Page 24 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2022

24 RACING REPORTS
2022 there are 8 of these races running from May to September.
After a break in April for committee
boat maintenance we run two series of races in Southampton Water on Thursday evenings, every week from May to July - a total of 11 races.After this we break to help run Cowes Week and give you a chance
to get some cruising done, before we start our Winter Series - 8 races spread over 4 Sunday mornings in October.To finish the season we run a ‘Charity Pursuit’ race in early November with proceeds going to the RSYC Trust.
All of this leads up to our prize-giving lunch at Gins on 19th November where trophies are presented to the year’s lucky winners.
Participating in racing is great fun and those who do it keep coming back for more. Why not resolve to give it a try in 2022?
Crewing for others
If you don’t have your own boat but would like to race, there are always boat owners looking for crew. To help match up boats and crew we run a Crew Register on our website.This is open to all and caters for those interested in both racing and cruising. Anyone looking for crew or wanting to crew for others can submit their details and a short statement about themselves which will then appear in the register.You can find a link to the register on both the Racing and Cruising pages of our website.
Next time you visit Gins chat to other members there and see if they know anyone who needs more crew.
Helping to run races
Without our dedicated team of volunteers we would not be able to run races and
we are always keen to get more members involved.The team is very welcoming and you can join in with no prior experience and we will train you on the job.The RYA also runs courses, and for those who enjoy the challenge there is a ‘career path’ from club race officer through regional and national to an international qualification.
The race management team sets a course for the race on the day depending on the expected wind strength and direction, the tidal conditions, and the planned finish time. Often we need turning marks in positions where there are no permanent buoys so
we use our RIB to lay temporary racing marks. The team manage the start, timed
to the second, to ensure that no boat is
over the line early.They monitor the race, especially to take action in the event that the conditions are not those that were expected. Finally they run the finish, taking the time that each boat crosses the line. Most of our races are for a mix of boats with different handicaps so the team has to calculate ‘corrected’ times that take handicaps into account, and hence determine each boat’s finishing position. For us the race is on to get the day’s results posted on the Club