Sailboat Races

Well I was a bit disappointed by the low turnout for what, for me at any rate was a shakedown regatta. I hope those that turned up enjoyed it as much as I did though, we got some serious sailing done in a very relaxed atmosphere.

Despite having suffered some very puzzling problems earlier in the day, both in Tompson and at the Hollywood 'Rules' conference (GreyLife™ and very poor keyboard responses) which led me to change computers, reset my connection and do a full client un/re-install immediately before the start, I found I'm not as rusty as I feared, even if I wound up with no more than 80m visibility in the first race!

Alterations to the Tompson course and improvements to sim handoffs have led to an increase in the options as far as 'getting round the course' is concerned - this is resulting in less crowding in critical areas and a great deal more decision making on the way round.
Most racers are enjoying the ability to approach Portage island from Tompson in a wide turn through Hatton, though I'm not convinced it's faster -IF you get the tack in Portage right you can still get to the south side of Portage earlier. In my case it's a big if though!
The hugely improved sim handoffs are also making the start a lot less fraught, with excursions into Egan to obtain that critical 'line' being quite feasible - it also means there is less milling about and bunching up on the start line.

Besides the contacts Eloise has reported, which as she says weren't critical, I had some contact with Pix in one race on the NE corner of Portage mainland, caused by my usual tactic of keeping close to Portage and Pix attempting the same... I have absolutely no idea how that would have panned out under ROW, probably badly for me, luckily we weren't using ROW though! Anyway, while it may have slowed us both slightly, I don't think it affected the results at all.

The 'jumping' effect Eloise mentions is definitely something that any future 'rules' framework will have to address, I saw it happen to Eloise and Pix and there was definitely no intentional contact.
I had a similar experience with Pix while trailing her and had we both been on exactly the same course then contact would have ensued, and neither of us could have prevented it - what can you do when the boat in front stalls and your boat snaps forward 2-3 boat lengths without warning?

Good to see relative beginners turn up. Nice to see improvements all round. I was particularly interested to hear Didge say he was having trouble initially getting the right sheet angles while trying to avoid the landscape, other racers and stay on course...
One wonders how much improvement he's have made if he had to worry about ROW too?

It may be that, besides giving experienced skippers a chance to let their hair down in competition, the 'Non-Rules' races are also a low stress 'nursery' environment for beginners. Agreed, they aren't learning ROW - but they are learning boat handling, honing their skills at extracting the maximum performance from their boats and gaining confidence. All of which are necessary if they are going to race ROW in the future. Or not - their choice.

Anyway, with Christmas and the New Year looming I don't think there will be anything serious going on at Tompson 'til the festive season is done, though I might run something low key, like yesterday's races, in the mid-week over the next two weeks. Then look out for something a bit more serious.

Meantime any potential Tompson racers are invited to use the course for practice anytime there aren't events in progress - you might like to try sailing in the snow! (seriously!)

And I have to observe that, if your graphics are up to it, racing with ripply water is really nice. I've noted a few water rendering glitches, but I've contacted Runitai Linden, who is responsible for developing ripply water, and hopefully these can be eliminated.

And thanks to all who attended and supported the regatta.

Penguins (and other wildlife) ARE available by special arrangement with me...

Um, is there anything else besides the silent channel in 2.2? Will 2.1 still be 'race legal'?
Are penguin equipped Takos race legal?

I was following Linden Lab's lead on the whole software development philosophy and released Tako 2.2 as soon as I finished adding the silent channel (basically, one new line of code, and a slight modification to an existing line). I didn't even bother to test it. Just kidding.

2.1 and 2.2 are identical in every respect except for the silent channel and the default hull color, oh, and the name as well. Both are perfectly race legal. I replaced the 2.1 for sale in Hollywood with the 2.2, and may get to the others in time.

Hopefully this will all be moot in a week or two (or three or four) when 3.0 comes out.

I sailed in both the SL-Rental series saturday, and the VYC series friday, both of which were held at the same venue and I enjoyed each, for completely different reasons.

There were no protests at the VYC event. It was the cleanest sailed event I have seen in SL. I think everyone was terrified of doing a 720 penalty turn and backed off. I know I did, especially when Mush Caldera's boat was being rendered as Mush, a small box, and the particles streaming from the top of the mast (everything else was invisible). I told myself there was a fog bank with Mush inside it, and sailed accordingly. At the SLSF meeting Kanker suggested perhaps everyone was on their best behavior for the first event, which may be true. We will see if this continues in future races.

At the SLSF meeting, Eloise asked if a 720 degree turn wasn't an overly harsh penalty. I don’t think 720 is too much if we structure events so that there are enough races to allow for a throw out. With a throw out race you can make a mistake without ruining your day. This is related to the issue of adverse conditions in SL. We all know that there are some odd things that can happen. Friday, I had my boat disappear about 40 seconds before the start of the 7th VYC race (there was a pop, and then I was falling underwater). I think of the odd SL-artifacts as the virtual weather and assume that sooner or later this will all even out. RL races are sailed in adverse conditions at times, and a wild RL gust can cause your boat to go out of control and cause a foul or a crash. It is not clear that adverse conditions require rule changes although some complaints to the Lindens may be in order. Let’s gather more experience here. The events I run will be structured to include enough races that we can have at least one throw out to acknowledge the existance of... bad luck!

Part of the VYC event that really worked was having written race instructions publicized in advance so the nature of the event, the procedure for making changes and resolving disputes is clear to all. I had a nice talk with Blue Grasshopper Saturday morning and she was gracious enough to correct my bad grammar, so I have an even better version of the VYC race instructions for the next event.

Samantha Canetti did great at the VYC event, which tells me that motivated beginners who can steer their boats can deal with rules. Not everyone is interested in rules, so offering both full-rule races and no rule races let’s people pick their poison.

Doc and Eloise’s event was very enjoyable, but I approached it as fun sailing with friends and was not concerned with how I finished. I believe that much of the strum und drang in the forums has been due to putting sailors who want to race hard and use rules to their advantage in the same bin with recreational sailors. The community has collectively solved that problem and the two extremes (serious racing under full rules AND playing with friends) are available. It’s likely my participation in races without right of way rules will be generally limited to riding with less experienced skippers to give them suggestions on what to work on. This model (experienced skippers riding and having the less experienced drive) is a good way to bring the beginners up to speed. We have not been doing this because there was only one set of races recently. With more opportunities and different event philosophies now available, I hope we see more ride along sailing, because it works both ways. If racing in a full-out no holds-bared race seems scary, a novice should ask to ride along with a more experienced skipper. You’ll learn a lot.

Hey folks,

Announcing the 2nd VYC regatta!

Location: Hollywood (Thank you, MarkTwain, Nber, and Starboards Yacht Club for allowing us to use this venue!)

Time and Date: Saturday, December 24, 7am to 8am SL time

Who is invited: You are! Anyone who is willing to sail under full ISL ROW rules is welcome. If you are new to ISF ROW, or an old hand with ROW, or somewhere in-between, you are welcome. We ask that you bring a good attitude and a willingness to learn and have fun, but non-complience with these requests will have no penalties beyond the penalties inherent with bad attitude, unwillingness to learn, and an adversion to fun.

1. RULES: The regatta will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing

2. ENTRIES: This race is limited to skippers using the Flying Tako racing version, v2.1 or v2.2.

3. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS: The race committee for this event is Faykin Odets and Pixeleen Mistral. The race committee will announce courses and race starts.

4. SIGNALS: The SLSF start line will be used to signal starts and record finishes. Boats may hail each other via chat. If you do not want to type out the entire signal or hail to another boat, this shorthand is used: To signal another boat of a protest shout “P {name}” where {name} is the name of the skipper or the ID of the boat. To accept a protest, shout “A”. If you do not accept a protest, shout “N”.

If you realize you have fouled another boat, do not wait to be protested. Call the foul on yourself by shouting “A {name}” where {name} is the name of the boat you fouled. Calling the foul on yourself without waiting for the other boat to protest you will gain you huge amounts of good karma with everyone. When the race committee determines that a participant has accumulated sufficient good karma, one or more members of the committee will offer you a hug. You signal your acceptance or denial of this hug by saying “yes” or “no”. Hugs will not affect your standing in the race results.

5. PROTESTS: If a protest is not accepted during the race, the involved parties should privately (via IM) discuss the matter. Discussing the issue via chat between races wastes everyone’s time. If the party which was protested discovers they were in error, they shall shall notify the race committee that they have withdrawn from the race in which they fouled the other boat. If the party that issued the protest realizes that their protest was in error, they should make a public apology to the other party via chat. The signal for this is to say “Sorry {name}, I was wrong”.

