January One Design Weekend - Results

Reigning Fleet Champion Andrew Whittome led the way again on the first weekend of the new season (January 7-8) with the able assistance of Ian Storer with Kasey Campbell on Saturday, and super all-pro Etchells crew Artie Means on Sunday. Light and shifty conditions made for challenging race course management decision-making both days, and PRO Bruce Greene accommodated the fleet quite well by squeezing in four races each day.

The starting area was located midway between the Zuniga Jetty Light and the Hotel Del Coronado to provide a much shorter tow/sail to and from the race course and more interesting sailing conditions. Given the relatively small fleet of ten Etchells and light wind (under 10 knots), the upwind legs were between 0.5 and 0.7 miles long (short) which provided some close and tactical racing. This new format of racing is a change from past practice and has been generally well-received so far. When more boats and stronger winds are present, the upwind leg distances will be increased accordingly, but the objective will still be to sail between 3 and 5 races per day – and still get in before sundown.

Joining the Etchells fleet were the J/105s and a few Star boats.

In December the Race Committee will have its fleet party and will recognize those among us who have contributed any amount of time to facilitate the game of sailboat racing.

Some quick statistics for the 2011 SDYC Race Committee:
San Diego Yacht Club Race Committee produced 100 venues in 84 days. That does not include assistance given to the Radio Control fleet or the larger Junior Sailing events. With a few more days of RC work left in the year, year to date, 67 individuals have served 919 total days… figure an average of 7 hours per person yields almost 6500 "person" hours of service.

Of those 67 people, 29 people have served on Race Committee 9 or more days, and of those 29…21 people have 22 days or more, 12 people have 30 or more days, and 5 people have served 40 days or more - that is impressive!

The SDYC Race Committee is always looking for new volunteers. This is not because we don't have enough people currently helping, it's because a healthy, (and to borrow a popular phrase) sustainable organization has a steady influx of new volunteers that are trained and can spread the work load. Few clubs in the country run more races than SDYC. But many have a larger pool of volunteers to draw from. Many clubs have mandatory service requirements for fleets that utilize the Race Committee service, or for new members (presumably to indoctrinate the SDYC Mission Statement: "To encourage and foster interest in all aspects of yachting"). SDYC has never had mandatory service requirements, but we'd love to have more people coming aboard on a regular basis.

To that end, for the racers and non-racers alike, should you feel the need to contribute to the health and excellence of your Yacht Club, learn a new skill, or just broaden your racing skills, volunteering to help the Race Committee a few days a year will certainly accomplish that and is always a good thing to put on your New Year's Resolution list.

Visit the Race Committee section of our website for more details and online sign up. There are lots of great events coming in 2012 (NOOD, Yachting Cup, Match Racing, J/105 North Americans, Junior Keelboat Eliminations, etc) that need assistance. All the training you need is available. Just let us know when you are available.

Volunteering to serve on the Race Committee shouldn't be thought of as something you do after you no longer sail and want to 'give back' to the sport. It should be thought of as something you do concurrent with your passion for boating – hence your membership at the San Diego Yacht Club. Happy New Year!

To plan for next year, make sure to check out our race dates for 2012.