March 27 2007
Friday Night Races start on March 30! Thanks to the early switch to Daylight Time, the Friday Night Racing season starts a week early this year. But no BBQ on the 30th: The weekend of March 31-April 1 is also the BYC Wheeler Reggatta weekend, which means pre-regatta oyster bar and other goodies.
If you are racing in the Wheeler, use the first Friday as your crew tune-up.
New Sailing Instructions for the Friday Night Races are now up. No new courses or changes to the division assignments.
We might add a code flag 5 later in the season for an additional set of course choices, mainly to better accommodate unusual wind directions in the winter. Existing course designations will not change, only new course numbers will be added.
January 15 2007
Early switch to Daylight time in 2007
The beginning of Daylight Time has beem moved up to the middle of March! That means that we can start Friday Night Racing earlier than in previous years.
The current plan is to continue the Chowder races through March 25, then switch to Friday Night Races just five days later on March 30. This will also serve as a tune-up race for the Wheeler Regatta on March 31 and April 1.
We continue with three divisions for Friday Night Racing: Division 1 is for all boats rating 170 or slower regardless of size (the de facto "Plastic Classic" division). Boats rating 171 and faster are divided by length: 29 ft. LOA or less in Division 2, longer than 29 ft. in Division 3.
No change in starting times: Division 1 at 6:35, Division 2 at 6:45 and Division 3 at 6:55. Note the ten minute spacing between starts, small boats first. This seems to get everyone back to the bar at about the same time without causing a traffic jam at the windward mark.
June 11 2005
Back to Three Divisions for the rest of 2005
Due to very light participation in the small class, we are reluctantly combining divisions 1 and 2 and going back to three starts, at 6:35, 6:45 and 6:55. The new Division 1 will include all boats rating 170 or slower, regardless of size. This will be a de facto "plastic Classic" division, but will go all the way down in size to include Santana 22, Ranger 23 and Cal 20 classes (which are still plastic classics, just small ones). The problem is that a few of the regulars moved up to faster boats, and the Cal Sailing Club fleet has not been participating this year. And they just aren't building any new race boats that are slower than 170. Note that the other two divisions are unchanged, except that the old Division 3, now Division 2, starts five minutes earlier at 6:45. No change at all for the big boats.
March 15 2005
New Division Breaks for 2005 Friday Night Races
We finally have enough boats on the line for four divisions, and this will allow us to have a new "plastic classic" division for boat 26 ft LOA or longer and rating 170 or slower. This will collect classes like the Cal 2-27, Catalina 27, Catalina 30, Santana 27, Islander 29, Discovery 32, Ranger 28 and other older fiberglass cruiser-racers. These boats all have approximately similar sailing characteristics and we expect to have some good racing in this class.
Note the changes in starting intervals: There will be starts at 6:35 and 6:40, then a 10 minute gap for separation (and for recalled starts if needed) and then two more starts at 6:50 and 6:55.
No change in courses. You can save paper by using old course sheets. But don't forget to review the new starting times and recall procedures.
Also, because we keep losing the recall flags, individual and general recalls might be signalled by VHF hail on channel 71. For race info and for safety, all boats should have a VHF readily accessible to the cockpit.
May 19 2004
New Division Break, Effective June 4 2004:
The break between Division 1 and Division 2 will be PHRF=190 (TCF=1.127), down from the old break point of 210.
This will move the Catlina 27, Cal 2-27 and Santana 27 into the first start, at 6:35. Division 2 will be limited to boats under 29 ft LOA and rating 189 or faster. and Division is 3 is unchanged.
This change is intended to address two problems:
1) There has been very light participation in Division 1 this year, with only 3 or 4 boats on the starting line most weeks (compared to ten or more in Division 2. This should even up the number of boats somewhat in Divisions 1 and 2.
2) The older boats have had a tough time competing against all the newer and lighter boats in Division 2. Division 2 will now be mostly J-24s, Merits, Olsons and SC-27s. The boats that move to Division 1 should find better racing among boats with more similar performance characteristics.
