Rules Corner

In our last Grade 5 we had an interesting situation. Andrew BLUE and Jamie YELLOW were coming in towards the finish on starboard jibe. Andrew was carrying a penalty. The Race Committee was not aware of the penalty. Andrew attempted to luff Jamie and kill his penalty. He initiated this before entering the two boat length zone and then realizing he wasn’t going to clear the penalty he bore away into the zone.

Jamie crossed the finish line between Andrew and the finish pin and slightly ahead. The RC signaled his color, Yellow. As Jamie was almost clear of the line he snagged and dragged the finishing mark. Andrew seeing this did his penalty. The umpires did not see Andrew do this. Andrew then sailed clearly back to the course side of the line and did another penalty turn and crossed the finish line, which by now was dragged significantly out of place.

There were no flags flown by either competitor nor by the umpires. There were no official protests (red B) flags flown either. The umpires and RC conferred and the situation was discussed at length in the debrief. As promised here is the summary of the situation.

Yellow was entitled to room to finish. The definition of finishing doesn’t require a boat to sail all the way across, just to break the plane… but you are still not allowed to hit either end of the line. Touching a mark is only signaled by the umpires. A “Y-flag” does nothing in this case. When a boat touches a mark and the umpires see this they shall fly a blue or yellow flag.

Assuming they noticed the boat towing the mark, they should have indicated that they saw this by signaling a penalty for Yellow in which case it would have offset the Blue penalty and the boat that crossed the finish line first, still yellow, would have won.

If it was determined that Yellow hit the mark because Blue did not give her room to pass on the correct side AND either of the boats had flown a Y-flag, then the umpires should have indicated this by flying Blue. It is not required that they also fly a yellow flag for touching the mark as it is considered one incident and the umpires would determine that Yellow should be exonerated from touching the mark due to an infraction by Blue. This would have also had Yellow winning.

As it stood – there were no flags flown by the competitors nor were there any flags flown by the umpires. Yellow won. Three ways of getting to the same conclusion.

Tidbit: Did you know that you ARE allowed to hit the anchor line of a mark as long as in that case you do not make contact with the actual boat or the mark? Unfortunately for Match 40 sailors it is rare that you touch a mark or a committee boat’s ground tackle without towing said mark or boat. Oh Sugar!

The Volvo and Oakcliff

We are happy to report that Oakcliff’s reputation is spreading around the globe. In Alicante, the professionals instantly ‘got it’ and are looking forward to integrating our graduates into future projects.

I also couldn’t help but notice that Ian Walker, skipper of Abu Dhabi might have benefited from Oakcliff’s acorn and sapling program. When interviewed dockside as they were repairing their mast, he said:

“We have a fantastic team and I feel like a spare part at the moment. I think I should have learned more about rigging as a nipper. I can’t do much more than make cups of tea and go round and check with people and encourage them to get it all done quick.”

No problem Ian, you can stop by Oakcliff any time . Also sighted in Alicante, Jesse, Mark and Charlie from Oakcliff’s All American Offshore Team.

Remember next year the Acorn, Sapling, Might Oak and Offshore Programs will be fully integrated. More on that as the schedule and players are firmed up. If you or someone you know are interested in being a part of the 2011 team please go to the Acorn page for more information or email race@oakcliffsailing.org with any questions.

Oakcliff Halloween Invitational Race Report

Racers traveled from all over to attend the 2nd annual Oakcliff Halloween Regatta in Oyster Bay, NY. The teams hailed from Canada, the USVI, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Racing was intense, as were the conditions.

On Saturday, the first day of racing, temperatures on the east coast dropped sharply and the wind kicked up. The day started with 17kts of wind, gusting to 22, and continued to build. Sleet precipitation followed and visibility was further challenged by an eerie mist caused by the combination of very cold air and warm water.  The race committee did an excellent job of getting in two flights, then appropriately canceled further racing for the day. Before the boats reached the moorings, wind speeds increased further – gusting into the 30′s.

On Sunday, the race committee successfully squeezed in the rest of the flights. As predicted, the racing was intense and the top three spots were determined in the last race of the regatta – Quaglio vs Rathbun. Quaglio was undefeated and Rathbun had one loss. Komar and Wickwire had two losses each. If Quaglio won the final race he would win the regatta and Rathbun, Wickwire, and Komar would tie – with Komar winning the tiebreaker and taking 2nd place. However, Rathbun won the final match vs Quaglio landing him the 1st place trophy. Quaglio took 2nd, and Komar took 3rd.

This 2nd running of the Oakcliff Halloween Invitational was one of Oakcliff’s most exciting events yet – with racing coming down to the wire and appropriately eerie weather. Here are the results

1. Colin Rathbun 6 wins – USVI
2. Michael Quaglio 6 wins – USA, NY
3. Mike Komar 5 wins – USA – NY
4. Peter Wickwire 5 wins – Canada
5. David Storrs 2 wins – USA, CT
6. Magnus Sandberg 2 wins – Canada
7. Michael Rivlin 1 win – USA, CA
8. Christopher Land 1 win – USA, MA

Thanks to all the competitors, volunteers, officials and umpires that made this fantastic event possible.

Race officers:

Friday November 4th: Oakcliff on ESPN Classic

On November 4th there will be three hours of SAILING on ESPN Classic! That’s right, block off your Friday evening – sailing will be on mainstream TV. Three episodes, produced by legendary sailor Gary Jobson, are set to air. Here is a preview of each episode…

7pm: Championship Sailing – The best of One Design Racing

This one hour program focuses on One Design racing. Coverage will include each of the 10 Olympic Classes as well as interviews with the US Sailing Team and several world champions. The program will also include a feature on the history of One Design racing which dates back to the early 1900s. Three dozen sailors are interviewed from a wide variety of classes across the United States.

8pm: 2011 NYYC Invitational Cup

The NYYC Invitational Cup saw 22 ten-person teams from 16 countries. Eleven highly contested races were sailed over a five-day period off Newport, Rhode Island in identically matched Swan 42s. All of the competitors were amateur sailors and members of their respective yacht clubs, making this one design event very competitive. The program was shot in Hi Def aboard the race boats, from helicopters above the racecourse, and from boats on the water. Keep your eyes peeled for Oakcliff supporter John Mooney – sailing as the owner’s representative aboard Uxorious III. This episode will re-air on Sunday November 6th at 1:30pm on ESPN 2.

9pm: Racing for an Ocean Record

This episode will feature distance ocean racing in the 2011 Annapolis to Newport race and the Marblehead to Halifax race. the 2011 Marblehead to Halifax race – which many of you may remember was a very successful event for Oakcliff. Our Ker 50, filled with Oakcliff acorns, staff, and supporters took 3rd place in the IRC 1 fleet. Additionally, our Ker 11.3 piloted by acorns Jeffrey MacFarlane and Mike Nicoletti took 1st place in the Doublehanded division.

Coverage for this episode will come from ESPN reporters who tagged along aboard a few of the race boats.  Aurora, guided by the show’s producer Gary Jobson, and our Oakcliff Ker 50 will be two of the featured boats. Tune in Friday at 9pm for the whole story.

Halloween Regatta This Weekend