Message from the Choptank Fleet Captain

 Notice to all Choptank Sailors

This year the Choptank Fleet will be using the predefined list of 24 courses. The Skipper’s Guide from 2023 will be in effect for 2024. The list is organized from Zero degrees Magnetic to 360 degrees. Copies can be printed from the ESSA blogsite at

https://essasailing.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_28.html

On occasion, the Race Committee may decide to customize the racecourse depending on weather conditions. Print a copy of the list and keep it in your boat. Skippers are expected to have the list. The committee boat will only post and announce the course number on VHF Channel 72.

Before each start, all skippers must report their boat name with the race Committee.  Races typically start at 6:00 PM and 6:07 PM.

We strongly encourage all sailors join ESSA. Applications are available on this site and 

https://essasailing.blogspot.com/p/essa-on-line-payments.html

Fair winds,

George Breig, 

Choptank Fleet Captain

SAVE THE DATE! Ron Freund's 80th Birthday, Saturday, 17, 2023

 Ron turns 80! aka Captain Committee Boat

Ron on Red Sky

 WHEN

 Sunday, September 17, 2023

 1:00 PM ET

 

 WHERE

 American Legion Post 91

 98 Suntrust Highway

 Cambridge , Maryland 21613

 View Map

Hosted By Dotty Holoubek

CLICK HERE FOR EVITE

Bring a dish to share Bar pay as you go Regrets only

---

CONTACT HOST 

(410) 562-2721  annapolismermaid@aol.com

Ron has served as Skipper of the Choptank Race Committee Boat for several years.

Choptank Fleet NOR & SI Update

Sections 2.3 and 2.4 have been updated to conform with US Sailing Rules.  These changes will not affect any race results to date.

Choptank NORSI July, 2022 updated

2.3 Safety Equipment - For all classes, the “Nearshore” category of the US Sailing Safety Equipment Requirements (available at

https://cdn.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Monohull-SER-2022.0-Nearshore.pdf) will apply.

Previously, the PHRF of the Chesapeake specified racing safety requirements. They have discontinued that service. 

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2.4 Penalty Turns - Rule 44.1 (taking a penalty) is modified to allow a boat to take a one turn penalty versus a two-turn penalty when she has broken one or more rules of Part 2.  A penalty for breaking a rule of RRS Part 2 will be one complete one turn penalty. Specifically, after getting well clear of other boats and as soon after the incident as possible, a boat will make one turn in the same direction consisting of one tack and one gybe. The penalty turn will be completed within the current course leg.

The term "360" (degrees) has been removed as one jibe and tack can be completed in less than 360 degrees. E.g., from a beam reach she can fall-off into a jibe and then tack back to close-hauled in the original direction: almost 360.

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essasailing38@gmail.com

Choptank Fleet, Wednsday Night Race, September 1, 2021

The remnants of Hurricane Ida are expected to arrive in the Delmarva area on Wednesday and Thursday. As we know from experience weather forecasts can change to the better or worse.  Standby for updates. 

Jitterbug will be the committee boat, weather permitting.  

Due to the earlier sunset, The plan is to try to start the races 10 minutes earlier if possible.  That means that Spinnaker fleet warning will sound at 5:44 PM with a start at 5:50 PM.  The Non-Spin fleet's sequence will follow immediately after the spin fleet has cleared the line. 

essasailing38@gmail.com

ESSA Choptank Fleet, Committee Boat Duty

Too all fleet members,

Joe Brooks will be the last to serve on committee boat duty on August 25.  In short, we ran out of members' boats. 

September 1 and 8 are open to anyone would would enjoy the opportunity to serve as committee boat. Just, you, your crew, some cheese and crackers and perhaps a glass of Merlot. 

If no one steps forward, Jitterbug will be on RC duty on September 1. We have the Merlot.

Aura will serve on September 8.

esssailing38@gmail.com 

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Given the early sunsets, the race may start 10 minutes earlier.

Sept 1, Sunset: 7:33 PM

Sept 8,  Sunset: 7:23 PM

If.... chasing the sunset

Committee Boat: Need help.

This is the current RC assignment list.

We need some help for July 28.

Adventure Quest is not available. 

Please contact Bob if you can assist the fleet.

rgallagher1.rg@gmail.com

July 14	Eric Johnston	St. Judy’s Comet
July 21	Mike Stewart	Slice
July 28	Paul West	Adventure Kwest
August 4	Mark McIver	Tamarind
August 11	Dottie Holoubek	Ethyl Alcohol
August 18	Tom Jackson	Reveille
August 25	Joe Brooks	Nothing Artificial
September 1	TBD
September 8	TBD

 

ESSA Choptank Fleet: The Race Committee Land crew needs your help.

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On Wednesday, June 30, the land crew will be short-handed. We need some volunteers to record times and honk the horn.  Visit the crew on the dock this Wednesday to get acquainted with the operation.

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RC Boat Skippers - Officer of the Day

The land crew needs to know who is racing so that they can properly record finish times and complete the score sheet.

