OD Instructions

OD Duty for Club Racing

Preparation

1. Pick up the OD ‘kit’ from the office. Find the Bosun (normally in or around the cabin below the OD box) and check that the committee boat is available and ready to go. If you are in any doubt regarding

Driving the committee boat
Operating the anchor
Using the radio in committee boat and committee box

then ask the bosun to explain. You need to have a Powerboat Level 2 qualification to drive the committee boat, so if you do not, or you feel that the conditions are beyond your ability then ask the Bosun for assistance in moving it and anchoring it on the start line.

2. Check with the Bosun whether there is an open meeting, training or other event taking place. If there is, discuss how the lake should be divided up. Unless informed by the Sail committee or Office, Club racing has priority over area of lake and choice of equipment (Committee Boat). Please report any deviation of this to the Sail Committee in writing via the office.

3. Place the board showing number of laps over the balcony by the OD box. Normally the number of laps displayed is 6. The shortened course flag is then used to finish the race.

4. Find and attach the shortened-course flag and the finishing flags for each class. See Appendix 1. These flags will be used to indicate which classes are finishing when the time comes. By doing this now you avoid the mad panic at the end when you realise this step has been omitted.

5. Put out the signing on sheets for the next race in the signing on area. The office should have prepared these in advance.

6. Check the portable air horn is functioning, if there are 2 available check them both and load them on the Committee boat. Very embarrassing not being able to run the Start sequence because the air horn is not working !

7.Check the stop watch on the clip board is working and you know how to start it. If you have another one use that as well, in case the clip board one is stopped accidentally. It happens !

8. Check the number tray has letters, numbers, burgee and required flags. See Appendix 2.

9. Get changed into suitable clothing for the conditions. You may be out on the water for 40 minutes running the start sequence.

10. While in the comfort and tranquillity of the OD box, work out a couple of suitable courses for the conditions. Use the computer generated courses as a starting point if unsure or ASK. Tips for course creation are shown in Appendix 3 and instructions for the course generating software are here. If you're not sure of the conditions out on the water, go out in the committee boat or ask the Bosun to run you out on a RIB.

11. Allow yourself plenty of time to set the start line and finalise the course. An absolute minimum of 20 minutes before the First Warning and 30 minutes is preferable. A minimum of two persons from the OD team should go out and run the Start, three is better. Remember bouyancy aids must be worn on any boat on the water.

Start Line

1. Having decided the Start mark and hopefully the Windward mark, use the Burgee pointing to the Windward mark to manoeuvre the committee boat to give the Start line at right angles to the Burgee and long enough for the conditions. The committee boat should be at the right hand end of the line.

2. Then motor forward about 50 feet (15 metres) and drop the anchor. On the new boat releasing the windlass clutch will allow the anchor to freefall. You did ask the Bosun to show you this during the briefing ? Using the depth finder and markings on the chain should allow you to know when the anchor is grounded. Depending on conditions a short burst of reverse will get the anchor to bite.

3. The committee boat can then be blown back to the start line or use the engine while letting the chain out. Go back a little bit further than the 90 degrees point, to make the other end of the line marginally the favoured end.

4. Attach the Green, Blue, Red, Flag X and First Substitute to halyards so they are ready to raise, and with good planning and any luck you have 5 to 10 minutes before first warning is due.

5. Raise the Green flag to show you're on station and ready to go!

6. With the Start Line decided on and the beat decided on, take a last look at the proposed course and then commit to it.

7. Put the course on the board, remembering to put the latches down so the letters don't fall out of the track into the lake! Start mark goes on the top line, course marks on the line(s) below. Marks which are left to Port are posted on Red cards, marks left to Starboard are posted on Green. Don't post the course any earlier than 10 mins before the start, as if you do the wind will change and make your course look stupid.

Starting Sequence

1. The Start sequence is shown in Appendix 4.

2.At the allotted time for the first warning, 6 Minutes before the first start, you raise the yellow flag, Don't do this early, it needs to be on-time or slightly late. Sound the horn, start the stopwatch on the clipboard and start the spare stopwatch. You do have 4 arms of course!

3. It is the fleets and competitors responsibility to be at the Start line in time for their start. You do not delay the start because a fleet hasn't arrived.

4. With the well behaved fleets we have at Draycote everyone will be behind the line when it’s their turn to start and so you will have no need to be aware of the premature starter procedure! But in case there are some visitors or members with hangovers racing, make yourself aware of the Premature Start flags in Appendix 5.

5. When you fire the hooter for each start, sight down the line from the main (longest) mast to the buoy at the far end. Any boat which has any part of its hull, sails or crew over the line must be recalled.

