Mike Leigh Prepares for the Laser Worlds at Hayling Island
August 25th, 2010
A note from Mike Leigh as he prepares for the Laser Worlds at Hayling Island starting next week.
“I have been training for five of the last six days and we have had some great wind over that time. Later this afternoon a front is supposed to pass generating quite large winds which will remain for most of tomorrow. It is quite an interesting venue as there is an extreme amount of current in the channel we sail out of and on the race course. The previous two days have been very fresh with a strong opposing tide which has created some rather large waves resulting in plenty of capsizes and bent masts.
Today was one of the lighter days we have seen so far, and I used the opportunity to trial another sail. I was pleased with this sail and now plan to use it during the regatta. Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day as the forecast is calling for gusts into the high 30′s which is beyond the racing limits. It will give me an opportunity to make a few small adjustments to my boat.”
Phillips Brothers (AUS) Leading Seiko Speed Challenge
August 12th, 2010
Sam and Will Phillips of Australia hit a fast time in the Seiko Speed Challenge this week in Weymouth. They got video of their run and may well win the prize for the fastest speed of the season.
Seiko watches, the long running sponsor of the 49er class, as sponsored a speed challenge each of the past 2 seasons. Teams carry GPS systems and log their fastest speeds with cash prizes for the winners.
49er X Test
August 5th, 2010
Dear Sailors and Sailing Fans,
The test of 49er X Racing went well on Aug 4th in Weymouth. Two separate tests fleets were run, with 5 races each. Each series resulted in two 1 on 1 races to determine Bronze and 4th and also to determine Gold and Silver.
We have kept the media coverage pretty low key as Sail For Gold did not want us to take away from their event starting on the 7th of August. Photo’s, video, and the story will be released after S4G finishes.
A full sailor debrief occurred the next day with the sailors:
Feed back was very positive with some positive comments coming out of the test.
Please find the notes from this below. There was plenty of video taken which should get edited fairly soon (connecting cable lost). Please feel free to get back to us with any further thoughts or comments! Attached is a rather long rambling set of notes which contains most of the planning and notes from this first test.
What we did:
0.16 nm long upwind boats did 4 -5 tacks ? In 1.5 min legs
Ran 6 races each 8 – 10 mins long going into sequence less than 3 mins after finishing.
Posted results on white board immidietaly after each race.
360 turns for penaltys, boats could hit marks
3 laps 2 would have been fine
Not much place changing after first leg
Starboard Windward mark rounding looked good
Did not move course very much, did move Windard mark a bit but not leeward. Start line was too short, not enough space for all boats.
Used marks to define the edges of the course fixed edges would be better.
10 boats competed. In the final, Nathan Outteridge (AUS) and Iain Jensen defeater John Pink and Rick Peacock (GBR) to win the Gold. In the 3/4 race, the Sibello brothers (ITA) defeater Manu and Stephane (FRA) to win the Bronze.
Notes from the meeting:
Too many races 3 – 4 races better, 4 races needed to break through the luck factor
To keep emphasis on normal racing, the fleet should carry forward place from gold fleet
keep it simple as possible
2 laps
Capsizing made positions confusing for spectators mainly form later group of lower standard
Sailors like the high intensity
good to see how rules and aggression increases when something at stake, on water jury needed as much for detterent as any thing else
Starboard rounding good as makes closer and more interesting. But want to try port as well. There were too many boats for starboard roundings, there were more than 8 (10)
It was not seen as fair to decide winner from one race. The match race should change so that carry position through and first to win 2. ie leader from previous round can win one race and second has to win two to win. Definitely to try this in Perth test.
In general is was a good balance between fair competition and media, there were not many passing opportunities.
does the winner have to win the last race?
Extreme weather can lead to a winner being one condition biased
more weighting from fleet racing ( gold fleet ) carry points through
we need expert tv advice on areas like 8 min final or short time final
can’t get boats to full speed not so exciting to sail or watch
There is consensus from this group that a medal race with width restriction is the first step, suggested to be 2 : 1 ratio for starters, sailors happy to do this in this Olympic cycle.