It is the Committee Boat's responsibility to record which vessels have reported to the starting line. DNC, DNF, and DNS are all determined by this record. The land crew can only record those that have completed the race. 

Skippers need to check-in with the RC Boat. Since the Land crew monitors Channel 72, It would be helpful to check-in on channel 72.  

The RC boat should contact the Land Crew to confirm the check-in list and the exact starting times immediately after the start. Call on channel 72 then go to 68 so the fleet is not bothered. If the radio doesn't work, call them on your cellphone. Their handheld radio is range limited.

George B 

Choptank Scorekeeper

essasailing38@gmail.com 

Committee Boat Duty made easier,

Everybody will take a turn or two at Committee Boat.

Before you sail out, install a digital clock that show seconds on your cell phone.

For Android phone, install "BASIC CLOCK WITH SECONDS" 

For Apple Phone, install "MY DIGITAL CLOCK"

Install one of these apps now while you are reading this post,.... Please.

Why clock time? (time of day)  Running a stop watch can be a problem if your battery dies or if you accidentally reset the timer.  With clock time, multiple phones will produce the same result. So, the boat and land crew don't have to synchronize in any way. You also have multiple back-ups in other people's phones. In addition to that, the scorekeeping software is more compatible with time of day.  

Whose on RC duty?

Read the 2021 Committee Boat Responsibilities Document

http://essasailing.blogspot.com/p/race-committee-responsibilities.html 

2021 ESSA Choptank Fleet Race Committee Assignments

Date	Skipper	Boat
May 12	Trevor Carouge	Blur
May 19	George Breig	Jitterbug-Recovery Room
May 26	Jack Brooks	Epicure
June 2	Bill Lachenmayr	Sawdust
June 9	Pat Seidel	3-6-9
June 16	Bob Gallagher	Aura
June 23	Bob Dickey	Touché
June 30	Dave Buchanan	Dudley DoRight
July 7	Branden Spears	Gabrielle
July 14	Eric Johnston	St. Judy’s Comet
July 21	Mike Stewart	Slice
July 28	Paul West	Adventure Kwest
August 4	Mark McIver	Tamarind
August 11	Dottie Holoubek	Ethyl Alcohol
August 18	Tom Jackson	Reveille
August 25	Joe Brooks	Nothing Artificial
September 1	TBD
September 8	TBD

essasailing38@gmail.com

Scorekeeper's Notes: How are the codes used in scoring?

Here are some typical codes that we use from time to time.

DNF scoring: Did not Finish

The boat will be scored points equal to the number of finishers plus one.

DSQ scoring: Disqualified

Same as DNF

DNS Scoring: Reported to the starting area; but, Did not Start

The boat will be scored points equal to the number of starters plus one.

DNC Scoring: Boat did not report to the starting area and did not start

The boat will be scored points equal to the number of boats in series plus one.

For example: 

3 boats (A,B,C) finish the race in that order.

Boat D starts then retires. (ran out of beer)

Boat E failed to finish within the time limit. (wind fell off)

Boat F was disqualified (missed a mark.)

Boat G reported to the starting area but retired before the start. (forgot beer)

Boat H & I were absent. (on vacation in Hawaii)

 

Results: (9 boats registered for series.)

Boat A 1.0 points

Boat B 2.0 points

Boat C 3.0 points

Boat D DNF 4.0 points

Boat E DNF 4.0 points

Boat F DSQ 4.0 points

Boat G DNS 7.0 points

Boat H DNC 10.0 points

Boat I  DNC 10.0 points

essasailing38@gmail.com

To Spin or Not to Spin is the Scorekeeper's Question

Choptank Skippers, (sent out by email separately)

The Spinnaker fleet is diminished with the absence of some J-29's.

 

Please reply to the email or essasailing38@gmail.com  with your intentions, 

I need to set up the scoring software and refresh the scoring sheet for the Race Committee.

Our rules require that 3 boats race for the race to be scored.

 

    Spinnaker class:

 

1.               Jambo, Please confirm.

2.               Ethel Alcohol, Please confirm

3.               Gabrielle, Please confirm

4.               Flossie.. Jay, have you registered this year?

5.               Aura? Bob, I understand that you may be sailing solo and Non-Spin, please confirm.

6.              Joker, Kris Kalinski. racing ?

7.              Bellatrix, Sean C, racing ?

8.               No Mas

9.               Epicure

10.            Nothing Artificial

 

Non-Spinnaker Class: Non- Spin need not confirm unless you want sail Spinnaker.

1.               Reveille, Tom, Will you be sailing Spinnaker? Or non-spin?

2.               Touché – Non-spin

3.               Tamarind – Non -spin

4.               Dudley Do Right -Non-spin

5.               Jitterbug -absolutely Non- spin

6.               If... - Non- spin

7.               Whistle Jacket - Non- spin

8.               St. Judy’s Comet - Non- spin

Others? 

