Dart 15 Forums

Hi All

My club runs Sunday racing in the format:-

AM
2 races back to back
Fast fleet windward leeward
Slow fleet round the cans

PM
2 races back to back
Both fleets windward leeward

Sprints are in the slow fleet and there are generally more non-asymetrics racing than asymmetrics.

I understand asymmetrics prefer windward leeward but I find a course without a reach rather lacking in fun so I'd prefer all round the cans courses.

What format do other clubs run? Interested to hear your thoughts.

We are blessed with not having to pander to half boats so we try and set a course to suit catamarans preferably with all points of wind catered for.

Hi Charles,
That looks like too much windward - leeward to me. A Sprint 15 sailed una-rig is slow downwind and as it can go straight downwind it is not very tactical either. In my time as events secretary we avoided it. Nick maintained that going straight downwind also penalised the heavy weight sailors. It is not so bad in Sport mode (or for Dart 18s) as you have to reach and tack downwind. At Grafham only asymmetrical boats sail windward-leeward courses in Club racing. All other boats sail round the cans in all races. The only exception is the Club Championships which sail a mixture of courses but usually only one race is windward- leeward.
Regards
Bob

The Sprint 15 and the Dart 18 were designed for all points of sailing including reaching which is the most fun! The old Olympic courses of triangles and sausages was a great compromise, something The Restronquet SC continue to use.
Brian

Hi Charles

At Marconi, we are fortunate to have our own fleet start and also our own course. We ask to have round the cans courses, including with reaches, wherever tide and wind direction permit. Our Medium Cat Fleet (primarily Dart 18s) also prefer the same sort of course. Our Fast Cat fleet - (all assymetric) - specifically prefer windward/leeward courses. The Medium and Fast Cats start together to avoid having a very lengthy overall start sequence but they are set separate courses and are finished independently. The monohulls - a mixture of kite and non-kite boats - seem less concerned about their courses - so long as they get a true beat at some point and don't have to hike for hours against the Blackwater tide!

I agree with Brian that the triangle sausage courses can be a good compromise.

Jenny

Just a added note , the triangle course section needs to edge towards a 90deg wing mark from the windward or leeward mark ( depending on wind strength) rather than a equilateral triangle which is likely only to deliver 2 x long downwind legs for a boat that tacks down wind.
Brian

Yes, agreed about the Olympic Course but it is more problematic if the Club does average lap time racing as it requires 2 passes of the committee boat to constitute one timed lap. Errors can easily occur. Grafham does predominantly average lap time racing as a wider range of boat speeds can be accommodated in a single start and for this reason the old Olympic course is seldom used except in single class racing.
Regards
Bob

Thanks for the feedback Liam, Bob, Brian & Jenny. That's more or less what I expected you to say. The Asy fleet at YDSC seem to hold a bit too much sway, particularly as they usually make up less than half the fleet. It seems rather selfish that they get the fun legs for them but force non-asy boats to miss out on reaches. Although one of the older Laser sailors did comment that he appreciated the rest of windward leeward courses! I'm hoping it's going to be at lease a decade if not two before I join him in that opinion!! I'll be monitoring the situation & make a few quiet enquiries about the reasoning for YDSC's course setting.