Hi everyone and HNY ! I know a society like this cant last without everyone helping. Not much I can do to help right now on this thread but I did go over my notes for this season yesterday and maybe these will help in a practical way:
1. It isn't clear to a newbie that RC is held responsible by USCG for lost boats and how. Maybe add emphasis to reporting RET and getting an ACK from RC. At my first SSS race someone retired and sailed off but did not report. At the Vallejo race I saw first-hand how difficult it could be for RC to get VMs. Wording is "clear voicemail" but how do you know it is clear? You may think you left a clear VM but often wind noise makes it impossible to understand. Also if you leave a VM from a phone number that isnt known, how do you track it down? Text from a known number linked to a boat seemed to be the best and maybe only way to RET and ACK. What isn't clear from reading the NOR or SI is what a problem it is for RC and then USCG if someone retires but doesn't report.
Accounting for all racers is a big issue with every RC on the bay. The SSS RC is responsible for letting USCG know when everyone has finished racing or has retired. We don't get to go home until we can account for everyone, even if that means calling your emergency contacts late at night. The NOR now says you have three ways of getting in touch with RC (text, VHF, or voice mail). What the revised NOR also says in Section 13.2. is that "Retiring is not complete until acknowledged by the Race Committee." This means that if we don't acknowledge your VM or text or you don't hear us respond on VHF because you're behind Coast Guard Island and out of line of sight, then you have not properly retired.
2. A newbie may not know SIs often change right up to the race. It would be good to either say just that or limit at least the type of changes. For the longer races I stay overnight in SF before the start. Sometimes it is hard to get internet access. For example if Jibset PDFs change at the last minute, its not easy to read them, even on your phone. I know its noon the day before right now but moving that line back 12 hours would make a big difference.
The RC's intent is to have SIs correct and uploaded to Jibeset earlier than, but not later than, the Wednesday before each race, but everyone needs to check the SIs to see that they have not been revised, which will be noted in Jibeset, too. It would be rare to keep making changes either the day before or at the start, but schtuff happens and RC reserves that right, especially as it relates to a safety issue or something out of our control like an established mark that breaks from its mooring. I can promise you that I (as RC co-chair) will do my best to announce any written changes over VHF the morning of the race, but it's still your responsibility to know. I might be opening a Pandora Box, but feel free to text the RC and ask them directly. Their contact # will be listed on the SIs. We are being paid beaucoup bucks as RCs, so please be kind with the gripes, if we should mess up anything.
3. I was very surprised at how seriously folks take the rules
[OH, you have NO idea....] but when racing and I got a DSC alert that could have been a MOB, it seemed to be ignored by the fleet. I also had a hard time figuring out what was going on with USCG. This event also underscored that if you only get an MMSI in an alert, how to you or RC quickly track that to a boat? I think VHF DSC is needed at least for offshore and at least for RC. I think maybe a list of MMSI and boats should be published. Maybe also more emphasis on when there is an alert you should drop everything? There is a RRS rule change along those lines with new flagging, I think.
This response would take more time and thought than I have right now but suffice it to say that everybody on the water (whether racing or not) has a duty to render service. The very first thing that the RRS says in Section 1.1 is "A boat, competitor or support person shall give all possible help to any person or vessel in danger." But also know that if 30 boats converge on an MOB, then that might not be the best thing either. As was learned with the Low Speed Chase accident, comms on the VHF can also complicate rescue efforts. Every skipper needs to assess what is happening on the water, how close they are to render assistance, and how best to do that. Also, DSC should be standard on every vessel. Knowing how to use it to send or receive a DSC alert is also the responsibility of each skipper. Any thoughts on this from others? Reading the after-accident reports were eye opening and have been helpful tools for me as I continue to progress my experience while cruising and racing.
4. I think your ask was just for NOR but can I also ask here for more newbie "educational" content in the SIs at least for Farallones, Drake's Bay, HMB and LongPac? For Farallones getting an accurate weather forecast is important. For Drake's Bay, more information on South storms and anchoring locations. For HMB, same and more information about berths in the harbor. For LongPac any information, pointers, links that would help a newbie.
Let us consider what we can do. SSS provides seminars for those prepping for SHTP and each race has a skippers meeting that often contains the information that you are seeking; however, it remains the responsibility of each skipper to know what the weather is doing and to know the limitations of yourself, your crew, your vessel, and whether your gear is appropriate for the conditions. When I did some races with BAMA, they had required reading for their offshore races. Check it out! The first time I soloed to Drakes Bay and anchored for the fourth time on my boat in the dark. I then spent the next two hours listening to boats calling for CG assistance as they dragged anchors into each other and onto the shore. It was scary. There are many people on this forum and in the sailing community who can also guide you. Please reach out and brainstorm with people you meet. Michael Jefferson (Mouton Noir) and Dave Morris (Moonshadow and Tri-n-fly) were the primary ones I leaned on (hard) to help me learn as quickly as I could as a new sailor with a 38-footer.
5. A link to the RRS might help. Either
https://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/WSRRS20212024FinalwithChgsandCorrecns201113-[26798].pdf and/or the page
https://www.ussailing.org/competition/rules-officiating/the-racing-rules-of-sailing-2021-2024/ Tough to include links when they may get stale, but in this case I think it really helps a newbie. You did put the COLREGS link in, but not to the amalgamated rules at
https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/navigation-rules-amalgamated. I'm still not sure what the relationship between versions is exactly or what "When a boat sailing under these rules meets a vessel that is not, she shall comply with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (IRPCAS) or government right-of-way rules." At least its not spelled out to the level of precision used elsewhere.
Coast Guard rules absolutely RULE in US waters. Racing Rules of Sailing (here's the 2021-2024 PDF: https://d7qh6ksdplczd.cloudfront.ne...S-with-Chgs-and-Corrns-v1to-4_-Jan-1-2023.pdf) govern you only when you're racing under our NOR. An example from my early racing on a friend's Hunter 41 was coming up to a mark and another, faster boat was coming up behind us. Someone on that boat yelled, "We're racing. Get out of the way." We yelled back, "so are we" and that was the end of that. All I ask is, "don't be that guy." Everyone is just trying to enjoy their time on the water, or they have a job to do on the water. And Coast Guard rules us all.