8 mins is good time in fact number of boats in fleet should equal target time in minutes
Run 49er X racing prior to world cup events with quick qualifying series on first day and 8 boat restricted course on second day with match race final. Carry points through from qualifying to 8 boat section and carry position in to match race as one score, best of two scores to win.
And run above as perth test
Market it as a test to avoid resistance and run these prior to all WC events for foreseeable future. Coach boats to run but we need to get course barriers made and tested.
In test event allow all to have a go so start early and have each set of 8 boats do a mini series of 2 or 3 races each. Winner of each 8 goes in to a losers final with a further 4 races and a match race final. This to be held after main final but all the other rounds to be done before main final.
(These next notes refer to regular racing) Future class events one big fleet for qualifying ( pre gold fleet ) and don’t carry any thing in to gold fleet start a fresh. Only two days of qualifying. Top ten from worlds auto qualify for gold fleet at world cup events, but not at worlds.
Form small sub committee for this
Current members are:
- GBR Simon Hiscocks
- AUS Nathan Outeridge
- ITA Pietro Sibelleo
- DEN Allan Noregard
- FRA tba
- 3 more required be good to include some media experts?????
We only had 12 people present and we got a lot of productive with some good points debated and some decisions made.
Current and latest format plan (suggested by this group for Perth )
One day qualifying in one fleet normal size course with target time of race equal to number of boats in minutes. 3 races. Un debated if to have a discard? Perhaps not.
Finals are top 8 and each 8 thereafter. They take points through with them.
Finals are 2 laps on restricted course with a ratio of 3 : 1
Top 4 go to match race with 3 against 4 and 1 against 2. Take there position through as one score.
Best of two races to win.
Each group of 8 boats also do the 8 boat part with out the match race end 3 races each and the winner goes on to a losers final.
After conclusion of the main final losers final take place with 4 races no points carry though. Then in to identical match race final. This is purely to give more sailors the chance to race in these conditions and practise this style. As a class we would want to encourage all the fleet to get to do the 8 boat racing so when they do it for real they are practised at it and match racing.
To also try at Perth: Port roundings, wide start line, narrow leeward gate.
Longer course we did 0.16nm which was fine on flat water up to 20 knots. But felt that slightly longer 50% again would be a bit better. As a spectator I would advocate keeping it short.
Course barrier should be a straightish line. Lane rope might work but we have concerns about leaving it in the water as a hazard to navigation, imagine when / if a power boat comes through the course.
Also slight concern if it is a fixed object is that rescue boat can not get in or out quick.
Inflatable tubes with weights underneath would be ideal and make a visual barrier.
Research has began on this although it does need following up.
49er X Test Event Sailing Instructions
August 3rd, 2010
1. Introduction
This is a test of a new racing format, intended to provide close, fair racing that is exciting for competitors and spectators alike. Safety is a prime consideration here: we want NO DAMAGE to people or equipment. So please don’t push it too hard – if the format itself causes any problems, we can talk about them at the debrief.
- 2. Rules
The event is run under ISAF RRS 2010 and these Sailing Instructions (SI). In case of conflict the SI will prevail. We will resolve all incidents and protests on the water and there is no appeal.
- 3. Course
- 3.1. The course is windward – leeward with a line of buoys marking a ‘restricted zone’ that all boats must stay within on upwind and downwind legs. This area has a length to width ratio of 3:1; this is one aspect we want to test so it may be reduced to 4:1 to force more tacks, gybes and crossing.
- 3.2. The windward mark will be central in the middle of the course no more than a third of the leg length above the top of the width restriction.
- 3.3. The windward mark shall be left to Starboard.
- 3.4. The leeward gate shall be passed from inside to outside.
- 3.5. The start and finish line will be the width of the course approximately in the middle of the restricted zone.
- 3.6. In the event of a large windshift the restricted zone will remain in place but the leeward gate will be moved such that it is down wind of the bottom of the zone and a decent length of upwind down wind is maintained. Boats shall still sail through the zone and round the windward mark on each round.
- 3.7. Target time for each race is 8 – 10 minutes (3 laps?)