In the sad and unlikely event that the parties to a protest cannot resolve the protest, they have 5 minutes after the LAST race to notify the race committee that a written protest will be filed. After this point, new protests are no longer accepted. The involved parties then have 15 minutes to prepare written explanations of what happened and other evidence (drawings, photos) to support their case.

The race committee will appoint a protest committee to hear the protest. If one of the parties to the protest does not file written evidence or is not present to answer the protest committee’s questions, the protest committee will render judgement using the available evidence. There will be no appeal of the judgement, since we are the only group sailing with the full racing rule book. Since you cannot appeal, you can use your excess energy to recruit sailors so that we can get enough to have an appeals board, and have better luck next time.

6. SCORING: The low point system of Appendix A will be used. If we sail four races, each boats worst score will be excluded from her series score. If we sail eight races, the two worst scores are excluded, and so on.

7. TROPHIES: Depends on that slacker, Faykin, and what he gets done. As a minimum, there will be a series champion and most improved sailor awards.

See you on the water!

--Faykin Odets

Faykin and I are very honored and pleased to announce that Oliphant Ming and Eloise Pasteur have agreed to act as an advisory board for the VYC.

When Faykin, Samantha Canetti, and I formed the VYC, we had a couple goals in mind. First, we wanted a pure sailboat racing organization for those interested in racing under the full rule book. Second, we wanted to measure sailors’ performance by ranking racers and tracking race results at many different venues. To do this well, we need ideas, advice, and sometimes even criticism from people we respect... an informed second opinion is very valuable. I wanted to formalize this and have more accountability for the VYC officers, so an advisory board seemed in order. I’m also hoping the advisory board will find it necessary to sail in VYC events to see how we are doing. Whether they sail with us or not, we will pay very close attention to their advice given their personal integrity and knowledge.

The first big issue we are grappling with is what method to use for ranking sailors. This is an interesting problem, because not everyone can make every regatta due to time zone differences and RL commitments. I suspect we will end up with several rankings based on different measures. For instance, we might have rankings based on

- finishing place in recognized regattas

- finishing place is recognized regattas weighted by difficulty

- the strength of record of the sailors you beat

The last approach interests me, since it would let us make inferences about who is better, even if they have not faced each other head-to-head recently. This concept came from learning a little about how cat shows are scored. The idea is that beating someone who has finished high in previous regattas counts for a lot more than beating weak competition. This also means that someone who has not done well in the past could dramatically improve their ranking by beating some of the better sailors. Finally, this might encourage groups that normally have a hard time sailing together because of time zone issues to do so in order to find appropriate competitors.

In any case, we are starting to think about how to do rankings. Suggestions anyone?

Oh yeah, see you at the VYC races on Saturday. We'll include those results in whatever we come up with to determine the king (or queen) of the Vagabonds. My opinion is that the King of the Vagabonds is currently a tie between Fakin and Chase Speculaas based on all race results available to us to date.

HOLLYWOOD Dec. 18, 2005 -- After a stormy week the atmosphere this weekend in Hollywood was sunny, funny, and relaxed. In Starboards Yacht Club's last events of 2005 MarkTwain and Nber combined elements of past events into a fun afternoon of sailing, playing, learning, and no ROW racing.

The first event of the day was to have been Sailboat Tag but technical difficulties sunk that event. Chase is working on the problem and is betting the pink slip on his new pirate sailing ship that he will have it fixed in time for next month's events.



The first actual event turned out to be the inaugural Sailboat Soccer Contest. This is a race against the clock. All boats worked together, well sort of anyway, to push a 10 meter wide earth ball around Hollywood Island. This initial outing took the combined fleet 11m30s to get the job done. Next time the fleet should appoint a couple of blockers to fill the corners and be bumpers where the ball tended to get stuck. I predict a much improved time next month.



Next up was Sailboat Drag Races. This single elimination contest involved paired off boats racing down one side of Hollywood, turning what would have been screeching rubber burning 180's (had this been on dry pavement) and roaring back to the start line. Chase Speculaas prevailed here.



At the end of the Drag Races Faykin Odets recommend what appeared on the surface to be a outrageous idea. All boats in attendance lined up for a single drag race down the narrow course. MarkTwain White declared that the last boat still floating would be the winner (guess he still doesn't grasp all the realities of SL sailing). Amazingly none of the boats got into a tangle. One boat hit the mark, but the other eight boats made the turn without major collisions. MarkTwain prevailed in this insane event.



The intention on racing on this day was to race one no row race followed by one limited row race. Then a vote would determine which type of race we had for the third race of the day. However after the first race it was clear that the day was running overtime. So a vote was taken and it was unamious to have a second no row race (not surprising given the make up of the fleet at that time). Nber Medici prevailed in both races despite bashing herself into Shipwreck Point on the second race.

Congrats to Nber Medici and Chase Speculaas, our first place finishers on Sunday. And congrats to all of us for having so much fun. See you next month!

No ROW Race One
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Nber Medici - +00:09:45
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: William Gide - +00:09:58
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Didge Nino - +00:10:16
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Samantha Canetti - +00:10:22

No ROW Race Two
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Nber Medici - +00:09:56
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: William Gide - +00:09:59
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Samantha Canetti - +00:10:31
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Didge Nino - +00:10:33
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 5: Hazel Desmoulins - +00:10:56

VYC Christmas Eve in Hollywood race series results

We ran 9 races in a bit over an hour, (six short windward-leeward races topped
off with three Hollywood long course races). Big, big thanks to Nber and MarkTwain
for the use of the Hollywood facilities for this event!

Because we allow for one throw out result for each 4 races run, this provided for
2 throw outs for each racer. Here are the final results:

1. Faykin Odets - 5.25 points
2. MarkTwain White - 13.5 points
3. Pixeleen Mistral - 19 points
4. Jamie Marlin- 23 points
5. mush Caldera - 36 points

The VYC race committee awards the "Rookie of the Regatta" trophy to Jamie Marlin,
because this was her first VYC regatta and she was the top new VYC finisher. Jamie
impressed me with a slick move that forced me across the starting line early... this
sort of thing is exactly what I was hoping for in full rulebook right of way races.
Way to go Jamie!

Alas, mush Caldera overslept or got confused about timezones, but joined
us for the last three races. Sorry mush, but time and tide wait for no one .
Luck was with mush since he got to share in the sim crash, but we did not
lose any race results in spite of getting to relog and "feel free to explore" a
nearby sim (thank you Linden Labs for another chance to explore a nearby
sim ). Pixeleen Mistral (yours truely) collected a DSQ in the 8th race by
losing a protest hearing. Eloise Pastuer graciously took the time to rule on
the protest, and since VYC does not currently have a protest appeal process,
her ruling is final. VYC will look into clarifying rules regarding anchoring,
re-rezing boats, and kedging off for out next race series so there are written
guidelines on what is allowed, and these guidelines are in the race instructions.

I hope everyone else had a great time. I had a blast

For the detail oriented, here is more detail:

===race 1
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 2 points
Jamie Marlin - 3 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 4 points
mush Caldera - DNS

===race 2
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 2 points
Jamie Marlin - 4 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 3 points
mush Caldera - DNS

===race 3
Faykin Odets - 4 points
MarkTwain White - 0.75 points
Jamie Marlin - 3 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 2 points
mush Caldera - DNS

===race 4
Faykin Odets - 4 points
MarkTwain White - 0.75 points
Jamie Marlin - 2 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 3 points
mush Caldera - DNS

===race 5
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 3 points
Jamie Marlin - 4 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 2 points
mush Caldera - DNS

===race 6
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 3 points
Jamie Marlin - 4 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 2 points
mush Caldera - DNS

===race 7
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 2 points
Jamie Marlin - 4 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 3 points
mush Caldera - 5 points

===race 8
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 2 points
Jamie Marlin - DNF
Pixeleen Mistral - DSQ
mush Caldera - 3 points

===race 9
Faykin Odets - 0.75 points
MarkTwain White - 2 points
Jamie Marlin - 3 points
Pixeleen Mistral - 5 points
mush Caldera - 4 points

