From the left (in boats): Zimtzicke (Bandit 25r), Bianca (TMS Laser One), Isa (Bandit 25r), Daenerys and Sasha (TMS Flying Shadow), Elina (TMS Nacra 17), Julie (Shields Class), Sirius (Bandit IF), Laured (Bandit 25r), Nihiwatu (TMS Flying Shadow), and ViV and Spottycat (TMS Flying Shadow).
On the committee boat: Cryptic. On the dock: Carlota, Nenrio, Yvani, Christinna, Chouchou, Red, and Emileigh.
Another great spectator turnout, with mild region sailing weather, highlighted this weeks North Sea Open Regatta. Crowds gathered on the small race dock and the Poseidon Centre Spectator Pier, both in the Eden Jakana region, continuing a recent several week long trend of large onlookers. The regions of The North Sea did not disappoint, as only two of the three DNFs (Did Not Finish) on the day were due to skippers crashing, both of those occurring in the small boat portion. The third DNF on the day was recorded during the big boat portion owing to one of the more peculiar, yet easily remedied, incidents that we have witnessed in the North Sea.
During the big boat portion four skippers rounded the second course mark, the white buoy in the Eden Jakana region on the North Sea Triple Pink course, counter-clockwise instead of clockwise as indicated for the course. At the same time, ViV, in her Wildwind AC-45, rounded the mark correctly only to be collided head-on by one of the skippers who rounded incorrectly. ViV subsequently had to take a DNF as the scripts in her Wildwind ceased to function from the collision. The North Sea Triple Pink course is two years old, created and first raced in 2017. We have held countless races with this course, and this was the first time this number of skippers have incorrectly sailed this mark. One of the skippers erred on which way to round the mark, and the other three played follow the leader, instead of sailing their own course. The take away here is, race your race and your course, no matter how tempting it is to follow the boat in front of you.
This weeks small boat fleet, sailing on the North Sea Trapezoid course, was comprised of a split majority of three Bandit 25Rs and three The Mesh Shop (TMS) Flying Shadows, two sailed with crew and one sailed single-handed respectively. One TMS Laser One, one TMS Nacra 17, one Shields Class, and one Bandit IF made up the remainder of the small boat fleet. Meanwhile, this weeks big boat fleet, sailing on the North Sea Triple Pink course, was comprised of a majority of four Wildwind Open 60s. One ACA33, one Bandit 50/3, one TMS One Design 65, one Wildwind AC-45, and one Wildwind AC-62 made up the remainder of this weeks big boat fleet.
One final note: The North Sea has just added six new regions to its western edge (Eden Scoter, Eden Shag, Eden Razorbill, Eden Shearwater, Eden Murrelet, and Eden Prion) as well as picking up the Raspberry region from Fruit Islands. This increases the sailing area of the North Sea to 31 regions. The Eden Murrelet region is also the home to a new marina and the Naughties Sailing Academy, run by our very own Petra, more on both to come.
Editors Note: Isa (isab DeCuir) in fact did follow “the string back”1 to re-round the white buoy in Eden Jakana correclty. Isa is not DSQ (Disqualfied) and the results have been adjusted accordingly.
1 Rule 28.2, part of Rule 28 SAILING THE COURSE, contains what is most commonly referred to as the string rule.
“28.2 SAILING THE COURSE
A string representing a boat’s track from the time she begins to
approach the starting line from its pre-start side to start until she
finishes shall, when drawn taut,
(a) pass each mark on the required side and in the correct order,
(b) touch each rounding mark, and
(c) pass between the marks of a gate from the direction of the
previous mark.
She may correct any errors to comply with this rule, provided she has
not finished.“
Source: 2017 – 2020 World Sailing Racing Rules of Sailing
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 Daenerys (blondij Resident), with Isa (isab DeCuir) second, and Elina (ElinaKrystal Resident) in third place. Congratulations to all of you. Thank you to everyone who came to sail and spectate and to the SLCG for helping with race duties.
Race Notes:
During the big boat portion, Laured (laured Cabassoun), Julie (JulieRoyale Resident), and Elina (ElinaKrystal Resident) were all disqualified (DSQ) for sailing an incorrect course, as they all rounded the white buoy in the Eden Jakana region, the second mark on the North Sea Triple Pink course, counter-clockwise instead of clockwise as per the course.
Bianca (TgBianca Resident) and Laured (laured Cabassoun) both finished tied with 11 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 |
| TgBianca Resident | 1 | 10 |
| laured Cabassoun | 5 | 6 |
With the race results rearranged in best to worst finish order, per A8.1, the tie breaks in Bianca’s favor with having a first place finish over Laured’s fifth place finish as her best.
Cole (Colette Verino) and Julie (JulieRoyale Resident) both finished tied with 13 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 |
| Colette Verino | 2 | 11 |
| JulieRoyale Resident | 6 | 7 |
With the race results rearranged in best to worst finish order, per A8.1, the tie breaks in Cole’s favor with having a second place finish over Julie’s sixth place finish as her best.
North Sea Racing 