So it's time for a Race Officer duty. Here's a reminder of what has to be done. (It doesn't mean you have to do it all yourself: the Officer of the Day (OOD) will be able to help you with some of it, and there are always other people about, who can offer advice, and sometimes even actual help.) But you do have to ensure it's done; and you need to be on-site in good time - around an hour before the first race.
Click on any heading to get more details, if you need them.
We need buoys to mark out the course. They're kept in a locker outside the back classroom (the room behind the office). You will usually work with the OOD when getting these out and placing them.
We need signalling flags. (They're actually painted wooden boards on posts, and they're kept in the small shed nearby.) Flag E is blue/red - Warning; Flag P is white on blue - Preparatory; Flag S blue on white - Shortened course; abd Flag B or similar -red or orange - Transit.
And now all the smaller bits and pieces; these are usually kept inside the back classroom.
- Clipboard, with its stand and the official watch
- Enough race sheets, a working pen, and some scrap paper for notes
- Race Officer Handbook
- Sound signal system or hooter
- Megaphone (if available)
- Pens and wiper for the course board
Check that all are usable, in working order, and that you know how to use them.
Avoid any dead areas, and liaise with other users of the lake to agree which part you can use. Start with a long beat to windward, turn left (port rounding) at the windward mark, follow with a reach or run (or several), go onto another beat, then reach/run(s) again, until you get back to the start. Make sure one of your marks is near the clubhouse, so you can log the boats through on each lap; this mark will also be the finish. (More details on the Course Setting page)
Draw up the course on the whiteboard, and explain it to the competitors. Tell them how and when you will start the race, and how long it will go on. Get everybody to sign on. If you are running a pursuit race, set out the various start and finish times, and make sure everyone understands. (See the separate explanatory section about pursuits.) Make any necessary announcements.
Draw a plan of the course on the whiteboard in readiness for the briefing. Drawing up a diagram - example here - ->
Show each of the marks as a blob, with its mark number (or IDM/ODM), and if possible its colour (single letter). Draw the start and finish lines as dotted lines, and indicate the path of a boat by direction arrows around each of the turning marks; some people prefer to draw the whole course as a continuous line.
This example is taken from an actual race.
The arrow near the military hard shows the direction of the predominant wind on this occasion - somewhere near due west.
The list under 'Course' says that the start line is between the boat (moored near the island) and mark 5. Then the repeating part of the course goes to mark 1 (near the clubhouse), to be taken to port, then 2 to starboard, 3 to starboard, 4 to starboard, and back to 5 to starboard. This course has two beats: from 5 to 1, and then from 2 to 3. This whole sequence is repeated, as indicated by the brace. (If you choose to fix the number of laps, you will write that number against this brace.) Finally the course goes to the finish line between mark 1 and the transit flag at the clubhouse. Mark 1 must be taken to port at the finish, as on previous laps.
(Taking a mark to port means it is on your port side as you round.)
If this was a pursuit race, you would list the various start times below 'Start'.
< - - hideYou should aim to start the briefing 15 minutes before the scheduled start time for the race. Sound the hooter several times and announce "Briefing".
When people have gathered around the whiteboard, introduce yourself and give the name of the race that is to be run. Say where the wind is coming from, and describe the course you have set, using the whiteboard. Make sure the start and finish arrangements are clear, and indicate which marks are used on every lap, and which ones only at the start or finish. Point out any restrictions or hazards that people need to be aware of, and explain how you are organising the start and the finish. You should say when and where you intend to give the five-minute warning signal for the start - make sure there is enough time for people to reach the start area. For the finish, one option is to set a fixed number of laps for the race, but we more often leave the number open, and 'shorten course' at a suitable time during the race to give the desired duration. Get agreement on the target duration for the race.
(There are special arrangements for Pursuit races, which you will find HERE.)
Invite questions and clarifications, and deal with any points raised. If there are any special announcements to be made, now is the time to do it. Before ending the briefing, make sure all racers have signed on. (You will previously have made sure there is a sign-on sheet on the clipboard.)
Signing on
The expectation at most sailing events is that competitors will make their formal entry to the race by signing on, and if they don't do that, they are not in the race. Of course, we try to ensure that people do sign on; but if someone is pressed for time, or even simply forgets to sign on, we tend to help them out by making the entry on their behalf. And actually, if one race follows quickly on the heels of another, with the same boats in both, you may even find it easier as race officer to make all the entries yourself, as you can then choose a more convenient order to put them in (perhaps fastest first, or all of one class together).
Work through the signal sequence (sounds and flags) as shown on the clipboard. If there are any false starters, make sure they return and start cleanly.
You need to be in the right place, and have with you the clipboard (and watch), the hooter and the flags for the start sequence. The right place may be in front of the clubhouse, or you may have to go in the power boat to the start line elsewhere - either tie up to a point ashore, or anchor offshore. It's usually better to get someone to drive you there - either the OOD or somebody else experienced - that way you'll have enough hands to cope with the flags. (You can see pictures of the flags at each stage, in the additional notes.)
First set up the transit flag (usually orange or red) to mark the inner end of the start line.
Make sure the official watch is set up to the start program, and showing 5:00 (5 minutes).
You should aim to initiate the start sequence at the time you previously announced, but be a little flexible if people have difficulty in getting to the start area in time.
Call out a warning, and, after a few (10-20) seconds, start the stopwatch, and begin the signal sequence, detailed here - ->
This is what you need to do with
the flags and hooter. (Easier if there are two of you.)
You'll be at the start line, with initially just the transit flag showing.
First you call out to alert everyone, then after about 10 to 20 seconds
you start the watch, sound the hooter, and raise flag E ,
all simultaneously. 
This is the official five-minute Warning.
The watch starts to count down from 5:00, and subsequent timings are
taken from the watch.
At -4:00: sound the hooter and raise flag P also - Preparatory signal.
At -1:00: make a long
hooter sound and lower flag P - one minute signal.
At 0:00: sound the hooter and lower flag E - Start.
(All these signals have special meanings in the rules.)
As you are getting close to giving the actual start signal, you need to sight along the line; then, if any boat is the wrong side of the line at the start signal, you have to hail it immediately, and give a warning that it is over. That boat must return completely to the start side of the line and then start cleanly, or you will score it 'OCS' - on course side.
If you have a significant number of boats over the line, you have the option to announce a General Recall. In this case, all boats must return, and you rerun the start sequence. (Remember to give people time to reset their watches.)
You should normally remain in the start area long enough to confirm that all boats have started properly. (They can't do that if the transit flag is no longer there.) Next you get back quickly to the clubhouse (if you are not already there), taking the equipment back with you.
If you are running a pursuit race, most of these instructions are still relevant, but the detail is different - see the separate pursuit page.
Every time a boat passes the clubhouse mark, record its running order on the result sheet. Keep track of lap times for the leading boat(s), so you know when to finish the race.
After the start, the watch counts up from 0:00, and you will be using the times to control and record the finish.
Set up the transit flag to mark the finish line, and then start recording the progress of all the boats as they go past you.
The score sheet is marked out with columns - one for each lap - and rows - one for each boat. As each boat passes, you write a figure into its place on the sheet, to indicate its running order on the particular lap: a 1 for the first to pass you; a 2 for the next, and so on. In the later stages of a race, some boats may have lapped others, so you may be filling some places in one column before the preceding column has been completed - proceed with caution!
Keep track of the time taken for each lap: probably the best is to note the running time of whichever happens to be the leading boat at each lap. Also, if the start was not at the clubhouse, it will be helpful if you record the time for a boat to get from the starting mark to the clubhouse mark. (Do this on a later lap, not at the start.)
It is easy to be distracted during the main part of the race, so that you may fail to notice a boat passing if there is a drama going on elsewhere. This can cause problems later on, and you just need to stay on the ball.
For handicap races: as each boat crosses the finish line, sound the hooter and record the boat's finishing time. For pursuit races: see the detailed instructions in the pursuit section.
This section applies only to handicap races. For the pursuit race finish, see here.
Deciding when to finish
Even if you declared a fixed number of laps, you still need to make sure the race doesn't go on too long, and for this you use the Shorten Course procedure, described next. Otherwise you start finishing boats as the leader crosses the finish line after completing the set number of laps. If you didn't set a fixed number, you always use Shorten Course.
Whichever option you chose, you need to keep track of how long the laps are taking: this is why you were recording selected running times earlier. So now, as the lead boat comes through the finish line each time, you make a prediction of how many laps will add up to the required total time; your prediction will probably change as the wind rises and falls.
When you get to the point of deciding that one more lap will give the right answer, you prepare to signal the Shortened Course. (No need for this, if you had a set number and it's working out right). As the leading boat gets onto the final leg of the last lap (it is passing the penultimate mark), you give two hoots and raise flag S - blue on white.
This shows Flag S, together with the transit flag.
If we Shorten Course, we raise flag S,
and leave it up until all boats have finished.
Finishing the boats
And from now on, starting with the lead boat, as each boat passes over the line, you sound the hooter once, and write down the time of finishing, as well as the position in the running. The hoot should come as the foremost part of the boat crosses the line.
You will find it easier to manage if you have an assistant to sound the hooter, and you concentrate on recording the result. And if several boats are going to go through within a few seconds, don't panic: just jot down the names and times on an odd bit of paper (for instance the back of the race sheet), and then, when there's a slightly quieter patch, transfer them into the proper places on the sheet.
As mentioned above, some boats will be more than a lap behind the leading one. But you still finish them on the first time they pass after the leader finishes. And you need to record the actual number of laps completed as well the measured finishing time, so that the time can be scaled up as necessary. Note that scaling is more complicated when the start and finish lines are in different places, but on the other hand, it may take an unreasonable length of time for the boat to finish the full number of laps.
Some boats will have retired voluntarily (or otherwise) during the race. Simply write RTD or RET against them in the Corrected Time column, and that's it - you've finished with them.
Work out the placings and make them available to competitors.
By now, you've done the important part of the recording, and the final result will be worked out by the Sailwave program later. But people like to have a provisional idea of how they've got on, and for this you use the handicap tables in the Race Officer Handbook.
If there is any scaling to be done, for boats that have not done the full number of laps, do this first. Turn up the Add-a-Lap tables in the book, and find the one that deals with the number of laps the boat has done. Look up the measured time and read off the adjusted time for one lap more, and enter it into the Add laps column on the scoresheet. Occasionally you will have to apply a double adjustment. For example, where the leader has done 5 laps, and this boat has done only three: first use Add-a-lap 3 to 4, and then look up the new figure in Add-a-lap 4 to 5, and enter the 5-lap figure you read out. All these figures are in minutes and seconds.
Now you have an effective measured time for every boat. The next stage is to convert this into a Corrected Time using the handicap tables.
For each boat in turn, turn up the handicap table for that class of boat. (It's easiest to stay on the same page while you do all boats of the one class.) Look up the measured time and read off the corresponding corrected time, and enter that into the corrected time column on the score sheet. These read out times are in seconds only (typically 2000 to 3000 or so).
Finally look through these corrected times. The smallest one indicates the winner, so against this one, write a 1 in the Position Column, then against the next lowest write a 2, and so on. These are the provisional finishing positions. They will usually be confirmed by Sailwave, but there are sometimes slight variations, because of different handicap numbers, or rounding errors, or even (oops!) simple slip-ups.
If you are running a pursuit race, most of the notes above are still relevant, but the start and finish arrangements are different. It's important to get these right, and you can find all the details HERE
If there's another race, do it all again. At the end of the day, put away the equipment, and get the results sheet(s) to a racing committee member.
If this is the last race of the day, you need to collect up the marks, and put all the equipment away.
The race sheets should be passed to the racing secretary (or left with the clipboard for later collection). Make sure the sheets are clearly identified with the date and time of the race(s), and marked with your name.
If there's another race, you need to decide whether to use the same course again, or to ring the changes. Check with some of the racers to help you decide. If you do use the same again, you don't necessarily have to go through the full briefing again, but . . . You may still need to deal with pursuit timings, if applicable, and make sure you brief any people who were not involved in the previous race.