==============================
and if you are still reading,
here are the raw results:
===race 1===
MarkTwain White: have you practiced the course jamie?
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:01:49
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: MarkTwain White - +00:02:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Jamie Marlin - +00:02:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:02:06
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:02
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:05
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:15
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:01:49
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:02:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:02:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:02:06
===race 2===
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:02:05
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: MarkTwain White - +00:02:19
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:02:30
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:02:53
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:03
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:12
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:14
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:02:05
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:02:19
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:02:30
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:02:53
===race 3===
Faykin Odets: moor
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: MarkTwain White - +00:02:06
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:02:21
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Jamie Marlin - +00:02:39
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Faykin Odets - +00:03:45
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
Jamie Marlin: oooh
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: -00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:02
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:02:06
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:02:21
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:02:39
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:03:45
===race 4===
Faykin Odets: moor
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: MarkTwain White - +00:01:41
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: Jamie Marlin - +00:01:46
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:01:50
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Faykin Odets - +00:02:43
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:03
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:12
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:01:41
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:01:46
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:01:50
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:02:43
===race 5===
Jamie Marlin: OK
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:01:54
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:02:00
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: MarkTwain White - +00:02:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:02:15
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:06
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:10
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:14
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:16
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:01:54
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:02:00
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:02:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:02:15
MarkTwain White: long now?
mush Caldera shouts: hi guys
Jamie Marlin: Start is the same
MarkTwain White: hi mush
mush Caldera shouts: any chance of joining?
Faykin Odets shouts: Hey Mush
===race 6===
mush Caldera: moor
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:01:58
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:02:02
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: MarkTwain White - +00:02:03
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:02:18
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 5: mush Caldera - +00:03:57
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:11
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:20
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:27
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:01:42
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:01:58
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:02:02
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:02:03
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:02:18
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 1: +00:03:57
===race 7===
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:08:47
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: MarkTwain White - +00:09:10
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:10:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:10:57
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 5: mush Caldera - +00:11:41
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:00
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:11
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:19
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:01:19
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:08:47
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:09:10
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:10:04
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:10:57
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: -- lap 1: +00:11:41
MarkTwain White: be right back! 1 minute please
====race 8===
Tako 2.2 Racing #23: Mooring.
Flying Tako 2.2 Racing #23: Ready.
Jamie Marlin: I am DSQ
Flying Tako 2.2 Racing #23: Ready.
MarkTwain White: pixel, the timer rand out at the start
MarkTwain White: so i show as first
Jamie Marlin: I ran aground and had to move the boat
MarkTwain White: i am second
You: ok
MarkTwain White: pixel...
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC shouts: #4: mush Caldera! Race time: +00:11:37
Faykin Odets: wondered what happened Jamie ... bummer :*(
MarkTwain White: did you have to edit boat?
mush Caldera: moormoor
You: anone else on the couse?
mush Caldera: moor
You: are we all here?
MarkTwain White: was asking pixel if she edited boat
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
MarkTwain White: turned very quickly
You: results
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: MarkTwain White - +00:01:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: Faykin Odets - +00:08:38
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:10:53
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: mush Caldera - +00:11:37
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: -00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:00
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:00:03
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:35
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:01:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:08:38
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:10:53
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 1: +00:11:37

===race 9===
Tako 2.2 Racing #23: Mooring.
Flying Tako 2.2 Racing #23: Ready.
Jamie Marlin: I am DSQ
Flying Tako 2.2 Racing #23: Ready.
MarkTwain White: pixel, the timer rand out at the start
MarkTwain White: so i show as first
Jamie Marlin: I ran aground and had to move the boat
MarkTwain White: i am second
You: ok
MarkTwain White: pixel...
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC shouts: #4: mush Caldera! Race time: +00:11:37
Faykin Odets: wondered what happened Jamie ... bummer :*(
MarkTwain White: did you have to edit boat?
mush Caldera: moormoor
You: anone else on the couse?
mush Caldera: moor
You: are we all here?
MarkTwain White: was asking pixel if she edited boat
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Say '+help' to display help text.
MarkTwain White: turned very quickly
You: results
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 1: MarkTwain White - +00:01:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 2: Faykin Odets - +00:08:38
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:10:53
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: 4: mush Caldera - +00:11:37
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: -00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:00
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:00:03
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:35
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:01:07
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:08:38
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:10:53
SLSF Race Start Line - SYC: mush Caldera-- lap 1: +00:11:37

Nber Medici and I were pleased to provide the racing facilities to VYC for their full ROW regatta on Christmas Eve.

Except for the protest which went to committee the day ran smoothly and gives me hope that reasonable skippers can indeed race under full ROW. Some of the spectators expressed their continued reluctance to race under full ROW, a concern I wholly appreciate. However my gut feeling is that if you have raced under limited ROW and done ok, you will do fine in full ROW. Most of the incidents you will encounter on the water in full ROW are the same ones you would have experienced in limited ROW. And for those that have not sailed even under limited ROW, SYC will be providing on the water rules clinics as part of our sailing activitites beginning in January. So come give it a try.

Note: The opinion above does not mean that I no longer have concerns about full ROW in SL for reasons stated in message #272. It simply means that I now feel that full ROW is possible if handled wisely and reasonably. But if you don't want to there, don't worry. No ROW racing will be a regular feature in Hollywood for the long haul. And it seems the same is true for Doc and Eloise in Tompson.

Regarding the protest that went to committee I know that a number of spectators spoke with me after the regatta expressing the thought that the incident was an example of why they don't want to sail in full ROW. I fully understand their reaction. However take heart that the race committee ruled wisely on the protest.

The protest involved an incident in which Pixeleen and Jamie both got stuck on the rocks at Shipwreck Point. Both skippers used the edit command to move their boats and resume the race. Jamie, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, chose to DSQ herself foillowing the race informing Pixeleen (the race director) of the incident, which Pixeleen acknowleged. As Pixeleen had also edited her boat during the race I protested her action and Pixeleen told me to show her where in the ISF rules of racing it said that you can't edit your boat, which she equated to kedging the boat off the rocks.

My presention to the race committee, Eloise Pasteur, was that editing a boat has been clearly and self-evidently against the rules from the earliest days of SLSF sailing and that the argument that it isn't in the RL rules that this regatta was using was wrong and should not be upheld.

Pixeleen's presentation equated her actions to kedging off the rocks, moving her boat back down the course rather than forward. My comment to that was that kedging is an activity that takes considerable time, while editing your boat takes a couple of seconds at most.

Eloise acknowledge points from both sides of the protest and ruled that Pixeleen should be DNFed (did not finish). Eloise also suggested that rules to cover editing boats when they are stuck should be added to the rules as VYC is using them. The rule already exists in the current SLSF original 9 rules. See Eloise's post at #129 which also has a nice tutorial on rules #10,11,12,13 (our limited ROW rule set).

Nber and I look forward to seeing you on the water at our first events of the new year to be held on January 8. And just maybe those events will be held with Tako 3.0's. Hmmm, Kanker? If you can't wait, Hollywood is always available for practice racing.

---------------

Oh, and Pixeleen, please check your math. You listed me as having 13.5 points for the regatta. I believe the correct score is 11.5.

---------------

Race Instructions

Vagabonds Yacht Club's third series of races

Saturday December 31, 2005 from 7:00 to 8:00 AM SL time at Tompson(181,203)

Who is invited: You are! Anyone who is willing to sail under full ISL ROW rules is welcome. If you are new to ISF ROW, or an old hand with ROW, or somewhere in-between, you are welcome. We ask that you bring a good attitude and a willingness to learn and have fun, but non-complience with these requests will have no penalties beyond the penalties inherent with bad attitude, unwillingness to learn, and missing out on all the fun.

We will run as many races as we can, starting with short round the island races to get better at starting tactics, followed with the SL-Rentals Tompson long course races to work on open water sailing skills. Sailing of all abilities are welcome provided you are willing to sail under the international sailing federation rules and want to improve your skills. See http://www.sailingcourse.com/ for an introduction to the rules and tactics.

1. RULES: The regatta will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing and the Experimental VYC Second Life rules appendix (see section 9 of this note for the appendix). It is likely that the experimental rules appendix will be modified for future events, but the rules as stated here shall govern this event.

2. ENTRIES: Show up with a Flying Tako and race with us. This race is limited to racing version of the Flying Tako one-design sailboat. If you are a complete beginner you can learn a lot by watching, and asking questions after the races are over. If you have basic sailing skills, and a willingness to learn please join us. You might make a mistake or two and get protested, but you will learn the right of way rules quickly (even the most experienced sailors might learn a thing or two.

3. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS: The race committee for this event is Faykin Odets and Pixeleen Mistral. The race committee will announce courses and race starts. The race committee may decide to abandon a race, have a general recall of a start, or otherwise alter a course due to adverse conditions such as sim crashes.