Division 3 continues to grow in popularity. If the number of starters is consistently above 10, we will consider splitting the big boats into fast and slow divisions, probably with the break around PHRF=150 (TCF=1.194). We would then have four divisions total, with under 29 ft LOA divided into fast and slow at PHRF=190, and over 29 ft LOA divided into fast and slow at PHRF=150. Starting times still to be determined if we do this - we could go back to 5-minute intervals, or extend the starting sequence another ten mintues. Feedback on this will be appreciated.
Previous update April 4 2003
Just one week to the start of Friday Night Racing for 2003!
Two big changes this year:
1) We will continue to use time-on-time handicapping, which has proven to work well during the last two seasons of Chowder races. Time-on-time is conceptually simpler, and has given better results in lighter winds. This has been the default system used by YRA for several years.
2) The start times have been changed to allow ten minutes between starts instead of five. This is intended to reduce the close crossing situtations between big and small boats, which has led to a number of collisions in previous years. With the new start times, the big boats will not catch the early starters until much later in the race, if at all. It avoids the crush at the windward mark and helps get the small boats back to the bar at the same time as the big boats.
If there is strong participation from Merit 25s and J-24s, we might separate these boats from the rest of Class 2 and have a 168-rater level class. The starting time will probably be 6:50. Watch this space and the BYC race bulletin board for announcements.
As always, volunteers are needed for RC. It is now divided into three tasks: RC Manager (who is in charge of the starting line and course selection); RC Boat Skipper (who brings the boat, motor and anchor); and Finish Line Manager, who takes times, works out results, and passes our the trophies. Note that the RC Boat Skipper does not have to have any racing experience, and the Finish Line Manager can arrive much later than the racers. Volunteer early and volunteer often. More details on the BYC website.
Previous update February 17, 2002
First Friday Night Race: April 12 2002
The first Friday Night Race on April 12 is the weekend of the BYC Wheeler Regatta, now moved to April. All Wheeler entrants are invited to participate. There is no additional entry fee required. A separate entry form for the Friday Night Race will make life easier for the RC, but we can sort it out from the Wheeler entries if you don't have time to get the entry form to us before the race.
Space at the guest dock may be in short supply, so please let the BYC Port Captain know in advance if you plan to stay over.
If you are new to Friday Night Races at BYC, pay attention to the starting order (small/slow boats first) to make sure you start in the right class. Also make sure you understand how the UTC-based timing of the start works.
Here is the class breakdown and exact starting times:
Class 1, 6:40 start: All boats rating 210 or slower, regardless of size.
Class 2, 6:45 start: All boats rating 209 or faster and less than 30 ft. LOA.
Class 3, 6:50 start: All boats rating 209 or faster and 30 ft. LOA or longer.
The start is 1/4 mile outside the Berkeley Marina, and the finish is from the BYC deck. All other marks are Olympic Circle marks.
There is a grill-it-yourself BBQ dinner and trophy presentation at BYC after the race.
(Previous update March 28, 2001
As always, volunteers are needed to fill out the Race Committee schedule. See below for more detailed explanations of what's required and why you should do this.
No big changes from last year, except that this time the Big Class will be defined as LOA of 30 ft or more, for simplicity. Yachts over 30' having unusually short waterline lengths may petition to race in the Middle Class.
(Previous update September 27, 2000)
This in only two days after the last Friday Night Race of the season, but the BYC "Now Hear This" newsletter listed it that way. So rather than leave any possibility of someone showing up and not finding a race, we'll go ahead with Chowder #1 on October 1.
Also remember that we're back to Sunday Chowder Races, the move to Saturday having proved to be unpopular. Start is at 12:40 exactly. All boats in one division.
(Previous update March 27 2000)
Racing this year begins on the first Friday following the switch to Daylight Savings Time.
No changes contemplated in courses or class divisions.
(Previous update, December 29 1999)
January 1, 2000, is the date of the next Chowder Race, and the last Saturday Chowder Race before we move to Sundays for the remainder of the winter. It's also the date of the traditional BYC Mystery Cruise.
