Qualifying for the world-qualifier

At the annualFleet 27 meeting held on March 31, 2007, the 2007 PYC PHRF and One-Design State Championship regatta, held July 7-8 of this year, was voted in as the Etchells Fleet 27 qualifying regatta for the 2008 Etchells World Championship. That event only yielded three races, which is two shy of consituting a qualification series according to Etchells Class rules. During a subsequent Fleet 27 meeting on Monday, July 9, the present members of the fleet decided to add on the races from one — or more, if necessary — subsequent Tuesday evenings to the PHRF races already sailed in order to constitute a world qualifier. That solution wasn't unaminously agreed upon, however, and one fleet member who sailed the PHRF regatta suggested that the three races sailed in the PHRF should be set aside and a new world-qualifier series should be established for our fleet. You can read his case here.

Throwing out races could dramatically affect the outcome of our world-qualifier, a critical race that decides who will represent our fleet at the 2008 Worlds. In order to get an unbiased, educated opinion from non-fleet members who were both knowledgeable about the Rules of Racing and the Etchells Class rules, the problem and the supporting evidence was all forwarded to the officers of the U.S. Etchells Class Association, who in turn asked for support from Patricia Stadel, a long-standing member of the International Etchells Class Association and an official U.S. Sailing Association judge. Pat took this issue very seriously. She consulted as many as eight other official judges, the governors of the class, and even rules-guru Dave Perry. Pat has recommended that the three races already sailed stand, and two additional races — voted on by the fleet — be added to constitute a world-qualifying series. You can read Pat's complete recommendation here.

I encourage everyone to read both the documents and to discuss the findings. I have further communications between the national class officers and the local fleet available to anyone who's curious or interested in learning more about the process. I'm sure Pat would also make herself available to anyone who would like to discuss her decision with her. We owe her and the national class our appreciation and thanks for taking the matter so seriously. And I apologize for not having the foresight at the annual meeting to establish a "plan B" for our world-qualifier so all of this could be avoided. I hope my subsequent efforts to find a solution seem fair and equitable to all members of the fleet.

Fleet 27 historically hasn't been as stringent with the class and racing rules as other older and more well-established one-design fleets are. We have, in fact, never had so much as a formal protest filed for a Tuesday-night race. Many of our fleet members only want to have care-free fun on the water every Tuesday night, which they deserve; but we need to balance that attitude with the serious goals of our members who travel to sanctioned events. As the fleet continues to grow with new boats and more ambitious sailors, we will need to be congnizant of the need for a solid foundation in one-design principles, and adherence to the class and racing rules that make this sport fair and fun for all of us.

Thanks,
Nicole Jacques, fleet captain

Halloween comes early

Last night's Race Committee included: a jester (Scott Thomas), a pirate (Rich Stevenson), a glamorous, expert RC maven (Jody Cady), a stellar PYC member & J24 sailor (Howard Coon), an incognito blonde (Pamela Thomas in a wig) and a black lab (Leroy the Sailor Dog). Andrew Carey generously provided the awesome chase boat. Check out photos of the the racing here.

—Pam Thomas, Tango

Everything goes right

The first evening of sailing following the fleet’s development of a modified course design tested the abilities of the RC, Team Boogie T.Y.P. Following the initial course set-up in a moderate southeasterly, the RC began its first sequence at precisely 6:00 p.m. As nine boats got off the line and headed up the first mile-long leg, the breeze began a dramatic shift to the right. After the fleet rounded the windward mark following Schadenfreude, who was in first, the RC moved it approximately 20 degrees to compensate for the shift.

Between races, the RC promptly moved the pin end of the start line forward to square it up, and the second race of the evening started at 6:50 p.m. Midway up the first leg, the wind became light and unsteady. The RC made the decision to shorten the course and, per the SIs, raised the S flag and moved the Lindsey Lord so the pin end of the start line would be to starboard. Meanwhile, the boats rounded the windward mark in closer competition than during the first race, with Schadenfreude still leading. Both the red boat and Tango gave the leading boat a good race downwind, ultimately finishing second and third respectively.

The evening ended controversially when the last boat to cross the finish line, ESP, flew a protest flag because they saw fault in the RC protocol used to shorten the course. While unfortunately no formal protest was ever filed, ESP’s skipper did have to concede to being wrong during a discussion with a member of the RC and the fleet’s race officer.

Playing well with others

This week's Tuesday night races were held in conjunction with our local J24 fleet and with an earlier start. Two races were held for both fleets on the east side of Clapboard Island in a moderate southerly. Both races were twice around with a 0.85NM weather leg, 350-ft. starting line and leeward mark immediately to windward of the committee boat. Thanks to Ralph Carpenter for the new marks which worked great!

The fleet seemed eager to get racing and an outgoing tide may have played a role with three boats over early in the first race and one OCS in the second race. However, the prize for being aggressive in pre-race maneuvering goes to the J24 that plowed into the stern of the Lindsay Lord. The team on Medusa, skippered by the Gleason siblings for the evening, had it all figured out and took a bullet and a second place.

The apres-racing gathering featured some very nice burgers and hot dogs as well as other Independence Day-type cuisine and a beautiful sunset.

Special thanks to pregnant HOTtie Laurie Lafleur, who, although very gravid these days, was a big help on race committee.

—Andrew Carey, Schadenfreude