Esssailing38@gmail.com

Now hear this! NOW HEAR THIS! A message from your Choptank Fleet Captains

Choptank ESSA Fleet,

I hope that this message finds you all well.

Look, nobody really likes the situation that we are finding ourselves in. Governor Hogan’s next move on recreational boating remains as murky as the Choptank River. The overwhelming majority of our fleet is on the hard with no real progress towards being ready for launch – and not by choice. Some yards are operating, some are not. This coupled with the ban on boating makes it really difficult at this point to pin down a ‘go’ date for our races. I have been fielding a lot of phone calls asking about the first race.

That being said, I think that it’s prudent to at least pass a message along to you all obtaining a finite date that you can plan on regardless of Hogan’s next move on recreational boating. I hereby suspend all Choptank ESSA racing through and including May 20^th. If the ban lifts early and your boat is ready, great - go sail. If things continue to roll on the path, and no lift happens, then we will push the suspension date out to say June 17^th (the start of series 2).

Whatever the go date ends up being, Bob and I will have an updated Choptank NORSI out to the fleet at least a week prior. We all need to stay as flexible as possible. There is no rule book on this stuff. If we need to get creative down the road and do some back to back races in the middle of summer to salvage series one, then we will do our best to accomplish that.

A reminder that all race competitors will be taking turns as Committee boat this year. Dates will be chosen randomly. You will not be required to use your sailboat as the craft to put on the race, and you will not be allowed to substitute another person to perform the duty so that you can still race. George “our scorekeeper” will use a standard formula to award points to the designated committee boat that week. 

Committee Boat Scoring:

The boat designated as the Committee Boat will be scored OOD (Officer of the day.) The average points of all scored races less any DNC's for that series. 

Example: a boat that finished 1,2,3, OOD, 4, DNC.  The DNC would be discarded. Scoring: 1+2+3+4=10.  10/4 = 2.5 = OOD.  

For the race that the boat was the RC, the boat would be scored 2.5.

Case of using a borrowed boat for RC duty: The skipper of the designated committee boat must be on board to officiate the Race Committee. If the skipper of the designated RC boat decides to permit his crew to race his/her boat, that boat will not be scored on its finish time. It will be scored OOD.  The 2020 Choptank NORSI will provide more detail. 

All the best,

Trevor

Choptank Fleet to use Predefined Course for 2019

This year the Choptank Fleet will be using a predefined list of 16 courses.  On occasion, the Race Committee may decide to customize the race course depending on weather conditions. Print a copy of the list and keep it in your boat.  Skippers are expected to have the list.  The committee boat will only post and announce the course number.

Click here for Printable Copy of 2019 Race Courses

ESSA Choptank Course Menu-2019
Races will start at the listed ESSA marker with the committee boat on the right end of the starting line. after the start, the committee boat will return to the dock. All courses end at "Z" (Zulu) which is located just north of the CYC and the municipal marina. Always leave "Z" to starboard. The finish line will be defined by the "Z" marker and a flag on the dock. Click here for Printable Copy of 2019 Race Courses The course list will always be available on this site by clicking on the Choptank Race Course Tab.

Crew needed Saturday, August 4, 2018, Special Event

The Richardson Museum with the support of the CYC and ESSA will be hosting the UGRR Freedom Regatta. 

Richardson’s client:  Marine Arts Workshop  http://www.marinearts.org/

                                  Marcus Asante & Bobby Blackwell

This event includes time at the Ruark Boat works on Friday with a sailing experience on Saturday for 15 local high school youth. The objective is to introduce the students to the marine trades and recreational sailing.

Four ESSA boats will be a participating in the sailing event which will include a friendly, but, competitive rounding of the marks, Wednesday Night Style, on the Choptank.  

Each boat will have four or three students and 3 regular sailors for the crew.  We need a few good sailors to help us fill the crew.

Please reply to essassailing38@gmail.com   if available.

The event starts at the CYC at 10:00 AM with a safety and classroom sailing lesson. 

August 4^th - schedule as follows:

9:30 to 10:00 am              arrival at the Cambridge Yacht Club

10:00 am to 2:30 pm       regatta

                ½ hr max Marcus Asante to greet/safety/overview of sailboats

                ½ hr prep on deck

                1   hr pre-regatta sail/exercises

                      1 ½ hr regatta -around the marks

                      ½ hr docking

                                               

2:30 to 2:45 pm transfer to Dor. City Public Pool

6:00 pm            award ceremony & celebration at the Boatworks (103 Hayward Street)

                         Captains and crew invited

Vessels:

Jitterbug                             Catalina 270       George Breig + crew + 3 young adults

Sawdust                             Catalina 34          Bill Lachenmayr + crew + 4 young adults

Dudley Do Right               Hunter 336          Dave Buchanan + crew + 4 young adults

If                                        Catalina 350       Greig Mitchell + crew + 4 young adults

Redsky                              Beneteau 50        Ron Freund, Committee boat

essasailing38@gmail.com