The Pit role on a keelboat contributes to all corners of the boat. Eric Peltosalo (Annapolis, MD) shares his approach to the job:

I’m almost always first to arrive. Among my self-prescribed duties are:

1) Check bilge for water. Pump dry if necessary. Same for cooler.
2) Move sails from forward compartment to cabin sole. Stack in anticipated order of use.
3) Pack Spin left out in cabin to dry after sloppy douse at end of last race. Run tapes on other spins.
4) Place all sheets, guys, winch handles, tiller extension, main battens, etc. in or near cockpit.
5) Place blocks for guys on rail. Install twings for sheets. Have barber haul ready.
6) Make sure all spares are present and available.
7) Uncoil all halyards and other lines: run and flake same.
8) Turn on battery and check fuel level; put engine key in. Check instrument displays.
9) Stow all canvas covers below.
10) Since position is in companionway on top of cooler, perform primary duty of SNACKTICIAN. Properly arrange all beverages and ice same. Stow snacks in readily reachable cubbies.
11) Dig Sailing Instructions, course maps, charts, etc. out from mess in navigation station. Vow to clean same up some day. Check weather on VHF and place handheld in cockpit.
12) Properly stow all bags and gear from crew as they arrive and toss below. Try to keep them away from beer until after race.
13) Do all in REVERSE ORDER after RC or skipper calls off race.

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Where do you stand on this  touchy R/C issue?

So the grand poohbah of our little Dogpatch Wednesday night sailing club sent this out to his master email list. Note the last sentence. This is the entirety of the message, the ellipsis replace any personal identifying information. I am not participating in the current series. Nor was I involved with the RC last evening. I’m really just curious how others might react to receiving something like this:

I’ve had a number of complaints on last nights RC. Horns going off late, horns going off out of sequence with the flags, late start, etc.

I’d like to reiterate the RC responsibilities for everyone.

1. The first page in the RC book that is at the stand tells you what you need to do. READ IT.

2. No more than 3 people on the RC stand. Three is all you need. One to check boats in, one to manage the flags, and one to watch the time to ensure the races and the prestart start on time. Anymore than 3 and you have people standing around with nothing to do but interfere with the Race Committee. This is not a get together or a party. The RC has a job to do, an important one. If you want to have a get together do it AFTER the race…

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In the latest edition of The Dial Up, Henry Menin (US Virgin Islands) – former Chairman of the World Sailing Match Racing Committee and America’s Cup Umpire and Judge – provides his silver bullet on how to excel in match racing…

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In Jinzhou Bay between Beijing and Korea, a small ice sailing scene has developed in recent years, which has been building its own DN sleds since 2019. The Chinese have now also become a member of the international class association. The report with video.

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The Mini class has long been a proving ground for up and coming offshore sailors with an ambition to graduate to larger offshore classes. And despite COVID restrictions, organisers have compiled a full calendar for the Mini 6.50 season which kicked off last month with the Italian Archipelago 650’s race. Following several Mediterranean-based competitions, the action has switched to the Atlantic coast for a series of summer events including two new ones, the Mini Gascony and the Calvados Cup double-header.

After first and second place finishes in the Gran Premio d’Italia, Anne-Claire Le Berre and Amélie Grassi lead the rankings in the production class. Hugo Dhallenne and Thibaut Vauchel-Camus came out on top in the recent Plastimo Lorient Mini production class and Pierre Le Roy and Cédric Faron in prototypes. Italy’s Matteo Sericano currently heads up the prototype ranking…

More on the class here

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The first long-term test of a rotor sail fitted on a passenger ferry is coming to an end after three years aboard Viking Line’s Viking Grace. According to both the line and the technology company, the tests provided important data demonstrating the benefits of the rotor sail concept and helping to advance the technology. The test was also the first aboard an LNG-fueled ship creating the first LNG-wind electric propulsion hybrid ship.

During the test, the Viking Grace was able to reduce its emissions, fuel burn, and fuel costs according to data released by Norsepower, developer of the rotor sail. They estimated the annual reduction in carbon emissions at approximately 900 tons, which they said was equivalent to reducing LNG fuel consumption by 300 tons per year…

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Four years ago, my husband, Paul, and I sold our five-bedroom Victorian home in Baltimore, Maryland, with the intention of buying a sailboat to live aboard in the future. From there we moved into a rental apartment in Washington, D.C., across the street from Paul’s office. Shortly after we’d unpacked the last box, the hunt began for a sailboat, and after looking at several in the Chesapeake area, we found the perfect one—a 2002 Beneteau Oceanis 473. When she was officially ours we renamed her Bumpy Night, after the famous line by Bette Davis from All About Eve…

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Like last year, the Semaine Olympique in Hyères had to be cancelled due to the Corona restrictions. This year, there will be a virtual sailing week, which already started yesterday with training opportunities. At the weekend, 49er or Nacra17 can be sailed, the Bay of Hyères has been animated as a sailing area. The details.

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While the panjandrums of World Sailing and the IOC still wrestle with the fate of their troubled two-handed mixed offshore race for the Paris 2024 Olympics, authorities elsewhere have to deal with more immediate concerns. SA readers will be aware of the awkward kerfuffle late last year during the run-up to the (COVID-cancelled) Sydney-Hobart race. At first, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia welcomed two-handed entrants without restrictions. Then, after pressure from some influential skippers of conventionally crewed yachts, the two-handers were excluded from eligibility for the overall and existing divisional prizes and confined to separately created divisions of their own.

Severe disgruntlement followed, including multiple protests and murmurs of legal action. This disquiet is apparently unabated. Owners who shelled out $250,000 or more for the latest 30-footer or adapted an existing rocket-ship for short-handed offshore racing have not given up their fight to have the CYCA policy overturned…

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Without racing on the opening day due to too much wind, the 2021 RS:X Windsurfing World Championship was kicked off yesterday with three races held in fresh winds. —– Kiran Badloe NED and Tom Reuveny ISR are tied for the lead in the mens rankings, with Byron Kokkalanis GRE and Piotr Myszka POL only one point behind in third and fourth places respectively. Pedro Pascual Suitt USA follows in 19th, Ignacio Berenguer MEX is 27th. —– Dutch lead in the womens race as well with Lilian De Geus NED. One point behind follows the Olympic champion Charline Picon FRA, and two points back are Zofia Noceti-Klepacka POL and Katy Spychakov ISR sharing the 3rd place. Farrah Hall USA is 17th, Demita Vega de Lille MEX 21st. —– All rankings and the video of the day.

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