North East Clubs 2006 Early Series Summary report

The North East Clubs winter series continued in early 2006 from February through to April 2006 with monthly events being held at Buchanness, Aberdeen and Brechin.

This year the programme was slipped one month in an attempt to avoid the severe conditions in January. In fact the weather forecast for each event was “cold, windy with snow flurries and clear spells” and that’s what we got !

Turnouts were unfortunately down on the previous series but the sailing was excellent especially in the clear spells. 14 boats participated in the series with a fleet of 6 at each event compared to an average fleet size of 10 that participated in the 2005 early series.

It was good to see new members coming along to gain the experience of traveling to other clubs.

It was also noted that Clubs had made an effort to improve the standard of racing and event organization. Some lessons learnt were:
• The RYGG handicapping was successful. However, OOD`s should use the option to alter individual handicaps after 3 races to suit the conditions on the day. At one event the handicaps were doubled because of fluky winds and a long course.
• Any participant should be able to call a Time out on finishing to make repairs or adjustments. OODs should give the requesting skipper up to 3 minutes “ boat in hand”. If no time out is called then racing should proceed with the usual “3 and a break”sequence.
• Time should be taken between races to go over any outstanding differences between skippers or to discuss rule infringements. Often by taking it slowly during a break time to clarify who had rights and who didn`t is a good learning experience for all and should lead to a better overall understanding of the racing rules.
• Improvements in laying courses – having alternative windward marks in place to cope with changes in wind direction and setting the finish line at the upwind mark were the most obvious.
• Using club members as OOD that have not previously done OOD duties. With assistance when required from the more experienced skippers, this proved successful giving the new OOD`s a better appreciation of regatta organization.

The racing was good at each event with close finishes often sailed in conditions at the top end of the number 1 rig. Consistency and reliability of equipment played a big part in the outcome. Good winter clothing was also essential to face the cold weather conditions.

Summary results table

Overall Results for the 2006 Early Series: