Thank you for volunteering to help with Race Committee (RC)!
Here’s a refresher of a typical Sunday raceday:
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Meet the Principal Race Officer (PRO) of the day at the committee boat, which is docked at the marina.
12:00 PM
PRO will go over the day's assignments and answer any questions.
12:30 PM
Committee boats depart the marina docks to set up the course.
1:30 PM
First race start
4:00 PM
RC boats return to dock and should be finished up shortly after
In case of postponements, no warning signal will be made after 4:30 PM unless stated in a separate NoR.
Once the RC boats are put away, meet up with the sailors at the rigging lot for the social hour.
Restroom Breaks:
It’s usually not a problem to return to the marina in the supporting mark boat during races if needed.
Pickup may be delayed if the support boat is in service.
What to bring:
- Water
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Jacket or rain gear as needed
- Snacks or lunch if desired
- Binoculars or camera if desired
- Folding chair for rigging lot social hour after racing
Feel free to bring coolers and bags - there’s plenty of room on the pontoon boat!
Duties:
The PRO will give you the details, but there are two main components to RC volunteering:
Rescuing the Sailors
Race Committee is on station to provide rescue assistance to capsized sailors in need. Capsize recovery is almost always performed from the mark boat and it should be staffed with capable and physically fit volunteers.
When approaching a downed boat, first ensure the safety of the skipper and crew and then ask if they require assistance.
Once a skipper accepts outside assistance, that race is over for them. Report the boat information to the PRO.
Running the Race
There are four general roles required to effectively run races: PRO (Principal Race Officer), Timer/Recorder, Line Spotter, and Signaler. The PRO will explain these jobs in detail and assign volunteers as necessary.
- The PRO evaluates wind and weather to establish the race course, and is responsible for the conduct and oversight of all that day's racing.
- The recorder keeps track of boats on the water by recording the boat type and sail number for each scored skipper, and their start times, course information, and finish time. They also keep track of the start sequence timing and associated audible signals.
- The line spotter primarily looks for boats that are over the line early, and alerts the recorder when a boat finishes. They also serve as another set of eyes monitoring the lake with the recorder.
- The flag operator raises and lowers the signal flags as required.
It takes longer to explain the various duties than it does to actually learn them, and most of your time will be spent watching sailboat racing from the front row seat.
Thank you again for volunteering your time; Jacomo Sailing Club wouldn’t be the finest race sailing club in the Midwest without your help.