- 3.8. Time limit is 100 minutes no more races after 100 minutes
- 3.9. The buoys marking the edge of the restricted zone are marks of the course and boats must sail through the zone, leaving the starboard set to starboard and the port set to port. Boats will not be disqualified for crossing the imaginary lines connecting the buoys in each set, as long as they do not actually pass outside any buoy. The imaginary lines connecting buoys are obstructions and boats may ask for room to stay in the restricted zone.
10. 4. Scoring
- 4.1. High Low point scoring with first getting 1 point
- 4.2. Boats OCS shall be scored 8 points
- 4.3. Scores will be displayed after each race on a board.
- 4.4. There will be no protests: the jury will decide on the water and will indicate their decisions with a green flag waved or a red flag pointed at the offending boat.
- 4.5. Penalty shall be leaving the course for that race and scoring 8 points. The jury will focus their attention on the boats in contention in the last few races.
16. 5. Schedule
- 5.1. The race will start at 14.00: no delays, no rule 42 (open for pumping, etc). If it is too windy small rigs will be used at the discretion of the organisers.
- 5.2. After 8 races or 100 minutes 3 and 4 in the rankings sail against each other followed by 1 and 2.
19. 6. Other craft
- 6.1. There could be spectator boats and other craft in the area outside the zone and boats racing shall not interfere with any other such craft.
- 6.2. Coach boats, media boats and spectators and Jury boats shall operate outside the restricted zone. There shall be a specific lane just outside the zone for media and Jury boats. The Jury shall use the same boats as the media and their discussion and decisions should be broadcastable.
22. 7. Rules for match racing
- 7.1. Each rule has precedence over its successor
- 7.2. Port gives way to Starboard
- 7.3. Inside boat has room
- 7.4. Windward gives way to leeward
- 7.5. Boats must anticipate another boat requiring right of way.
[RP: What about a boat tacking giving way to a boat on a tack?]
28. 8. Definition
A boat is on a tack until its sails are filled and the boat is moving on the new tack. A spinnaker or a jib has to be filled and pulling.
[RP: Really? Don't you mean “A boat is tacking until…”]
4 of the top 8 in World Ranking signed up for Theater Style Trial
July 31st, 2010
Get your entries in for the trial on Aug 4th in Weymouth, UK asap all you 49er sailors! So far we have 4 of the top 8 in the World Rankings signed up, Manu (FRA), Morgan (FRA), Nathan (AUS), and Allan (DEN). There is still room for more entires.
At 6:00 pm on the 3rd is the deadline for registration. Currently a top team can register and get added to the ‘A’ fleet if their finishes are high enough. After the deadline, if you want to register you’ll only be able to if there is space left to fill a fleet that is not up to 8 yet. Email me to register now.
Coach Boats Available for Perth 2010 and Sail Melbourne 2010
July 27th, 2010
We have boats for offer this winter in Australia. Boats will be arriving in Perth in October and then will be shipped to Melbourne after the Perth Test event for Sail Melbourne. Book now before we are sold out.
1st Test of Theater Style Racing
July 25th, 2010
Hi Sailors and Sailing Fans,
After the 49er AGM in Poland, the 49er class has spoken clearly that we continue to push the limits of sailing. The mainsail flags looked fantastic. The media coverage was comprehensive and progressive, and the racing intense, as always.
In response to the 49er sailors consensus, there will be two tests of ‘Theater Style Racing’ over the next few months.
The First Test – Option 1
This test will be on August 4th in Weymouth in hopes that many teams will want to participate ahead of the Sail For Gold Regatta. It will be a great opportunity for starting practice and boathandling practice ahead of that event.
Because there is no qualifying to determine who makes the finals, the following formula will be used: (World Ranking + Europeans Finish + Worlds Finish) / 3. These rankings will determine which flight each team that registers will be in. The top 8 will be in Flight A, 9-16 will be in Flight B, etc. Sailor will carry their ranking in as a score, to better simulate moving into the 8 boat fleet from a qualifying series. So #1 will carry 1 point in, #8 will carry 8 points in.
