From the left (in Bandit IFs): Neil, Ray, Susi, Stu, and Trey.
On the dock: Bunni, Cat, Asami, Sara, Gabi, Joshua, Kurt, Ali, and Cryptic.
We had some outstanding sim weather for this weeks North Sea Bandit Regatta. The races were well attended as we had 10 Bandit boats show up for the fleet. We also had a packed dock of spectators at the committee boat in the Breadnut region as well as crowds on the shore in the Eden Alabtros region, on the Poseidon Centre Spectator Pier in the Eden Puffin region, and on Lighthouse Isle in the Ziziphus region. There were no DNFs in either race as the sims behaved magnificently. This weeks fleet was made up of a majority of nine Bandit IFs with one lone Bandit 60, for the first race. Susi switched from her Bandit IF to her Bandit 60 in the second race. We are also seeing the fruits of our newest sailors practicing their pre-start routines as the start times are dramatically improving in each race.
The first race, a three lap affair on the North Sea Short Loop course, saw an excellent start as more than half the fleet got underway in under 30 seconds. Carlota, in her Bandit IF, got things started at 00:00:05, with Ultra, in his Bandit IF, in tow at 00:00:08. Stu, in his Bandit IF, was next to cross at 00:00:12 with Cranston, in his Bandit 60 with Shaylin, following at 00:00:13. Jackson, in his Bandit IF, was next across at 00:00:23 followed by Neil, in his Bandit IF, at 00:00:29. Kurt, in his Bandit IF with Asami, crossed next at 00:00:38 followed by Susi, in her Bandit IF, at 00:00:42. Ray, in his Bandit IF with Arwen, was next across at 00:00:55 followed by Try, in his Bandit IF with Ali, who actually got disconnected in the pre-start area only to come back and sail the race, at 00:06:22. Over the course of three laps, Carlota, in her Bandit IF, held her own at the front of the fleet. Ultra, in his Bandit IF, fell behind slightly as Cranston, in his Bandit 60 with Shaylin, made some moves and took advantage of Stu, in his Bandit IF, falling back, to settle in behind Carlota. Kurt, in his Bandit IF with Asami, settles in right behind Ultra with Neil, in his Bandit IF, holding his position in the middle of the fleet just behind Stu. Ray, in his Bandit IF with Arwen, started off sailing too far south as he had the wrong course loaded in his Ultimate Sailor Buddy HUD, however he corrected and actually moved up in position to settle in behind Neil. Jackson, in his Bandit IF, actually disconnected in the middle of the Carob region on the third lap, but logged back and got back in his boat to finish sailing the race right behind Ray. Susi, in her Bandit IF, held her own near the rear, as Try, in his Bandit IF with Ali, steadily followed along. Carlota was the first to finish and take line honors, followed by Cranston with Shaylin, Ultra, Kurt with Asami, Stu, Neil, Ray with Arwen, Jackson, Susi, and Trey with Ali.
The second race, sailed on the North Sea World Cup Reach (NS-WC Rch) course, saw another great start as three quarters of the fleet got underway in about 30 seconds. Ultra, in his Bandit IF, saw a excellent start, crossing at 00:00:02. Jackson, in his Bandit IF, was next to cross at 00:00:04 followed by Neil, in his Bandit IF, at 00:00:09. Stu, in his Bandit IF, was next to cross the start line at 00:00:11 followed by Carlota, in her Bandit IF, at 00:00:25. Cranston, in his Bandit 60 with Shaylin, was across the start line next at 00:00:30 with Ray, in his Bandit IF with Arwen, following at 00:00:33. Trey, in his Bandit IF with Ali, was next across at 00:01:45 followed by Susi, who had switched to her Bandit 60 from her Bandit IF for this race, at 00:03:10. Ultra, in his Bandit IF, capitalized on his great start and led the fleet for the whole course, with Jackson, in his Bandit IF, following closely on his stern. Neil, in his Bandit IF, had trouble near the first mark, south of Lighthouse Isle in the Ziziphus region, and fell back to the rear of the fleet just ahead of Susi, in her Bandit 60. Carlota, in her Bandit IF, made some moves and passed Stu, in his Bandit IF, to fall in behind Jackson. Cranson, in his Bandit 60 with Shaylin, settled in behind Stu. Ray, in his Bandit IF, with Arwen, paced himself just on Cranston’s stern. Trey, in his Bandit IF with Ali, followed along just ahead of Neil and Susi. Ultra crossed the finish line first and took line honors followed by Jackson, who was just 19 seconds behind. Carlota was next to cross the finish line followed by Stu, Cranston with Shaylin, Ray with Arwen, Trey with Ali, Neil and then Susi.
Race Director: Cryptic
Wind: SW (225°) 18kts
Note:
Did Not Finish (DNF) = number of finish +1
Did Not Start (DNS) = number of start +1
Today’s winner was Ultra (ultramantra Resident), with Carlota (Carlota Dufaux) second, and Cranston (Cranston Yordstorm) in third place. Congratulations to all of you. Thank you to everyone who came to sail and spectate.
Race Note:
Ultra (ultramantra Resident) and Carlota (Carlota Dufaux) finished tied with 4 points. As they both have duplicate finishes, Rule A8.2 of Guidance on Scoring under Appendix A to the Rules of Sailing is used to break this tie:
“If a tie still remains between two or more boats, they shall be ranked in order of their scores in the last race. Any remaining ties shall be broken by using the tied boats’ scores in the next-to-last race and so on until all ties are broken. These scores shall be used even if some of them are excluded scores.“
| Skipper | Race 1 | Race 2 |
| ultramantra Resident | 3 | 1 |
| Carlota Dufaux | 1 | 3 |
In the last race, Ultra breaks the tie with Carlota with his first place finish over Carlota’s third place finish.
Trey (Trayla Parx) and Susi (Susicat Oh) both finished tied with 17 points. Rule A8.1 of Guidance on Scoring under Appendix A to the Rules of Sailing is used to break this tie:
“If there is a series score tie between two or more boats, each boat’s race scores shall be listed in order of best to worst, and at the first point(s) where there is a difference the tie shall be broken in favour of the boat(s) with the best score(s). No excluded scores shall be used.“
| Skipper | Best Finish | Next Best Finish |
| Trayla Parx | 7 | 10 |
| Susicat Oh | 8 | 9 |
With the race results rearranged in best to worst finish order, per A8.1, the tie breaks in Trey’s favor with having a seventh place finish over Susi’s eighth place finish as her best.
We have a superb paint supplied by Ali Vultee, see her paint here: Ali’s Boat Paint Shop, and prize plaques for the top three places.
North Sea Racing 