at Thorpe On the Hill. Check out their website and pop along, they sail on Sundays, but usually someone around on Wednesdays. https://lincolnradiosailingclub.wordpress.com/2018/01/04/lincoln-radio-sailing-club/ Darin

At the recent 10R and M nationals there were a number of radio issues. The reasons for this appear to be varied but from what I could see it related mainly to the low walkway- salt water-large waves and carbon fibre hulls. The only solution for some was to pull the antenna outside of the hull and leave the bare end pointing up, but this didnt work for all. Does anyone have any thoughts to a better solution?

You don’t have to hit someone to protest them,its simple, avoid contact and then protest the boat in the correct manner. If they do not accept the hail then hold a protest hearing. no point in complaining about the conduct and doing nothing. The rules and process are there. Having said the above we also have to accept that we are in a competitive sport and mistakes and contacts do take place and we should accept when we are in the wrong and take our penalty turns without hesitation.

Velcro the receiver to the side of the pot, that way if any water gets in the pot it is not sitting in water.

My view, if you sail a class such as DF or IOM and sail regularly you are going to get creases/ wringles/ damage to your sails - fact. However, the best performance in light airs will come from film as it reacts better and gives more information back in light breeze. In a heavier breeze the sailcloth/ weight etc are less important than durability and strength- plus you don't use them as often, so i would be happy with heavy film or scrim. So, for me, i would accept damage/ replacements of A rig sails but be happy to sail with scrim sails on the lower rigs as these would not be as sensitive to the breeze. BTW I know of two Marblehead's that sail with film and Dacron sails stamped in the 1990's and still wins races! Darin

Would it be simple to say that although the turn does not need to be 360 deg, if you start a penalty turn on port, then at the end you should also be on port, and vice versa, whether a windward or downwind penalty.

I agree with John, there is nothing more off-putting to the fleet and turn off to the public than people "discussing" an incident during the racing- usually in a loud voice. We all do it and shouldn't but the rule is clear; hail clearly twice stating your sail number and that of the boat that is being protested. However, I would also suggest that communication with other skippers during the racing should be encouraged, nothing wrong with identifying that you are on stbd and another boat is on port, or that you consider you have an overlap as you approach a downwind gate. This can avoid incidents that do end up as protests. As the events get bigger the communication becomes more important as observers and umpires come in to play - they may not be looking at your boat, but if you put in a hail of "stbd" or "overlap" they may then look at your boat, which could help you in a protest. Darin

Correct, Redress can only be given under the conditions of RRS 62.1, or as amended by appendix E (entanglement). Redress for taking a penalty turn is not one of these. However, what you can do, is take a penalty turn if you consider that you were the ROW boat, but the other competitor does not acknowledge or accept this. By taking a penalty turn you are adding a little "insurance" should it go to a hearing and subsequent evidence or the hearing decision go against you. With regard to the "wrong" boat doing a turn, the observer may report to the race committee that the penalty was taken by the wrong boat- in their opinion- and then the race committee may decide to protest either or both competitors if they consider it appropriate. Haven't seen it happen, but it could happen...

Terry, check out this - very useful https://mya-uk.co.uk/knowledge_base/race-observer-a-guide/

Hi Terry, A competitor may protest as John states, however, what they cant do is apportion blame and act as judge and jury. Unfortunately, this does happen and we can all be guilty of this from time to time. It is also important that the competitors themselves have a reasonable understanding of the rules, as many times one of the boats in an incident will call out, "who was at fault" which then leads to other competitors lending opinion...

It is also worth considering the type of event; at a large event, ranking/nationals the PRO (OD) will usually have a small team of assistants and observers, so their role is that of race management and calling contacts may be left to others. At club level, it is quite likely the PRO is the only member of the race team and there is an assumption that they will act as observer, course setter, start/ finish line and probably put the kettle on as well! However, in both instances, any member of the race team may call a contact during the racing including the PRO. What the PRO - or any member of race team- cannot do is make a decision on the outcome of an incident without following the process, so things like missing a mark, sailing the wrong course or apportioning blame should not be discussed during the race, calling contacts does not apportion blame, just acknowledges that there has been a contact. The "callers" responsibility is then to call the contact correctly, identify the boats involved and check to see if any boat accepts a penalty, and does their penalty turn. Noting if the penalty is correctly taken, and advising the race team if not. If you sail with Addendum Q, then the umpires can make an on the water decision, but this tends to be only at International events at this time. If sailing at club level there may be newcomers/ beginners in the racing and it may be decided that advising skippers of their mistakes is more important to the event and encouragement of participation than protesting them and then giving them a dsq... but this is not strictly as per the rules of sailing, although maybe a sensible approach at this level.

I know that you know the answer to this DErick, but for those who aren't quite as knowledgeable, it is worth pointing out that the rules are written predominantly for full-size boats, where the implications of collisions can be significantly different. The whole idea of "hold your course" - whichever rule you are applying- is that a 100ft long port tack boat may have made a decision of how it is going to pass another 100ft stbd boat based on the course of that stbd boat, this it can do only if it is sure that the other boat is not going to do anything "odd". If the stbd boat changes course the port boat may not be able to avoid it. The obligation of the stbd boat is to at least give the port boat a "reasonable" chance of missing it. Like the Jasper Carrot insurance sketch, "the man swerved several times before I eventually hit him"