CYC Race Course Layout These guidelines augment the information contained in the CYC Race Course Designations, CYC Race Courses and CYC Race Sequence for the Officer of the Day . Please note that all measures in this document are in nautical metrics: nautical miles and knots of wind velocity. A statute mile is 0.87 the length of a nautical mile (km) and a 1 mile per hour wind is 0.87 knots of wind. Conversely, you can divide statute miles by 1.15 to get nautical miles and miles per hour by 1.15 to get knots. The Garmin eTrex should always be set to nautical units of measure to support PHRF calculations of race results. Starting Line To provide all skippers a fair opportunity to participate in the race and to provide optimum starting conditions, the OD is encourage to layout the starting line as follows: - Place the starting line: 1. Near the center of the lake (East to West) 2. Approximately half way between the research bouy and Crowders Creek (North to South) for all course layouts except #4 and #7 (Click here for course layouts) 2. Away from shore and shallow water - Place an orange ball at the pin end (port end) of the line - Place the committee boat on the starboard end of the line - Make the start line length equal to all competing boats in a row (10 boats would mean about a 200 foot line) - Align the starting line perpendicular to the direction to the windward mark and the wind direction (raise a flag or use a telltale attached to a dowel to determine the wind direction from the pontoon boat) - When in doubt, make the port end slightly favored Course Layout To provide a fair opportunity for boats of all design to win a race, the OD is encouraged to provide the following course layouts: - Layout windward, reaching and leeward marks that enable the OD to run more than one course on a race day. Click here to see the alternative course layouts and designations. - Use the large tetrahedral marks where possible because they are easier to see than the orange balls, especially on the longer runs between marks - Try to run at least one windward-leeward (WL) and one windward-reaching-leeward (WRL) triangle course on each race day - Avoid overly complex race course layouts so that at least two races can be run on a race day - Use the white board on the committee boat to signal the course selection before the start of sequence for each race and call the sequence using the bull horn (the course numbers are in the notebook on the committee boat) - Make each course length at least 1.5 nautical miles but not more than 3.75 nautical miles with the following guidelines where possible: . In wind conditions of 0-5 knots, strive for a 1.5 km WL course and a 1.75-2.0 km WRL course. . In wind conditions of 6-10 knots, strive for a 2.0 km WL course and a 2.5-2.75 km WRL course. . In wind conditions >10 knots, strive for 3.0 km WL course and a 3.5-3.75 km WRL course. - Have an alternative course available if the race must be shortened because of low wind - Follow the Website procedure (CYC Race Sequence for the Officer of the Day) if the course must be shortened after the start - Run more than two races if the last race can start before 12:15 PM GPS Use to Determine Course Length Follow the procedure below in the order shown to capture the distance of the race courses: 1. Turn on the eTrex GPS using the PWR button on the right side 2. Allow the GPS to acquire a full signal as shown on the bottom SIGNAL bar indicator 3. Press the PAGE button until the MENU displays showing MARK highlighted 4. After placing a mark and before the committee boat moves, press the ENTER button on the left side of the GPS twice to capture the location of the mark 5. Take note of the mark number captured (shown in the flag symbol) 6. Press the PAGE button until you get to the MENU screen 7. Select WAYPOINTS using the down arrow on the left/top of the GPS 8. Press ENTER to see the waypoints 9. Press ENTER to select the number range 0-9 10. Press the down arrow on the top/left of the GPS to highlight the mark you just captured 11. Press ENTER 12. Select GOTO using the down arrow on the left/top of the GPS 13. Press ENTER 14. Note the distance at the top of the compass screen that appears next (it should be less that 100 feet) 15. Drive the committee boat to the next mark location that you have selected 16. Write down on a piece of paper the distance in nautical miles shown on the GPS 17. Repeat the above steps 3-16 for all marks 18. Record the total of all distances between marks on the top of the race score sheet as the length of the course 19. Repeat step 18 for both courses laid out and any alternative short courses |