Medal Racing in Theater + 1 on 1 Final
Each series will be given a 90 minute window to race. A schedule will be posted the night before.
12:00 Flight
14:00 Flight
16:00 Flight
Each series of 8 boats will race for approximately 1.5 hours, hopefully 4-6 races. 3rd and 4th will then race one on one for the Bronze. Following that, 1st and 2nd will race one on one for the Gold.
Notes:
a) We are unsure how many boats we can accommodate, but will do our best to make things work for those who want to participate. If more than 32 boats register, we will likely not consider adding a second day because we do not want to get too close to Sail For Gold and take away from that event.
b) 8 boat flights is the number chosen because it is a bit of a standard number for other Olympic sports. Otherwise it is somewhat random, but a good test of this type of racing.
c) The number of races will be limited to 1.5 hours to accommodate many teams getting a chance to participate and learn about this type of racing. It is likely that consensus will push for a fixed number of races in future events, and this is a compromise we’re making for the test.
d) Once the last boat finishes a race the 3 minute gun to the next start will be raised promptly. Each start will be a ‘Black Flag’ start, and there will be no discards.
e) Email Ben Remocker (benremocker@hotmail.com) with your Europeans, Worlds, and ISAF ranking to register.
f) The 1 on 1 final option was chosen as the first test because it is easier to execute than Option 2. We have very limited resources in Weymouth at the time of the test. It is basically Simon Hiscocks + whoever he can recruit. If the class desires we will consider adding a 3rd test around the Miami OCR timeframe.
g) There will be a media boat. If any media would like a spot on the media boat please email us to reserve a space. We will also have a large scoreboard that will be updated continuously on the water so that sailors will know the score. We will attempt to get a judge or judges to do on the water umpiring, coaches may need to be utilized if we cannot get one. Any judges who wish to participate, please email us your interest in doing so. Please note that we do not wish to detract from the sail for gold event there fore any media out put will be held until 2 days after the sail for gold event has finished.
h) We are developing this as we go, so please support our efforts and make your constructive comments on our comment boards. It is likely some details will evolve, so please be open minded to the changes.
The Second Test – Option 2
The second test event will be Option 2, and in conjunction with the Perth 2010 regatta. The format in Perth will be quarter finals and semi finals of 8 boats each. Then the finals will be a 4 boat final with the first boat to win 2 races winning the event. Exact details will be made available as they are developed. All indications are that we will be racing up the causeway where some of the best Aussie 18 racing took place. The event organizers are supporting the event and Barry is coordinating.
Further Testing
Other suggestions to decide the medals include a ‘ x ‘ boat final one race shoot out suggested 4 boats but could be 3 or more.
Dont like the idea of change?
Remember it is a medal race replacement not an event replacement. See below to see the goals we have set out to achieve. We are trying to create a format to appeal to fans and media with out loosing the core principals of the sport. What will be important is to tie each section of the event to the next. We suggest that over all places be taken through to each section as one result. Given a 49er Championship the event would follow a qualifying, gold, silver bronze, top 8, top 4 format. The same day as the top 8 and top 4 the remainder of gold, silver, bronze fleet would continue to race. Potentially these could all be split in to 8 boat fleets and everyone run through an abbreviated 8 boat sail off.
The Goals
In order of importance;
Make for a good and fair competition for ALL competitors.
Be fun and easily workable from an event management perspective.
Test the competitors and produce a worthy champion.
Be easy to produce media – tv / video, tracking, commentary, written, live viewing.
Be easy to follow as a spectator both on site and online.
Have a final race.
Have a final race in which the winner is the final winner.
End on the same day for all competitors.
End with a party for competitors, volunteers, friends and family and guests.
Every one go home happy.
What do we achieve?
We get an 8 minute final that is possible to tune in to and understand without watching any previous races.
We get 90 minutes of racing on the same basis.
We still get 3 days or so of gold fleet racing and 3 or so of qualifying. Depending on a fans level of interest, get more options to follow the event.