4. SIGNALS: The SLSF start line will be used to signal starts and record finishes. Boats may hail each other via chat. If you do not want to type out the entire signal or hail to another boat, this shorthand is used: To signal another boat of a protest shout "P {name}" where {name} is the name of the skipper or the ID of the boat. To accept a protest, shout "A". If you do not accept a protest, shout "N".

If you realize you have fouled another boat, do not wait to be protested. Call the foul on yourself by shouting "A {name}" where {name} is the name of the person you fouled or the boat ID. Calling the foul on yourself without waiting for the other boat to protest you will gain you huge amounts of good karma with everyone. When the race committee determines that a participant has accumulated sufficient good karma, one or more members of the committee will offer you a hug. You signal your acceptance or denial of this hug by saying "yes" or "no". Hugs will not affect your standing in the race results.

5. PROTESTS: If a protest is not accepted during the race, the involved parties should privately (via IM) discuss the matter. Discussing the issue via chat between races wastes everyone's time. If the party which was protested discovers they were in error, they shall shall notify the race committee that they have withdrawn from the race in which they fouled the other boat. If the party that issued the protest realizes that their protest was in error, they should make a public apology to the other party via chat. The signal for this is to say "Sorry {name}, I was wrong.".

In the sad and unlikely event that the parties to a protest cannot resolve the protest, they have 5 minutes after the LAST race to notify the race committee that a written protest will be filed. After this point, new protests are no longer accepted. The involved parties then have 15 minutes to prepare written explanations of what happened and other evidence (drawings, photos) to support their case.

The race committee will appoint a protest committee to hear the protest. If one of the parties to the protest does not file written evidence or is not present to answer the protest committee's questions, the protest committee will render judgement using the available evidence. Note that the protest committee may reject a protest as moot, so you need to build a case that the protest is worth the committee?s time as well as arguing your position. There will be no appeal of the protest committee?s judgement, since we are the only group sailing with the full racing rule book. Since you cannot appeal, you can use your excess energy to recruit sailors so that we can get enough to have an appeals board, and have better luck next time.

6. SCORING: The low point system of Appendix A will be used. If we sail four races, each boat's worst score will be excluded from their series score. If we sail eight races, the two worst scores are excluded, and so on.

7. TROPHIES: Trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded assuming Faykin's trophy factory is still working.

8. GOOD LUCK and SEE YOU ON THE WATER!!!

9. EXPERIMENTAL VYC SECOND LIFE RULES APPENDIX

9.1. WHEN RULES TAKE EFFECT
The ISF ruleset as modified by the race instructions and this addendum shall go in effect at the start of the race timer beginning it's countdown.

9.2. MAINTAINING WIND SETTINGS
In races that employ a windsetter to provide consistent wind, it is important that all sailors' boats use the same wind settings and maintain these settings through the entire race. This principle leads to prohibiting actions during races which may result in loss of wind settings by a boat. Lowering the sail on a Flying Tako does not cause loss of wind settings, and is legal during a race.

2.1 Mooring a boat may cause the boat to lose her wind settings, so racers that moor their boat at any time during a race shall retire from the race.

2.2 Sailors shall complete the race course using the same instance of their boat with which they started the race. Rezing a new instance of a boat during a race is prohibited. Sailors who lose their boats during a race shall retire from the race.

2.3 Sailors that stand up will cause their boat to lose it?s wind settings when they sit in the Tako again. Sailors that stand up during a race shall retire from the race.

9.3. EDITING
The SL editing tool shall not be used during the race. Use of the SL editing tool by a boat's crew or skipper shall result in automatic disqualification of that boat.

The wind has just shifted to the west in Tompson. These conditions will hold through tomorrow's races.

It seems to me that the third option is very susceptible to gaming the rankings. It is a perfect sandbagging set up. Want to do well on this scale? Then sandbag your early regattas and finish lower in the standing than you are capable of.

The second option is also game-able since someone(s) who already race can affect the standings simply by how they handicap regattas and I presume courses.

The first option makes a lot of sense. It is more like RL rankings that I have seen, and isn't that what going to full ROW all about?

If both #1 and #3 are used and displayed in the order that Pixeleen presented I would be more confortable with the results since to sandbag option #3 that Pixeleen has expressed interest in, would be offset by poorer ranking on #1 (the more RL-like ranking).

I recommend that VYC not get into the business of ranking couses and sites that would be required in raking system #2.

Happy New Year from VYC!

We managed 5 races (3 short ones, and two long races) at the SL-Rentals site in Tompson, which allowed for one throwout race for each sailor. We also managed one sim crash, which seems to be fairly standard for VYC. Thank you to SL-Rentals for the use of their site, and to Eloise Pasteur for adjusting the wind to the west so that we could try a long downwind and upwind leg that spanned several sims. I was in heaven since there was enough water to actually have to pay attention the the lifts and headers, and the second to last race featured some extremely close and tactical sailing since there was a lot of choice about how to approach the upwind and downwind legs. In her VYC debut Shoshana Epsilon did great, in spite of a challenging course. Everyone expects big things from Shoshana now. After the races, Jaime Marlin and I talked about how this race series seemed to show that we can do long multi-sim races with significant upwind/downwind legs since the sim handoffs are just good enough. Jamie and I are going to see if we can find another venue to test this theory further. I guess that means we will have to race more in the new year.

Results:

Faykin Odets 4.25 pts. 1st place ( 0.75 0.75 0.75 2 )
Pixeleen Mistral 7.5 pts 2nd place ( 3 0.75 3 0.75 )
MarkTwain White 11 pts. 3rd place (4 2 2 3 )
Jamie Marlin 13 pts. 4th place (2 3 4 4 )
Shoshana Epsilon 17 pts. 5th place ( 4 3 5 5 )

Results without the trowout race:

Faykin Odets 0.75 2 0.75 0.75 2 6.25 points 1st place
Jamie Marlin 2 3 5 4 4 18 points 4th place
Pixeleen Mistral 3 0.75 4 3 0.75 11.5 points 2nd place
MarkTwain White 4 5 2 2 3 16 points 3rd place
Shoshana Epsilon 5 4 3 5 5 22 points 5th place


=============
the raw results:

Race 1

SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:01:24
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 2: Jamie Marlin - +00:02:02
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:02:08
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 4: MarkTwain White - +00:02:22
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:03
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:06
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:17
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:18
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:01:24
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:02:02
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:02:08
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:02:22

Race 2

SLSF Race Start Line - Group shouts: Jamie Marlin starts at time +00:00:13
SLSF Race Start Line - Group shouts: Pixeleen Mistral starts at time +00:00:13
SLSF Race Start Line - Group shouts: Faykin Odets starts at time +00:00:20
SLSF Race Start Line - Group shouts: Winner: Pixeleen Mistral! Race time: +00:01:48
SLSF Race Start Line - Group shouts: Runner up: Faykin Odets! Race time: +00:01:51
SLSF Race Start Line - Group shouts: #3: Jamie Marlin! Race time: +00:02:00

Race 3

SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:01:16
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 2: MarkTwain White - +00:01:22
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 3: Shoshana Epsilon - +00:01:28
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 4: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:01:56
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 5: Jamie Marlin - +00:01:59
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:02
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Shoshana Epsilon-- lap 0: +00:00:12
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:16
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:17
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:01:16
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:01:22
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Shoshana Epsilon-- lap 1: +00:01:28
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:01:56
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:01:59

Race 4

SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:06:55
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 2: MarkTwain White - +00:07:02
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 3: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:07:08
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:07:44
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 5: Shoshana Epsilon - +00:10:10
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:05
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Shoshana Epsilon-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:09
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:12
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:18
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:06:55
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:07:02
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:07:08
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:07:44
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Shoshana Epsilon-- lap 1: +00:10:10

Race 5

SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 1: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:49
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 2: Shoshana Epsilon - +00:07:03
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 3: Faykin Odets - +00:07:18
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 4: MarkTwain White - +00:07:34
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: 5: Jamie Marlin - +00:07:47
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:06
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:08
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 0: +00:00:11
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Shoshana Epsilon-- lap 0: +00:00:13
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:49
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Shoshana Epsilon-- lap 1: +00:07:03
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:07:18
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: MarkTwain White-- lap 1: +00:07:34
SLSF Race Start Line - Group: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:07:47

My experience sailing Doc and Eloise’s shakedown races in December and the VYC New Years Eve race seem to show that the handoffs from one sim to the next are working reasonably well, and void sims are now usable for sailing. Sailing into a void sim no longer feels like sailing through molasses. This opens up some possibilities for both cruising and offshore racing. To experiement with these possibilities VYC now sponsors an SLSF starting line and windsetter at Torch(228,129,83). Oliphant Ming was kind enough to make room on his property for a turning buoy at Horseshoe (66,226,83). Sailing a windward/leeward course across the Sea of Sighs from Torch to Horseshoe to Torch takes me between 6 and 7 minutes. This is mostly offshore sailing, where you need to refer to a compass heading, the SL Map, or set a landmark at the destination so you can orient yourself while sailing across open ocean. It is really really fun, and VYC will certainly be holding some long distance/offshore events in the very near future.

