Forum: Share Your SI/NOR Language
Pursuit Race SIs?
0
All,
looking for a few Pursuit Race sailing instruction examples. Big thing for us will be allowing for flexibility in course length if the wind fails to show up (example: multiple courses of 3/5/9 miles in length, multiple starting time lists, etc.) that would be announced prior to the morning of the race (or early that morning)
Thanks,
Matt
looking for a few Pursuit Race sailing instruction examples. Big thing for us will be allowing for flexibility in course length if the wind fails to show up (example: multiple courses of 3/5/9 miles in length, multiple starting time lists, etc.) that would be announced prior to the morning of the race (or early that morning)
Thanks,
Matt
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I run a race like this. I've added the SI instruction that I use to identify the courses. I then add an amendment that will show all the start times for each of the three possible courses. I label them very clearly with very large numbers as to whether we are using number 1, 2 or 3. I am also very liberal with announcing the course number over and over again on the radio, especially if the course we are using is not the first course and the racer will have to turn the page to find the other course times.
Good luck with your event.
8. COURSES:
https://www.queenmary.org.uk/assets/Uploads/BM-SIs-2024-Final.pdf
And this an ordinary medium sized club's SIs.
https://www.islandbarn.org.uk/sailing-club/521/sailing-instructions-for-pursuit-races.html
Matt, you might check out San Diego Yacht Club's website for their Hot Rum Race instructions. That is a pursuit race, although the course is always the same.
They are all 'fun', 'beer can' type events, based on PHS. It's just not possible to get precise race durations to exactly match up with minute handicaps: competitors have to take the rough with the smooth, but empirically, as usual, the best sailed boats usually win. This may be less of an issue with PHRF TOD, where competitors are used to getting 'hard' handicaps, no matter how long they actually take to sail the course.
https://cyca-cdn-lkjnasdoiuasdjkhlasd.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24113108/LGT-Crestone-Winter-Series-SI-2025-Final-1.pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18dCzDGkWYSwIYY0TgLJX2B9Eo1836ZlU/view?usp=sharing
These two examples are quite big races with 80 to 100 boats spread over multiple divisions with different courses for each division so as to achieve a more or less similar target race time for all divisions.
It's up to the race officer to select the appropriate course and shorten course as necessary to get the race finished within the race time limit.
They both use a two 'lap' course, with a common start/finish/gate, and the second 'lap' somewhat shorter than the first.
Because of the complexity and the differences in courses and marks, while it is hypothetically possible to shorten by divisions and at various rounding marks using multiple mark boats, in practice this is not done and the race officer's only option is to shorten at the gate.
The CYCA race also provides for the race officer to designate a shortened course at the start of the race by displaying flag S with the warning signal, so effectively there are 4 possible lengths of courses:.
https://cyca-cdn-lkjnasdoiuasdjkhlasd.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/30122832/Great-Veterans-2025-SIs-incl-Amendment-1.pdf
This example is with a smaller field, not using a gate, but still effectively with 2 'laps'
Thus if it's really soft the RO can shorten at CI, SIM, or LB first time round, or if it goes to a second lap, at SIM the second time round.
I wouldn't worry too much about updating handicap/starting number lists on the morning of the race to match the courses: easier to settle on a target race time and handicap numbers, which can be done in advance, then match the course signaled to the target time and the conditions.