Laser Worlds and Laser Masters Worlds in Hayling Island
July 24th, 2010
Hi there Laser sailors,
Port Tack Charter wants to remind you that we have 3 coach boats remaining for the Laser Worlds and 5 boats remaining for the Laser Master World Champoinships. Both events are being held in Hayling Island at the HISC. Let us know if you wish to reserve one.
Picturing the Course
July 4th, 2010
Hello sailors and sailing fans,
Before the big debate at the AGM I wanted to post a couple of diagrams to outline how the class and sailors can be in control of how ‘extreme’ the change needs to be, even within the ‘theater style’ concept.
First, lets look at the current course.
So without changing any racing we currently do, we could put in lane ropes from where boats could safely watch, but no interfere at all. By design, this would be a poor experience for the fan. Few boats manage to pull off a 2 tack beat to the corner of the race course, so by design, most of the time, most of the boats would be at least 400m away.
Now look at what happens with a restriction, note in this case, a 2 tack beat is still possible.
In this case, the fans are significantly closer to the action at all times. Instead of being more than 400m away from all the boats, they are a maximum of 400m away from all the boats, and significantly closer most of the time. As well, the sailors are not overly interrupted, even sailors aiming for a 2 tack beat probably end up doing more.
An now we take a look at the standard 4 tack beat.
Here the benefits to the spectator really start paying off. They are a maximum of 200m away, and have double the number of ’close’ encounters. The sailor have their leverage significantly diminished, but still do a fairly standard 4 tack beat.
The above would be the minimum that would seem to make sense for the ‘theater style’ racing to make a difference. In breeze, the 4 tack beat would be manageable for all, and still give the spectator a seat near the action.
In more moderate breeze, the fans may get even closer by scaling the course down (shortening distance to the top mark, and pro rata the width) and/or moving the aspect ratio even higher, forcing more maneuvers. As the sailors try these courses out it should become fairly obvious at what numbers of boats what aspect ratio and lengths (by time taken) work best.
After the first trial, a consensus seems to be forming around the dimensions of the course:
regards,
Ben
Results from Racer Survey on ‘Theater Style’ Racing
July 1st, 2010
Dear Sailors and Fans,
The 49er Class held a survey to ask our 49er sailors, the people directly affected by the ‘Theater Style’ Racing initiative, what they thought.
The 5 questions were:
1. Do you think ‘Theatre Style Racing’ would be better for spectators and the media?
2. Would you support a trial of ‘Theatre Style Racing’ for 49ers?
3. Do you think the match race option or the sailorcross option will be better?
4. Should the class decide to trial ‘Theatre Style Racing’, which events should the 49er use? (note, we don’t control all of these events)
Options were: Europeans 2010, Sail for Gold, Extra event – Speed week related after Sail for Gold, Perth 2010, both the extra event and Perth 2010, or None
5. Do you in principle support the 49er class effort to push the envelope of sailing into the media?
The results are in! 41 Sailors responded, which represents about 1/4 of active 49er sailors. We are 100% unanimous on question 5, “do you support class efforts to push the envelope with the media” – YES. Thank you all for your support on this! Class support is the backbone of any initiative so we thank you for keeping the top level goals in mind.
On question 1: Would ‘theater style’ be better for spectators and the media? 37 say yes, 4 say no, 90%.
On question 2: Do you support a trial of ‘Theater style’? 33 say yes, 8 say no, 80%.
On question 4: Where should this trial take place?
4 say Europeans 2010 (sorry, we took too long to roll this out, so this option is no longer possible.
16 (40%) say it should be an extra event right after Sail For Gold 2010
7 (18%) say we should try to do it at Sail For Gold 2010
5 (12%) say we should do an extra event after Sail For Gold 2010 and at Perth 2010
3 (7%) say we should do it at Perth 2010.
And the final question, should we try SailorCross or Match Race,
22 (54%) say SailorCross, 19 (46%) say Match Race style, so basically a tie.
Hopefully more sailors will contribute their thoughts during the AGM at the Europeans next week. The compromise and consensus solution does seem to be to try both, one style at an extra event after sail for gold, and one style at Perth 2010.
Thanks for your participation,
Ben Remocker and Simon Hiscocks, members of the 49er World Council