CYC Race Course Layout These guidelines augment the information contained in the CYC Race Course Designations, CYC Race Courses and CYC Race Sequence for the Officer of the Day . Please note that all measures in this document are in nautical metrics: nautical miles and knots of wind velocity. A statute mile is 0.87 the length of a nautical mile (km) and a 1 mile per hour wind is 0.87 knots of wind. Conversely, you can divide statute miles by 1.15 to get nautical miles and miles per hour by 1.15 to get knots. The Garmin eTrex should always be set to nautical units of measure to support PHRF calculations of race results. Starting Line To provide all skippers a fair opportunity to participate in the race and to provide optimum starting conditions, the OD is encourage to layout the starting line as follows: - Place the starting line: 1. Near the center of the lake (East to West) 2. Approximately half way between the research bouy and Crowders Creek (North to South) for all course layouts except #4 and #7 (Click here for course layouts) 2. Away from shore and shallow water - Place an orange ball at the pin end (port end) of the line - Place the committee boat on the starboard end of the line - Make the start line length equal to all competing boats in a row (10 boats would mean about a 200 foot line) - Align the starting line perpendicular to the direction to the windward mark and the wind direction (raise a flag or use a telltale attached to a dowel to determine the wind direction from the pontoon boat) - When in doubt, make the port end slightly favored Course Layout To provide a fair opportunity for boats of all design to win a race, the OD is encouraged to provide the following course layouts: - Layout windward, reaching and leeward marks that enable the OD to run more than one course on a race day. Click here to see the alternative course layouts and designations. - Use the large tetrahedral marks where possible because they are easier to see than the orange balls, especially on the longer runs between marks - Try to run at least one windward-leeward (WL) and one windward-reaching-leeward (WRL) triangle course on each race day - Avoid overly complex race course layouts so that at least two races can be run on a race day - Use the white board on the committee boat to signal the course selection before the start of sequence for each race and call the sequence using the bull horn (the course numbers are in the notebook on the committee boat) - Make each course length at least 1.5 nautical miles but not more than 3.75 nautical miles with the following guidelines where possible: . In wind conditions of 0-5 knots, strive for a 1.5 km WL course and a 1.75-2.0 km WRL course. . In wind conditions of 6-10 knots, strive for a 2.0 km WL course and a 2.5-2.75 km WRL course. . In wind conditions >10 knots, strive for 3.0 km WL course and a 3.5-3.75 km WRL course. - Have an alternative course available if the race must be shortened because of low wind - Follow the Website procedure (CYC Race Sequence for the Officer of the Day) if the course must be shortened after the start - Run more than two races if the last race can start before 12:15 PM GPS Use to Determine Course Length Follow the procedure below in the order shown to capture the distance of the race courses: 1. Turn on the eTrex GPS using the PWR button on the right side 2. Allow the GPS to acquire a full signal as shown on the bottom SIGNAL bar indicator 3. Press the PAGE button until the MENU displays showing MARK highlighted 4. After placing a mark and before the committee boat moves, press the ENTER button on the left side of the GPS twice to capture the location of the mark 5. Take note of the mark number captured (shown in the flag symbol) 6. Press the PAGE button until you get to the MENU screen 7. Select WAYPOINTS using the down arrow on the left/top of the GPS 8. Press ENTER to see the waypoints 9. Press ENTER to select the number range 0-9 10. Press the down arrow on the top/left of the GPS to highlight the mark you just captured 11. Press ENTER 12. Select GOTO using the down arrow on the left/top of the GPS 13. Press ENTER 14. Note the distance at the top of the compass screen that appears next (it should be less that 100 feet) 15. Drive the committee boat to the next mark location that you have selected 16. Write down on a piece of paper the distance in nautical miles shown on the GPS 17. Repeat the above steps 3-16 for all marks 18. Record the total of all distances between marks on the top of the race score sheet as the length of the course 19. Repeat step 18 for both courses laid out and any alternative short courses |