We can get a triangle course by swinging past Doc’s place in Tompson (where you will pick up a different wind) before heading back up to Torch. Another alternative is to sail through the Portage narrows, under the bridge and into the Sea of Lost Souls. I’m hoping we can get a turning buoy there as well. Jamie Marlin said she thought there was a good possibility of this happening.

Things for racers to consider:

You’ll want to have landmarks for turning marks and start/finish lines in your inventory, and you’ll want to practice sailing using these. I’ll try to get a couple maps at the Torch starting line soon that give landmarks for your inventory.

There are interesting tactical considerations concerning the best course to take. Sailing into a void sim that has a couple boats already in it may be slower than taking a longer route that avoids other boats. You might want to pretend that the boats already in the sim are disturbing the wind.

There are also considerations about whether it is better to sail a void sim or stick closer to the shore. There may be more simulation capacity in the populated sim, but it may be used up with clubs and other laggy features. I think all of this will result in more interesting races, and more possibilities. Stop by Torch, rez a boat and try it out. It’s really fun.

Race Instructions
Saturday January 7, 2006 starting at 4:00 PM SL time in the Sea of Sighs.

The new year of sailboat racing begins with the first series of

Le Grand Prix de VYC
and the quest for Thalassocracy

Who is invited: You are! Anyone who is willing to sail under full ISL ROW rules is welcome. If you are new to ISF ROW, or an old hand with ROW, or somewhere in-between, you are welcome. We ask that you bring a good attitude and a willingness to learn and have fun, but non-complience with these requests will have no penalties beyond the penalties inherent with bad attitude, unwillingness to learn, and missing out on all the fun.

We will run as many races as we can, starting with windward-leeward races sail from
Torch (232, 124, 83)
to the turning buoy near
Oli's Drift Inn, Horseshoe(66, 226, 83)
and returing to the start/finish line

After we tire of the windward leeward racces, we will attempt a triangle course from
Torch (232, 124, 83)
to the turning buoy near
Oli's Drift Inn, Horseshoe(66, 226, 83)
then through the starting line near
Solitude, Tompson(181, 203)
and back to the start/finish line near
Torch (232, 124, 83)

Sailing of all abilities are welcome provided you are willing to sail under the international sailing federation rules and want to improve your skills. See http://www.sailingcourse.com/ for an introduction to the rules and tactics.

0. THALASSOCRACY: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassocracy and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenager_of_the_Year

1. RULES: The regatta will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing and the Experimental VYC Second Life rules appendix (see section 9 of this note for the appendix). It is likely that the experimental rules appendix will be modified for future events, but the rules as stated here shall govern this event.

2. ENTRIES: Show up with a Flying Tako and race with us. This race is limited to racing version of the Flying Tako one-design sailboat. If you are a complete beginner you can learn a lot by watching, and asking questions after the races are over. If you have basic sailing skills, and a willingness to learn please join us. You might make a mistake or two and get protested, but you will learn the right of way rules quickly (even the most experienced sailors might learn a thing or two.

3. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS: The race committee for this event is Faykin Odets and Pixeleen Mistral. The race committee will announce courses and race starts. The race committee may decide to abandon a race, have a general recall of a start, or otherwise alter a course due to adverse conditions such as sim crashes.

4. SIGNALS: The SLSF start line will be used to signal starts and record finishes. Boats may hail each other via chat. If you do not want to type out the entire signal or hail to another boat, this shorthand is used: To signal another boat of a protest shout "P {name}" where {name} is the name of the skipper or the ID of the boat. To accept a protest, shout "A". If you do not accept a protest, shout "N".

If you realize you have fouled another boat, do not wait to be protested. Call the foul on yourself by shouting "A {name}" where {name} is the name of the person you fouled or the boat ID. Calling the foul on yourself without waiting for the other boat to protest you will gain you huge amounts of good karma with everyone. When the race committee determines that a participant has accumulated sufficient good karma, one or more members of the committee will offer you a hug. You signal your acceptance or denial of this hug by saying "yes" or "no". Hugs will not affect your standing in the race results.

5. PROTESTS: If a protest is not accepted during the race, the involved parties should privately (via IM) discuss the matter. Discussing the issue via chat between races wastes everyone's time. If the party which was protested discovers they were in error, they shall shall notify the race committee that they have withdrawn from the race in which they fouled the other boat. If the party that issued the protest realizes that their protest was in error, they should make a public apology to the other party via chat. The signal for this is to say "Sorry {name}, I was wrong.".

In the sad and unlikely event that the parties to a protest cannot resolve the protest, they have 5 minutes after the LAST race to notify the race committee that a written protest will be filed. After this point, new protests are no longer accepted. The involved parties then have 15 minutes to prepare written explanations of what happened and other evidence (drawings, photos) to support their case.

The race committee will appoint a protest committee to hear the protest. If one of the parties to the protest does not file written evidence or is not present to answer the protest committee's questions, the protest committee will render judgement using the available evidence. Note that the protest committee may reject a protest as moot, so you need to build a case that the protest is worth the committee?s time as well as arguing your position. There will be no appeal of the protest committee?s judgement, since we are the only group sailing with the full racing rule book. Since you cannot appeal, you can use your excess energy to recruit sailors so that we can get enough to have an appeals board, and have better luck next time.

6. SCORING: The low point system of Appendix A will be used. If we sail four races, each boat's worst score will be excluded from their series score. If we sail eight races, the two worst scores are excluded, and so on.

7. TROPHIES: Trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded assuming Faykin's trophy factory is still working.

8. GOOD LUCK and SEE YOU ON THE WATER!!!

9. EXPERIMENTAL VYC SECOND LIFE RULES APPENDIX

9.1. WHEN RULES TAKE EFFECT
The ISF ruleset as modified by the race instructions and this addendum shall go in effect at the start of the race timer beginning it's countdown.

9.2. MAINTAINING WIND SETTINGS
In races that employ a windsetter to provide consistent wind, it is important that all sailors' boats use the same wind settings and maintain these settings through the entire race. This principle leads to prohibiting actions during races which may result in loss of wind settings by a boat. Lowering the sail on a Flying Tako does not cause loss of wind settings, and is legal during a race.

2.1 Mooring a boat may cause the boat to lose her wind settings, so racers that moor their boat at any time during a race shall retire from the race.

2.2 Sailors shall complete the race course using the same instance of their boat with which they started the race. Rezing a new instance of a boat during a race is prohibited. Sailors who lose their boats during a race shall retire from the race.

2.3 Sailors that stand up will cause their boat to lose it?s wind settings when they sit in the Tako again. Sailors that stand up during a race shall retire from the race.

9.3. EDITING
The SL editing tool shall not be used during the race. Use of the SL editing tool by a boat's crew or skipper shall result in automatic disqualification of that boat.

With the new season it is time to update the basic fundamental rules that we sail under, based on the experience of the past year. Below are the 9 fundamental rules of sailboat racing as they will be used by Starboards Yacht Club in 2006. These rules are based in large part on the 9 basic rules we used in 2005 as found in Eloise Pasteur's post #129.

FUNDAMENTAL RULES

1. Good sportsmanship is more highly regarded that the ability to win at any cost.
2. Do not edit your boat after the start of the race clock. Penalty: disquaification from race.
3. Do not touch (i.e. edit) another person's boat. Penalty: disqualification.
4. You are responsible for any passagers you invite on your boat. Any action by a passenger that hinders another boat (including but not limited to dropping objects in the water) will result in disqualification.
5. A skipper who accepts a protest from another skipper shall acknowledge the acceptance and do a 360 degree turn as soon as reasonably possible. The skipper shall move clear of the fleet and execute a penalty turn. If there is reasonable room the penalty turn should be done before the skipper reaches the next mark. If there isn't room to safely do a turn before the mark, the skipper shall do a penalty turn soon after passing the mark.
6. A skipper who does not accept a protest shall hail NO. Following the race the issue shall be resolved on the water in the presence of all who care to listen.
7. The race director will apppoint a committee to hear any unresolved protests at time of the hearing. If a committee is not available to hear the protest then a hearing will be held publicly as soon as possible with results being tentative until such ruling.
8. At the discretion of the race director, attempts to "game" the rules can lead to disqualification. Gaming the rules is loosely defined as using the ruleset to violate the fundamental purpose of the ruleset, which is to create an environment where the faster boat will win the race. The pupose of rules in SYC sailing is to keep boats sailing competitively and "safely", not provide opportunities to win by other means than excellence is sailing skills.
9. Boats in a race shall raise sail before -1:45 seconds are left on the clock and not moor until after the race is completed. The skipper who activates the clock may be given minor leeway on this rule if he/she has difficulty starting the clock, getting in boat, and raising sail.

