Butterfly Fleet 20: 3-5-2016 Racing

by John, Cathy, and Gary

The entire fleet seen from jibe mark after about 30 minutes. The lead boat is just rounding the windward mark.

John:

We had 11 Butterflys, 4 Lasers, and 4 Snipes on the line, 19 boats in all. I'm sure it was a frustrating day for the racers. We set a short course given the light winds, but it became clear that we didn't have the wind to finish even the first race. . . Mark brought up the commonly used time limit that any single race has to have a finisher within 90 minutes, and the last boat has to finish within 30 minutes of the leader finishing. No chance, so we decided to shorten the race. By the way, it took Gene 1 hour in the lead Snipe to make one lap!

We thought the procedure to shorten course was to drop a finishing buoy by the leeward mark, then signal the fleet with the "S" flag before they rounded the turning mark. Gene in his Snipe and two lasers were first around the turning mark, and we told them the plan. Bruce was the first Butterfly, and he informed us that the rules said the "S" flag and the nearest mark formed the new finish line, thanked us, and headed for the dock. Doug G. and Cathy rounded next, and headed for the leeward finish. Gary then came along and felt our initial plan was right, and pressed on to the leeward mark finish line. Here's what the rules say:

"32.2. If the race committee signals a shortened course (displays flag S with two sounds), the finishing line shall be,

(a) at a rounding mark, between the mark and a staff displaying flag S; (Bruce)

(b) at a line boats are required to cross at the end of each lap, that line; (Committee/Gary)

The shortened course shall be signaled before the first boat crosses the finishing line."

Our plan was based on (b), but there appears to be some controversy here. So...if we use (a), the finishing sequence was Bruce, Doug G., Cathy. If we use (b), the finishing sequence was Doug G., Cathy, Gary. One thing I know we did wrong was blowing the horn once, we should have blown it twice.

The rest of the fleet pretty much scattered to their respective clubs, and that was that.

Beautiful day at the lake, just missing the wind. Hope everyone had fun anyway.

Cathy:

Based on some things from googling around on the internet, I think the answer is (a) for ex. one fleet explains:

“S” Flag /Shorten Course – If you find yourself in a situation where the wind has dwindled, the course turns out to be too long, or few, if any, of the competitors will finish within the time limit should there be one listed in the LSI, then move the Committee Boat to the Channel Mark or Rounding Mark nearest to where the lead competitor is approaching, anchor the boat to provide a finish line between that marker and the “RC” Flagstaff, and raise the “S” Flag with two (2) sound signals to signify that you are finishing the fleet at this new point. See the LSI for instructions on how to shorten only one fleet or the other but keep in mind that you cannot finish two fleets in different locations.

But it sounds like we need to clarify in our SIs on the Butterfly website or publish here which way is correct for future reference once we decide for sure.

It was a great day and thank you to John and Mark for drifting around with us and especially thank you for shortening the course! And thank you to John for the photos and comments. Checking with Gary, he indicates there are some things about changing the course that refer to the old rules that we need to review and correct.

After discussion with Frank, it seems the consensus is 32.2 (a) finish at the boat which is how it was scored. During lunch, we plan to have discussion regarding shortening vs. changing the course vs. finishes.

Gary:

I used results on the race form - finishes at the boat, not at blue buoy line. But Fleet 20 Bfly Rules should override - should be up for Flt20 discussion to modify/adjust now for summer.