Different Races, Different Rules

You know, Silkie brings up many valid points in this thread about the ISAF rules -- points that have been brought up before when previous sailors argued whether ROW had any business in SL sailing and just how strictly ROW should be observed. (Check the ol' Sailboat Racing thread in the SL Event Forum.) The varying views about ROW is what drove people to create their different yacht clubs. At the moment there is the SYC's Starboard Rule observation versus the VYC's full ROW observation, but there was a time when others ran races that were no ROW at all.

The thing is, people shouldn't feel limited to sailing with just those two yacht clubs. I have considered before running some races at different venues, such as Fairchang, that are really just for silly fun and intended more for giving people a change of pace. But I have yet to follow through on this idea, and so until someone does, the sailing community is limited in their choices. I personally believe as long as you race at someone else's venue, you should respect the intentions of those yacht clubs that have taken the time to organize races for your enjoyment.

Personally, I believe that ROW has its place and I enjoy the chess match that sailing becomes when it's two competent sailors, and all that determines who wins is who established the best course of action via ROW. I have sailed several races where this is the case, but the participants have to be on the same page in regards to their feelings on ROW.

The fact remains that ROW puts some people off, either because they don't know or they don't believe in it. Since I have no problem with it, I'm content to sail with the SYC and VYC as they are, but recent events have shown me that another option would be most appreciated. I'd love to see people enjoy sailing races and watch the SLSF community grow.

So is there anyone out there who has had their reservations about ROW events and would like to see some non-ROW races? The grid is wide open for differences of opinion.

If someone wants to organize and run races out of Sanchon and /or Torch please feel free to do so, just clean up after yourself when you are done. VYC can really only put on a few events per week (tuesdays and saturdays at this point), so the rest of the time the starting line is available. VYC only mandates normal right of way rules for its events... which allows us to coexist with pirates who do not seem to have any rules other than sink the other ship first. So if you want to play in Sanchon go ahead and have fun!

Another option would be to talk to Doc Nielson about her line in Tompson. Doc and Eloise have run no-right fo way events there in the past. They also let VYC run events from there. There is nice landscape to look at, too.

Another opton if you are organized and can get done in under an hour is to sail in the big void sim area linking the mainland to the bulk-purchase sims (the area near Picasso). The water sims linking the mainland to the new mainland allows you to rez things (like boats and starting lines) and has a 60 minute auto-return. VYC ran some races there once, and it worked well. Not much scenery though.

Let's see....

Sundays at 1PM: Event for those that have never sailed before.

Sundays at 2PM: Silly sailboat racing games. No ROW rules within 500 sims.

Sundays at 3PM: Weekly regatta using ONE ROW rule.

Thursdays at 6PM: Informal races teaching the full ROW experience.

Limited choices? Not sure what else to add to avoid being thought of as a limited choice venue. Grin.

And like Pixeleen offers, Hollywood and the Channel Island Sims are open 24/7 for any other kinds of races you care to organize.

And I thank Pacifien for the kind comments at the end of the quote.

Now that I think about it, after one regatta while we were all enjoying a drink in the Admiral's Daughter, someone suggested a nude regatta. Anyone want to organize that? I'll be the photographer.

I'm new to the sailing community, both SL and RL. One thing that made me smile IRL while in the ASA class was when they mentioned ROW. I actually knew what they were talking about! Thank you MarkTwain!!

For me, being unsure of how to actually handle my Tako, having a ROW is helpful. Sure, the mental processing of it while trynig not to crash into something or someone might take a while, but I like knowing there are rules. I am surely not the comptent skipper Pacifien mentioned, but I, too, enjoy the chess match. Or will once I get a handle on things.

One thing that concerns me in regards to novices is that all our talk about ROW would put them off of sailing competitively. For that, I can only offer my own experience.

I have never stepped foot in a sailboat in RL, let alone know about the rules of the waters that goes with boating in general. It's one of those things I think people never think about, that traffic on the water needs the same sort of rules as traffic on the road or people are gonna get hit. I was introduced to sailing in SL by a friend and found something in the process that appealed to me. And believe me, it is a chore to get me to step out of my element and try something new, particularly when I suck as badly at it as I did sailing at first.

I began sailing with the VYC, which I knew was full ROW, but they were quick to stress that with their open sailing course, ROW was not likely to be much of an issue. Still, I spent the first few weeks assuming I was always in the wrong about ROW and yielding to the other boats. My main concern was simply learning how to move my boat in relation to the wind, and everyone I sailed with knew that I was a novice. They were quite forgiving when I made mistakes and very generous when answering my questions.

And I asked questions all the time. What's the best sail angle? Oh wait, you mean I was supposed to look at sheet angle? How do you guys turn around that first buoy without losing all your speed? If I want to turn and a boat is right next to me, how am I going to turn without slamming into them?

As you might notice with that last question, I had discovered the purpose of ROW: who yields when two boats want space on the water?

It took me a month to learn the controls for the sail. Once I knew those controls, I started to concentrate on learning ROW. I simply looked for situations where there were multiple boats vying for the same space. I noted my surroundings, and then after the race, I asked someone who knew ROW "What should we have done in this situation?" I even have little boat models to help recreate the situation.

ROW veterans stressed two things.
1) Don't be afraid to *ask* the other boat to move for you. They have made gestures saying "Tack Please" or "Come Up" or "Maintain Course." It's a courtesy to the other boats that I think most people will be willing to follow.
2) Don't take it personally when you are protested. Yes, protests can be used to make your sailing hell during a race, but that is part of the chess match that sailing can become. But really, all the person is doing is reminding you that ROW exists and you need to be mindful of how your sailing affects the boats around you. So long as you don't take it as an insult, then protests become a learning experience.

It's been over two months since I switched from learning the controls of a Tako to learning my ROW, and I've reached the point where I can stop assuming I'm always in the wrong and can assert my position on the water a bit more. I still get it wrong many times, however.

Now I've reached the point where I need stop procrastinating and program my hails for quick access during a race. I don't use the button HUD that comes with the Tako 3 for my sheet commands, so it should serve me well for my hails.

So my advice to those learning to sail is not to fear all this talk about ROW! Take learning to sail one step at a time, like I did. Those with more experience are very understanding that everyone has to start somewhere and are learning as they go. And always be willing to learn: ask questions, make mistakes.

Also, it doesn't hurt to set goals. My first goal was to kick my friend's butt in sailing.