In addition to these basic rules there may be other rules, known as right of way rules, that are employed in a given regatta. Inclusion of these rules (from the "When Boats Meet" section of the RL rulebook) will be announced clearly before a race.

Sunday January 8 marks the first event of the 2006 sailing season in Hollywood. Join us for a lot of fun, some learning, and some great racing.

EVENTS:

---=== 2PM Hour ===---

1.Sailboat Drag Racing: This has become a popular event for beginners and veteran skippers alike. These short dashes pit boats one-on-one in contests of good trim and good turn execution. It's easy, it's good practice. And it's a lof of fun.

2.Sailboat Soccer: Work as a group in an effort to push a giant earth ball completely around Hollywood sim. The record stands at 11m 30s. Can the time be improved. Come help and enjoy the team work.


---=== 3PM Hour ===---

1. No ROW Race

2. Starboard Right of Way Clinic (an aid to memorizing starboard and port tacks in the form of an HUD will be provided to all skippers).

3. Two races using the starboard rights ROW rule only.

Lets start the year with a bang! See you there!

VYC ran four long races in the Sea of Sighs saturday and we all agreed that offshore racing over many sims is a lot of fun. Forget the rumors about weak sims and scary void sims... it works well enough to have a great time. Navigating in open water is interesting and the larger scale of the races means there is more time for sailors to get into (or out of) sync with the windshifts. I found that getting away from cramped racing venues results in much less boat-to-boat conflict. This is a very friendly format for people who are not sure about right of way because when there is plenty of water, fighting over a particular patch of water is less likely. As such, it was an RL-like sailing experience.

Althought the courses were long and people took different paths across the void sims, Faykin and I both got the the windward mark within seconds of each other in the first couple races. I was able to make up for some poor starts by carefully playing the windshifts on the upwind leg. This is what sailing should be about. We will definately be doing more races in this (and other) formats in the future.

The first three races were windward-leeward courses from the VYC/SLSF start line in Torch, to Oli's buoy in Horseshoe, and back to the start. Then we did one triangle course that swung past Doc's SL-Rentals start line in Tompson (where you pick up a different wind) before heading back to Torch.

R E S U L T S

Faykin prevailed in the first VYC race series of the new year, and Myrrh Massiel finally got her DSL line fixed, took the plunge into hardcore offshore sailing under real right of way rules and pulled off a tie with mush Caldera, an experienced SL sailor. Edelwulf Prudhomme made his competitive SL racing debut and posted an impressive second place finish in the last (and longest) race.

========VYC official results==========
race1 race race3 race4 total
1. Faykin Odets 0.75 0.75 0.75 - 2.25
2. Pixeleen Mistral 2 2 - 0.75 4.75
3 (tie) Myrrh Massiel 3 4 - 3 10
3 (tie) mush Caldera 4 3 3 - 10
5 Edelwulf Prudhomme 5 5 - 2 12


Purely for informational purposes, I am compelled to point out that without the throwout race, someone named Pixeleen would have had the low score. But the offical results allow for a throwout, so this only of intellectual interest to me, I'm afraid.
=======results with no throwout races==========
race1 race2 race3 race4 total
Pixeleen Mistral 2 2 2 0.75 6.75
Faykin Odets 0.75 0.75 0.75 6 8.25
Myrrh Massiel 3 4 4 3 14
mush Caldera 4 3 3 6 16
Edelwulf Prudhomme 6 5 5 2 18


=========== race 1 ================
Faykin Odets 0.75
Pixeleen Mistral 2
Myrrh Massiel 3
mush Caldera 4
Edelwulf Prudhomme DNF

=========== race 2 ================
Faykin Odets 0.75
Pixeleen Mistral 2
mush Caldera 3
Myrrh Massiel 4
Edelwulf Prudhomme 5

=========== race 3 ================
Faykin Odets 0.75
Pixeleen Mistral 2
mush Caldera 3
Myrrh Massiel 4
Edelwulf Prudhomme 5

=========== race 4 ================
Pixeleen Mistral 0.75
Edelwulf Prudhomme 2
Myrrh Massiel 3
Faykin Odets DSQ
mush Caldera DNS


raw results and worksheets:
===========================

You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:05:47
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:13
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: Myrrh Massiel - +00:07:49
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: mush Caldera - +00:12:17
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:11
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:00:34
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:01:14
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:05:47
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:13
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:07:49
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: mush Caldera-- lap 1: +00:12:17
Faykin Odets: exactly, Ed


Edelwulf Prudhomme: moor
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:05:44
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:45
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: mush Caldera - +00:07:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: Myrrh Massiel - +00:08:10
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 5: Edelwulf Prudhomme - +00:09:28
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: -00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Edelwulf Prudhomme-- lap 0: +00:00:17
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:00:24
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:02:17
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:05:44
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:45
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: mush Caldera-- lap 1: +00:07:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:08:10
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Edelwulf Prudhomme-- lap 1: +00:09:28


mush Caldera shouts: was fun
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Say '+help' to display help text.
You shout: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Faykin Odets - +00:06:07
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:10
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: mush Caldera - +00:07:05
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: Myrrh Massiel - +00:07:54
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 5: Edelwulf Prudhomme - +00:08:07
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Edelwulf Prudhomme-- lap 0: -00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:05
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: mush Caldera-- lap 0: +00:00:19
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:30
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 1: +00:06:07
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:10
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: mush Caldera-- lap 1: +00:07:05
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:07:54
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Edelwulf Prudhomme-- lap 1: +00:08:07
Faykin Odets: hehe if I didn't beat you in the start, you would have smoked me Pix



Faykin Odets: moor
You shout: way to go Myrrh
Faykin Odets: faykin gets a DQ
You: ahhh
Myrrh Massiel: ...whew - i was attacked by a bear in RL!..
You: I think that is everyone
Myrrh Massiel: moor
Drift Monde: he decided to go ashore and pick wild flowers
You: did you fight the bear off?
Faykin Odets: <laugh>
Faykin Odets: but found some pretty ones!
Myrrh Massiel: ...nope, she's still sitting on my shoulder...
Drift Monde: heh
Myrrh Massiel got totally lost. Three times.
You: it takes some practice
You: let me get the results
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Say '+help' to display help text.
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:40
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Edelwulf Prudhomme - +00:09:16
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: Myrrh Massiel - +00:10:23
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Faykin Odets-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:13
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Edelwulf Prudhomme-- lap 0: +00:00:31
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:01:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:40
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Edelwulf Prudhomme-- lap 1: +00:09:16
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:10:23

Where can I get the best sailboat in SL?

Quite a few places. I think it's still for sale in FairChang Island, certainly Hollywood, ONE in Honawan, Tompson, Kanker's home, the SLSF place in Gualala.

Thank you very much, I found a very nice one at Hollywood and it is free.

Race Instructions

Tuesday January 10, 2006 at 7:00 PM SL time we meet at Dreamland Central Park (94, 14, 22) to prepare for the first Tuesday night Dreamland-sponsored VYC sailboat races. Prize money: 1st place: L$400, 2nd place: L$200, 3rd place: L$100. At 7:00, I’ll explain the race courses and how to navigate in the open water of the Sea of Sighs, we’ll meet and thank Keltrien Baker for Dreamland’s support, then TP to the race course and try to get in at least 4 races.... and so Le Grand Prix de VYC and the quest for thalassocracy continues.

Who is invited: You are! Anyone who is willing to sail under full ISL right of way rules is welcome. If you are new to ISF right of way, or an old hand, or somewhere in-between, you are welcome. We ask that you bring a good attitude and a willingness to learn and have fun, but non-compliance with these requests will have no penalties beyond the penalties inherent with bad attitude, unwillingness to learn, and missing out on all the fun. So sailors of all abilities are welcome provided you are willing to sail under the international sailing federation rules and want to improve your skills. See http://www.sailingcourse.com/ for an introduction to the rules and tactics.