The January 1 start will be at 11:40, at the usual location. (Subsequent Sunday starts will move back to the old time of 12:40.)
After the start, things change a little. Instead of finishing back at the yacht club, the race will finish at a Mystery Destination.. This will just happen to be the same destination as the BYC Mystery Cruise destination, to be announced just before the start.
The destination is top secret - but it's close enough so that the course distance will not be unusually long for a Chowder Race.
This is a rare opportunity for racers to make an appearance at a BYC cruise, and for cruisers to get involved in some low-stakes racing.
(Previous update, November 21 1999)
Results are in, and the racers are overwhelmingly in favor of moving the Chowder Races back to Sunday, and returning to the old starting time of 12:40.
To minimize confusion and to allow time to change the required Coast Guard permits, we'll stay with the Saturday 11:40 starts though December, and move to Sunday on Januay 16 (January 9 is a Metro Midwinter race date).
January 1 (a Saturday) is the traditional BYC New Years Day "Mystery Cruise." The plan is to modify the Chowder course to a point-to-point race, to finish at the cruise destination. Should be fun, if the weather cooperates.
(Previous Chowder Race News Update: November 10 1999)
Should we do it this year, or finish the season on Saturday? Or do you like Saturday, and want to give this schedule more time to attract more racers? Feedback in the next few days will set policy for 2000. Speak up! (And no whining about the schedule if you don't!)
Email your preference to pk@well.com.
(Previous Friday Night Racing Update: July 30 1999)
Marks A, B, and C are still missing, but X has moved to a position that it is almost exactly the correct spot for mark B.
On Tuesday, July 20, it was observed at 37-52.83 x 122-20.52 (by non-differential GPS).
On Tuesday, July 27, it was observed at 37-52.86 x 122-20.44 (also by non-differential GPS).
The "correct" postition for B is 37-52.82 x 122-20.47) Round this mark if the course calls for a rounding of mark B.
We continue the tradition of Woman Skipper Nights on the last Friday of June, July, and August. All regular entries will be scored, but in order to be eligible for the first place trophy in each class - and to have your win count towards the series championship - there must be a woman on the helm for the entire race.
Chowder Races for the 1999-2000 season will move to Saturdays with an 11:30 start. This is mostly by popular demand, and should result in fewer personal scheduling conflicts for both racers and RC.
The UTC start means that there are no visual shapes for timing. Even sound signals from the RC are approximate and optional. Instead of watching for the shapes, simply take the correct time from your GPS. This is far more accurate than the process of raising a shape to hit the spreader at an exact time. If you are one of the few racers wihout a GPS (or a radio that can receive time signals), simply get a time check from another GPS-equipped racer before you leave the dock. Or call telephone time at 767-1111, which is usually within a second of UTC.
Be careful, however, not to take time from a GPS that has just been turned on. Some older models will display time before acquiring satellites, and this time can be in error by a minute or more.
Recalls and postponements are handled in the usual way, with the "X" flag, "first substitute," and "AP" pennants. Note that the procedure for ending a postponement interval is new, using the "P" flag as a replacement for the blue shape, more or less. Study the Sailing Instructions now so that you'll understand what to do when the time comes.
It takes a bit of getting used to, but the Chowder racers adapted well. And, it makes life much easier for the RC. Instead of keeping our eyes on our watches and handling the signals, we hope to get better starting line video.
Class 1: All boats rating 210 or slower, regardless of size.
Class 2: All boats rating 209 or faster and less than 24.5 ft. LWL.
Class 3: All boats rating 209 or faster and 24.5 ft. LWL or longer.
(based on rating before allowance for roller furling or no spinnaker).
The intent of the division breaks is to help equalize the size of the divisions and narrow the range of ratings. This should give the slower rated boats a better chance for division wins. It will also help get everyone back to the bar at about the same time.
The division breaks also help keep boats of different maneuvering characteristics away from each other on the starting line. This is primarily an "entry level" series, and minimizing trauma on the starting line is a high priority.