If nobody is over the line then that’s fine.
If there is a boat or boats over and you can see and identify all of them then you should use the Individual Recall procedure. Shout out the numbers of the boats that are affected.
If you have so many boats over that you can’t see and identify all of them, you should use the General Recall procedure.

6. If you have to do an Individual or General Recall and some / all of the fleet do not return then you disqualify them.

7. After the last start has gone, remove all the flags and either motor back to shore in the Committee boat or leave it at anchor and radio for rescue to come and collect you and take you back. This decision depends on conditions and your confidence in handling the Committee boat against a pontoon in the conditions. You will not be the most popular person if the Committee boat is damaged due to your ego!

8. Bring the watch back - still running - so you can calculate the length of the race accurately for the handicap boats.

Recording the Race

1. With any luck you should be back in the OD box before the first boats cross the finish line for the first time.

2. If not, all is not lost because you left a 3rd member of the OD team in the box while you started the races, and they can record the boat numbers as they pass OL on the first lap!

3. The sheets to record this are supplied with the OD kit from the office.

4. If you can, note the boat numbers for each class each lap. Also note the time that the first boat in each class passes OL. This will give you an idea of the lap time, which will help you decide whether or not to let each fleet go round again as the end of the race draws near.

5. When you go and fetch coffee or tea for the rest of the team, collect the top sheet and carbon of the signing on forms. Leave the bottom sheet in the signing on area.

6. While the race is progressing and you're feeling good about yourself, start filling in the OD report, being as accurate as possible.

Finishing the Race

1. Under normal conditions each fleet should have at least an hour of racing (80 mins for the 2nd race on Sunday). After this you should begin to finish the fleets. However if the conditions are severe or became severe through the race, consider finishing some fleets early. You may be advised by the Bosun to finish the racing because conditions have changed so much that safety cover is being stretched and sailors are not coping. The Bosun's decision is final and not up for discussion. See below on how to finish the racing in these conditions.

2. The fleets do not have to be finished in order. You may decide to finish the Solos or Lasers first because to send them round again would extend the race time too much. When to finish a fleet is a difficult decision and you can't please all the people all of the time. But try to give each fleet at least one hour of racing, and bear in mind that the slower boats start up to 20 mins after the fast ones, so they shouldn't ideally be the first to be finished. Use the average lap times (pt.4 above) to help you decide.

3. Normally you finish each fleet individually, that way you can finish the slower boats but let the speed-merchants do another lap. To finish a fleet, raise the shorten-course flag if it’s not already up, and raise the finish flag for the fleet in question, together with 2 hoots as the lead boat in that fleet rounds the mark before OL. The finish flags are shown in Appendix 1.

4. You can finish all the fleets together by raising just the shorten-course flag alone and giving 2 hoots on the claxon as the first boat rounds the mark before OL. This commits you to finish every class that follows, although the first boat in each class thereafter should still receive 2 hoots at the previous mark.

5. You then record and hoot each boat as it passes between OL and the string. You always wondered why a piece of string was stretched across the window in the OD box didn't you ?

6. All boats in the Fast Handicap fleet require their elapsed times to be recorded when they finish. These boats are easily recognisable since they will be flying a red pennant from the boom. Include their time on the signing off sheet instead of awarding a position, this needs to be the number of minutes and seconds since the start of the sequence (ie, when you started your watch). The office will then deduct the extra 6 minutes and work out the position on handicap.

Finishing the Race urgently

1. If instructed to finish the race quickly, raise the shorten course flag and finish and record all boats as they cross the line.

2. If conditions dictate (eg, if very severe weather strikes or if instructed by the bosun), clear the water by blowing 4 long blasts on the horn and taking down the club burgee. Racing is then abandoned.

Recording Results

1. Thirty minutes after the last boat has finished, collect the second copy of the signing off sheets. Compare the sheets to the first copy to ensure no one tried to sign on after the racing started. Discount any boats that have not signed off. Put the positions on the second sheet and hang in the display cabinets outside the OD box. Flying Fifteen sailors are generally given a bit longer to sign off for various reasons.

2. It’s at this point that all the experts arrive and tell you what you did wrong. Most of it is well meaning and some of it is downright useful. However if any member is abusive, ask them to put their complaint in writing to the sail committee, ask them for their name and or membership number and add the incident to the OD's report.

3. You are doing a great job. You now have about 15 minutes before you start the whole thing again, enjoy.

At the end of the day

1. Gather up all the sheets, instruction manuals etc and return them to the secretary.

2. Retire to the bar for a drink. You've earned it.

This document is available in pdf format here

As are appendix 1, appendix 2, appendix 3, appendix 4, appendix 5, Depth Finder / Anchor Chain instructions and the course setting software instructions