0. THALASSOCRACY: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassocracy and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenager_of_the_Year

1. RULES: The regatta will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing and the Experimental VYC Second Life rules appendix (see section 9 of this note for the appendix). It is likely that the experimental rules appendix will be modified for future events, but the rules as stated here shall govern this event.

2. ENTRIES: Show up with a Flying Tako and race with us. This race is limited to racing version of the Flying Tako one-design sailboat. If you are a complete beginner you can learn a lot by watching, and asking questions after the races are over. If you have basic sailing skills, and a willingness to learn please join us. You might make a mistake or two and get protested, but you will learn the right of way rules quickly (even the most experienced sailors might learn a thing or two.

3. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS: The race committee for this event is Faykin Odets and Pixeleen Mistral. The race committee will announce courses and race starts. The race committee may decide to abandon a race, have a general recall of a start, or otherwise alter a course due to adverse conditions such as sim crashes.

4. SIGNALS: The SLSF start line will be used to signal starts and record finishes. Boats may hail each other via chat. If you do not want to type out the entire signal or hail to another boat, this shorthand is used: To signal another boat of a protest shout "P {name}" where {name} is the name of the skipper or the ID of the boat. To accept a protest, shout "A". If you do not accept a protest, shout "N".

If you realize you have fouled another boat, do not wait to be protested. Call the foul on yourself by shouting "A {name}" where {name} is the name of the person you fouled or the boat ID. Calling the foul on yourself without waiting for the other boat to protest you will gain you huge amounts of good karma with everyone. When the race committee determines that a participant has accumulated sufficient good karma, one or more members of the committee will offer you a hug. You signal your acceptance or denial of this hug by saying "yes" or "no". Hugs will not affect your standing in the race results.

5. PROTESTS: If a protest is not accepted during the race, the involved parties should privately (via IM) discuss the matter. Discussing the issue via chat between races wastes everyone's time. If the party which was protested discovers they were in error, they shall shall notify the race committee that they have withdrawn from the race in which they fouled the other boat. If the party that issued the protest realizes that their protest was in error, they should make a public apology to the other party via chat. The signal for this is to say "Sorry {name}, I was wrong.".

In the sad and unlikely event that the parties to a protest cannot resolve the protest, they have 5 minutes after the LAST race to notify the race committee that a written protest will be filed. After this point, new protests are no longer accepted. The involved parties then have 15 minutes to prepare written explanations of what happened and other evidence (drawings, photos) to support their case.

The race committee will appoint a protest committee to hear the protest. If one of the parties to the protest does not file written evidence or is not present to answer the protest committee's questions, the protest committee will render judgement using the available evidence. Note that the protest committee may reject a protest as moot, so you need to build a case that the protest is worth the committee?s time as well as arguing your position. There will be no appeal of the protest committee?s judgement, since we are the only group sailing with the full racing rule book. Since you cannot appeal, you can use your excess energy to recruit sailors so that we can get enough to have an appeals board, and have better luck next time.

6. SCORING: The low point system of Appendix A will be used. If we sail four races, each boat's worst score will be excluded from their series score. If we sail eight races, the two worst scores are excluded, and so on.

7. TROPHIES: Trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded assuming Faykin's trophy factory is still working.

8. GOOD LUCK and SEE YOU ON THE WATER!!!

9. EXPERIMENTAL VYC SECOND LIFE RULES APPENDIX

9.1. WHEN RULES TAKE EFFECT
The ISF ruleset as modified by the race instructions and this addendum shall go in effect at the start of the race timer beginning it's countdown.

9.2. MAINTAINING WIND SETTINGS
In races that employ a windsetter to provide consistent wind, it is important that all sailors' boats use the same wind settings and maintain these settings through the entire race. This principle leads to prohibiting actions during races which may result in loss of wind settings by a boat. Lowering the sail on a Flying Tako does not cause loss of wind settings, and is legal during a race.

2.1 Mooring a boat may cause the boat to lose her wind settings, so racers that moor their boat at any time during a race shall retire from the race.

2.2 Sailors shall complete the race course using the same instance of their boat with which they started the race. Rezing a new instance of a boat during a race is prohibited. Sailors who lose their boats during a race shall retire from the race.

2.3 Sailors that stand up will cause their boat to lose it?s wind settings when they sit in the Tako again. Sailors that stand up during a race shall retire from the race.

9.3. EDITING
The SL editing tool shall not be used during the race. Use of the SL editing tool by a boat's crew or skipper shall result in automatic disqualification of that boat.

HOLLYWOOD Jan. 8, 2006 -- Starboards Yacht Club kicked off the 2006 sailing season with a well attended event that included sailboat drag races (a great way to learn good trim and fast turning techniques) and fun races, including a clinic on starboard rights.

Over the two hours of the events we had 21 spectators and skippers with 8 boats drag racing and 7 boats in the regatta.

The drag races, which seem to create more excitement each week, was won this week by Kanker Greenacre. Kanker and MarkTwain ran a tight finals with Kanker winning by one second. This event is a great way to get comfortable sailing in a competition free of the stress some feel about ROW rules.

The weekly regatta was handled differently this week than in the past. The first race was No Row. This was followed by a clinic on the Starboard Rights Rule (Rule 10). Then two races were run with Rule 10. The results were very good. Skippers really appreciated the baby step method of introducing rules. Several skippers decribed their postive experiences in adding the Starboard rule and how that made the races more exciting but not overly stressful. We will use a similar format next week.

Jamie Marlin, Samantha Canetti, Myrrh Massiel, PENNIE Sasson, and Al Kaiser joined MarkTwain and Nber Medici in the races. A sizable spectator crowd was on hand for both the drag races and the regatta. Since the regatta was experimental with differing rules, and a new course was introduced at the last minute, we will not post the results as this was more a learning experience for us all than a serious competiton.

A new SHORT COURSE was created for the day's events. Come to Hollywood and check it out. The map is near the start line.

Set aside TUESDAYS at 6PM for practice races. This is a great time to get comfortable with whatever ROW rule is being taught, if any.

Below: Part of the crowd during the starboard rights clinic.

First: VYC plans to make the tuesday night races a regular event so mark your calendars.

Second: A big, big thanks to Keltrien Baker and Dreamland for sponsoring the tuesday night race series.

Now the race report:

We assembled in Central Park in Dreamland at 7:00 PM SL time, and I explained what the course would be, how to navigate offshore, and I gave everyone landmarks named so that they show up at the top of the landmark list in the map. This seemed to work well: 5 boats started and finished each race. Here are the landmarks we used:
**1 windward, Hoseshoe(64,26,84)
**2 reaching mark Tompson(195,197,89)
**3 start/finish, Torch(232,124,84)

We then TP'ed over to the Sea of Sighs and did 4 triangle course races from the start in Torch, to Oli's bouy in Horseshoe, then across the SL-Rentals startline in Tompson, and back up to Torch. While a good start is always important, I was again able to make up for some pretty bad starts by working the wind shifts on the long windward leg to Horseshoe. Chase was doing something right more often than me and took home the L$400 prize for first place overall, I got $200 for second place, and Myrrh got L$100 for third. No protest were registered, and we did not crash any sims this time. Again, this seems to show that is really is feasible to do offshore racing, and people who have basic skills with the Flying Tako can have fun in this format.

Oh Faykin? Chase and Myrrh are looking for you.. something about trophies?

