Selecting Courses as a PRO

By Means Davis

There are many considerations that drive the decision. One of the most important is the team available. Do you have the personnel with the experience to run the courses under consideration? Do you have the right equipment – Safety boats, mark boats, marks, ground tackle, course boards, horns, flags, recorders, etc. to run the courses under consideration? Another is the event – an around the fixed government marker race may be fine for a Wednesday night beer race and completely inappropriate for a one-design national championship.

So, how do you select the courses to be used for a particular event? First and foremost determine the courses best suited to the boat(s) in the event. How do you know that? You ask. The class or classes in the event should be asked about their preferences in light, medium, and heavy air. You may not be able to accommodate all preferences but should know them and attempt to give each class the best you can. Again, you should determine the length courses they want or if they prefer a timed course.

What are the usual choices you might use?

You might use a Windward-Leeward course with the number of legs indicated from the signal boat per the Sailing Instructions. There could be a windward finish or a down-wind finish after any number of legs. This is probably the most tactical course and the most flexible from a PRO’s perspective. Got a short fetch to deal with? Add legs. Be sure to give as much length to your first leg as possible to avoid undue congestion at the first windward mark. This course can work well with limited equipment and personnel and is easy to set up even with less experienced mark-boat operators. It is also a good course if the wind is light and shifty because it can be adjusted either in direction or distance from either end with a minimum of equipment and effort.

Use a Triangle with the number of laps indicated from the signal boat per the Sailing Instructions. This course usually uses an up-wind finish and, as with most courses, it is best if the finish line is set to windward of the windward mark. Note that it is not necessary to say in the SI’s that the windward mark is not a mark of the course on the last leg. That is clearly stated in RRS 28.2.

When do you choose a triangle course? It depends on the sailing characteristics of the boats competing. Some are safer using a triangle in high wind and others are not – know your fleet! A good feature of the triangle is the ability to vary the angles to utilize the best sailing characteristics of the boats of the fleet in a given wind velocity. A drawback to the triangle is the necessity to move a second mark each time one mark is moved. This is done to maintain the original configuration of the course.

You can combine the triangle and windward-leeward courses to offer a variety of conditions and points of sail. This course can be finished up or down wind, but is usually finished up wind. It is often used for classes that want longer races gauged by distance rather than time.

A more recent course configuration is a Trapezoid used very effectively when there are multiple class starts or classes starting. It is a four-mark course with two parallel windward-leeward courses connected by a reach as long as the initial windward leg. In addition it usually has a separate start and finish. Usually, the outer windward-leeward course is managed by the Mark 2 mark-boat operator independently of the PRO. Thus the trapezoid is very personnel and equipment intensive and requires more experienced PRO’s and mark-boat operators. Still for those venues capable of setting and maintaining this course it offers a lot of options to the race committee.

How does one determine distance for a leg of the course relative to a time- targeted race or when confronted with a time limit? There is no substitute for experience – experience with the particular boats racing and the waters on which they will race. Will the fleet encounter current during the race? Will it be on an up-wind or a down-wind leg? (Generally, slower boats will be more affected by the current than will faster boats.) Pay attention to the times of the fleet on each leg of the course and adjust the length of the course with a change of course using a “+” or “-“.

In summary…

A PRO must consider many things when selecting the course for a given race. The key issues are the personnel and equipment available and the wishes of the classes/fleets starting given the wind, time preferences of the fleet(s), and the space available.

Remember, our goal is three-fold: Safety, A level playing field, and Fun. A good course incorporates all three.