Here are the official results:
1. Chase Speculaas 2 - 0.75 0.75 total=3.5 points
2. Pixeleen Mistral 0.75 2 2 - total=4.75 points
3. Myrrh Massiel 3 0.75 - 3 total=6.75 points
4. Jamie Marlin 4 - 3 4 total=11 points
5. Pacifien Massiel 5 4 - 5 total=14 points

race results without a throwout race:
1. Chase Speculaas 2 3 0.75 0.75 total=6.5 points
2. Pixeleen Mistral 0.75 2 2 2 total=6.75 points
3. Myrrh Massiel 3 0.75 4 3 total=10.75 points
4. Jamie Marlin 4 5 3 4 total=16 points
5. Pacifien Massiel 5 4 5 5 total=19 points

the raw results:

===race 1======
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:59
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Chase Speculaas - +00:07:12
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: Myrrh Massiel - +00:07:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:08:28
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 5: Pacifien Massiel - +00:08:46
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:13
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 0: +00:00:14
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:16
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:19
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:30
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:59
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 1: +00:07:12
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:07:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:08:28
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 1: +00:08:46
Myrrh Massiel: ...i think this one was *just* past the first marker - i must have strayed into it during the turn...
Chase Speculaas: oh yeah, that thing was a pain


===race 2======
Myrrh Massiel: ...i still just barely clipped that marina with my stern, turning at the first bouy...
You shout: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Myrrh Massiel - +00:06:37
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:44
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: Chase Speculaas - +00:06:47
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: Pacifien Massiel - +00:07:37
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 5: Jamie Marlin - +00:08:07
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:05
Jamie Marlin: You two willing to ride on one more?
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 0: +00:00:06
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:10
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:14
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:22
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:06:37
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:44
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 1: +00:06:47
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 1: +00:07:37
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:08:07
Chase Speculaas: hah... I hit it pretty bad that time
Chaos Tempura: Sure, this is fun.
Jamie Marlin:
Myrrh Massiel: ...yes, percariously easy to get stuck there...

===race 3======
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Chase Speculaas - +00:06:31
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:37
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: Jamie Marlin - +00:07:00
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: Myrrh Massiel - +00:07:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 5: Pacifien Massiel - +00:08:10
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 0: +00:00:03
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:04
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:06
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:15
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:01:08
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 1: +00:06:31
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:37
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:07:00
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:07:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 1: +00:08:10

===race 4======
Myrrh Massiel: ...yes, not quite so chaotic as SL wind, thankfully...
Pacifien Massiel: moor
You: +results
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Race Results:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 1: Chase Speculaas - +00:05:56
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 2: Pixeleen Mistral - +00:06:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 3: Myrrh Massiel - +00:07:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 4: Jamie Marlin - +00:07:49
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: 5: Pacifien Massiel - +00:08:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Lap Times:
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 0: -00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 0: +00:00:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 0: +00:00:07
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:18
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 0: +00:00:20
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Chase Speculaas-- lap 1: +00:05:56
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pixeleen Mistral-- lap 1: +00:06:32
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Myrrh Massiel-- lap 1: +00:07:01
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Jamie Marlin-- lap 1: +00:07:49
SLSF Race Start Line - One Way: Pacifien Massiel-- lap 1: +00:08:01

Saturday we will run two race series as an experiment to see if there is enough interest in a Euro friendly time to justify this on a regular basis. Bring your Flying Tako and sail with us at one or both events to get ready for the Tuesday night prize money races sponsored by VYC/Dreamland.

Early show: Saturday January 14, 2006 at 11:00 AM SL time in the Sea of Sighs.
Late show: Saturday January 14, 2006 at 4:00 PM SL time in the Sea of Sighs.

Both events count toward overall rankings in
Le Grand Prix de VYC
and the quest for Thalassocracy


Race Instructions

Who is invited: You are! Anyone who is willing to sail under full ISL ROW rules is welcome. If you are new to ISF ROW, or an old hand with ROW, or somewhere in-between, you are welcome. We ask that you bring a good attitude and a willingness to learn and have fun, but non-complience with these requests will have no penalties beyond the penalties inherent with bad attitude, unwillingness to learn, and missing out on all the fun.

We will run as many races as we can, starting with windward-leeward races sail from
Torch (232, 124, 83)
to the turning buoy near
Oli's Drift Inn, Horseshoe(66, 226, 83)
When you round the turning buoy, do so counterclockwise (i.e. leave the buoy on your port (left) side, then and return to the start/finish line

After we tire of the windward leeward racces, we will attempt a triangle course from
Torch (232, 124, 83)
to the turning buoy near
Oli's Drift Inn, Horseshoe(66, 226, 83)
When you round the turning buoy, do so counterclockwise (i.e. leave the buoy on your port (left) side, then sail toward the starting line near
Solitude, Tompson(181, 203)
by sailing between the island and the mainland, then turn leaving the island on your port (left) side and return to the Torch start/finish line near
Torch (232, 124, 83)

Sailing of all abilities are welcome provided you are willing to sail under the international sailing federation rules and want to improve your skills. See http://www.sailingcourse.com/ for an introduction to the rules and tactics.

0. THALASSOCRACY: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassocracy

1. RULES: The regatta will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing and the Experimental VYC Second Life rules appendix (see section 9 of this note for the appendix). It is likely that the experimental rules appendix will be modified for future events, but the rules as stated here shall govern this event.

2. ENTRIES: Show up with a Flying Tako and race with us. This race is limited to racing version of the Flying Tako one-design sailboat. If you are a complete beginner you can learn a lot by watching, and asking questions after the races are over. If you have basic sailing skills, and a willingness to learn please join us. You might make a mistake or two and get protested, but you will learn the right of way rules quickly (even the most experienced sailors might learn a thing or two.

3. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS: The race committee for this event is Faykin Odets and Pixeleen Mistral. The race committee will announce courses and race starts. The race committee may decide to abandon a race, have a general recall of a start, or otherwise alter a course due to adverse conditions such as sim crashes.

4. SIGNALS: The SLSF start line will be used to signal starts and record finishes. Boats may hail each other via chat. If you do not want to type out the entire signal or hail to another boat, this shorthand is used: To signal another boat of a protest shout "P {name}" where {name} is the name of the skipper or the ID of the boat. To accept a protest, shout "A". If you do not accept a protest, shout "N".

If you realize you have fouled another boat, do not wait to be protested. Call the foul on yourself by shouting "A {name}" where {name} is the name of the person you fouled or the boat ID. Calling the foul on yourself without waiting for the other boat to protest you will gain you huge amounts of good karma with everyone. When the race committee determines that a participant has accumulated sufficient good karma, one or more members of the committee will offer you a hug. You signal your acceptance or denial of this hug by saying "yes" or "no". Hugs will not affect your standing in the race results.

5. PROTESTS: If a protest is not accepted during the race, the involved parties should privately (via IM) discuss the matter. Discussing the issue via chat between races wastes everyone's time. If the party which was protested discovers they were in error, they shall shall notify the race committee that they have withdrawn from the race in which they fouled the other boat. If the party that issued the protest realizes that their protest was in error, they should make a public apology to the other party via chat. The signal for this is to say "Sorry {name}, I was wrong.".

In the sad and unlikely event that the parties to a protest cannot resolve the protest, they have 5 minutes after the LAST race to notify the race committee that a written protest will be filed. After this point, new protests are no longer accepted. The involved parties then have 15 minutes to prepare written explanations of what happened and other evidence (drawings, photos) to support their case.

The race committee will appoint a protest committee to hear the protest. If one of the parties to the protest does not file written evidence or is not present to answer the protest committee's questions, the protest committee will render judgement using the available evidence. Note that the protest committee may reject a protest as moot, so you need to build a case that the protest is worth the committee?s time as well as arguing your position. There will be no appeal of the protest committee?s judgement, since we are the only group sailing with the full racing rule book. Since you cannot appeal, you can use your excess energy to recruit sailors so that we can get enough to have an appeals board, and have better luck next time.

6. SCORING: The low point system of Appendix A will be used. If we sail four races, each boat's worst score will be excluded from their series score. If we sail eight races, the two worst scores are excluded, and so on.

7. TROPHIES: Trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded assuming Faykin's trophy factory is still working.

8. GOOD LUCK and SEE YOU ON THE WATER!!!

9. EXPERIMENTAL VYC SECOND LIFE RULES APPENDIX

9.1. WHEN RULES TAKE EFFECT
The ISF ruleset as modified by the race instructions and this addendum shall go in effect at the start of the race timer beginning it's countdown.

9.2. MAINTAINING WIND SETTINGS
In races that employ a windsetter to provide consistent wind, it is important that all sailors' boats use the same wind settings and maintain these settings through the entire race. This principle leads to prohibiting actions during races which may result in loss of wind settings by a boat. Lowering the sail on a Flying Tako does not cause loss of wind settings, and is legal during a race.

2.1 Mooring a boat may cause the boat to lose her wind settings, so racers that moor their boat at any time during a race shall retire from the race.

2.2 Sailors shall complete the race course using the same instance of their boat with which they started the race. Rezing a new instance of a boat during a race is prohibited. Sailors who lose their boats during a race shall retire from the race.

2.3 Sailors that stand up will cause their boat to lose it?s wind settings when they sit in the Tako again. Sailors that stand up during a race shall retire from the race.

9.3. EDITING
The SL editing tool shall not be used during the race. Use of the SL editing tool by a boat's crew or skipper shall result in automatic disqualification of that boat.