Re: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
Try this: http://www.lunenburghooter.ca/ On 8/9/2015 11:37 PM, David Donnelly via CnC-List wrote: I know this is sailing related but it is not C&C related. We have a fair number of avid racers on the list and I was hoping for some useful leads. A short background. I started sailing essentially 3 years ago when we bought our C&C 26. Although I have only raced in the “fun races” I have been volunteering on the race committee since joining the club. One problem we have always had is lack of other volunteers to help run good races, often there would be only 2 of us. One person usually ran the start countdowns and recorded times and I assisted on line calls and did all the mark setting and adjusting for changes in wind direction. Being on a lake wind shifts are a regular part of the day and while not an excessive amount there is almost always adjusting of the marks. 2 people can manage the duties as long as they know what they are doing, committee boat and mark boat. The other individual is retiring from the committee boat duties. I am only talking keelboat PHRF racing, not dingy racing. Series racing we have 6-8 boats usually and fun races we have 20ish. I have been asked to be fleet captain next year. Having reservations regarding the ability to get volunteers as I have 3 seasons of experience in this regard I am trying to think of ways to “automate” the start sequence so that we can assign other club members to committee boat duty throughout the season. My thought process being if they are intimidated by racing rules, having a simple system pushing a button and watching the line is easier to train and get people acclimated. It also provides consistency to the boats racing that no one “forgets” the horn because they were talking to someone else aboard. I realize this may not be official according to the rules but we are not running the Americas Cup. Having spent some time researching via google there are some commercial alternatives available, only a few I found in North America. I am looking for anyone’s experience with these devices and perhaps problems or ones to avoid. My short list of wants: 1.Ability to do a 5,4,1,0 start. 2.Easy to use / reset. Push button with its own clock 3.Connected to lights instead of using flags so all human intervention is avoided beyond the line observations and recording of time. I think racers on our lake would accept this as long as they are visible. 4.Portable, able to be taken ashore and used on different boats. 5.12V power 6.Reasonable cost The lights seem to be a non-standard option on what I found, at least on this continent, or only on homemade systems. Any leads or links appreciated. Regards David Donnelly C&C 26 Mistress ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com -- Boat_Sig Cheers, Jeff Nelson Muir Caileag C&C 30 Armdale Y.C. Halifax ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
Re: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
Thanks to all for the ideas. I like the VHF start idea and race score as compensation may work too. Regatta Pro is one of the systems I have been looking at. Once upon a time before I joined the club there were 6 "permanent" marks placed each year and each race they picked the best windward leeward combination and went with that. A mark boat was not required. However, as they were not equipped with functioning lights, and after a powerboat hit one at night, they were deemed a hazard and have not been used since. They had the added benefit too of allowing boats to practice without having an actual race. You could do a windward leeward race with yourself whenever you felt like it. Most of the sailing community on the lake is pretty choked we can't have those anymore, but we all have to get along... Thanks David Donnelly C&C 26 Mistress > On August 10, 2015 at 2:33 AM Indigo via CnC-List > wrote: > > We use the "regatta pro" system for sound signals - it is almost idiot proof > if the operators don't mess with the settings! > > We recently modified the set up so that instead of the electric output going > to the supplied air pump (and horns) it now goes directly to power horns in > the committee boat. I dare say an electronics engineer could use the electric > output signals from the regatta pro to drive lights - but it would not be very > easy. Maybe it's commercially available. > > I am not sure if this is permissible on lakes, but we on Long Island Sound > have been placing "permanent" (removed in the winter) race marks in our racing > area. Each year they are re-placed in exactly the same location. Over many > many years, the locations have been determined based on common winds. For > sure, the windward mark is not always exactly upwind of the chosen starting > pin, but usually close enough to satisfy our most competitive sailors. > > Use of fixed marks, and the regatta pro allows us to run races with two on > the committee boat (though we usually have three) and eliminates need for a > mark boat. > > As other Clubs, we also require those that race to do time on the Committee > boat - though we do not compensate with a race score. We also rely heavily on > non-racing members of the Club to volunteer on RC duty. It's not generally an > issue - we make those individuals responsible for finding their own > replacements if they cannot perform their duties on a given date. > > Hope this helps with some ideas. > > -- > Jonathan > Indigo C&C 35III > SOUTHPORT CT > > > ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
Re: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
When I was doing regular club racing here in St. Margaret's Bay we always had a designated Officer of the Day for eacgh race and that Officer usually raced his/her own boat too, so we had no committee boat per se. We set more or less permanent marks at the beginning of the season, 4 that we could choose from as I recall, and we usually chose to start on a weather leg but the mark was not adjusted to make the start line exactly perpendicular to the wind direction but in our favour winds here are predominantly southwest so choosing the positioning of our windward mark usually worked fine and with 4 marks to choose from we could start to weather in different directions. The Officer of the Day would announce everything on VHFon a working channel that we all tuned into and the horn signals 10 min, 5 min, 1 min and start were broadcast on that channel as well. We played by an honour system on over early starters which worked fine and our fleets were typically 10-15 boats sometimes in 2 classes for starts depending on handicap so the start signal (horn) for the first class to start was the 10 min signal for the second class to start and in this case the slower boat class started first, 10 min ahead of the faster class boats...it was all about competitive fun and everyone tried to observe the racing rules of sailing so we had very few after race protest hearings Dwight Veinot C&C 35 MKII, *Alianna* Head of St. Margaret's Bay, NS d.ve...@bellaliant.net On Sun, Aug 9, 2015 at 11:37 PM, David Donnelly via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > I know this is sailing related but it is not C&C related. We have a fair > number of avid racers on the list and I was hoping for some useful leads. > > > > A short background. > > > > I started sailing essentially 3 years ago when we bought our C&C 26. > Although I have only raced in the “fun races” I have been volunteering on > the race committee since joining the club. One problem we have always had > is lack of other volunteers to help run good races, often there would be > only 2 of us. One person usually ran the start countdowns and recorded > times and I assisted on line calls and did all the mark setting and > adjusting for changes in wind direction. Being on a lake wind shifts are a > regular part of the day and while not an excessive amount there is almost > always adjusting of the marks. 2 people can manage the duties as long as > they know what they are doing, committee boat and mark boat. The other > individual is retiring from the committee boat duties. > > > > I am only talking keelboat PHRF racing, not dingy racing. Series racing we > have 6-8 boats usually and fun races we have 20ish. > > > > I have been asked to be fleet captain next year. Having reservations > regarding the ability to get volunteers as I have 3 seasons of experience > in this regard I am trying to think of ways to “automate” the start > sequence so that we can assign other club members to committee boat duty > throughout the season. My thought process being if they are intimidated by > racing rules, having a simple system pushing a button and watching the line > is easier to train and get people acclimated. It also provides consistency > to the boats racing that no one “forgets” the horn because they were > talking to someone else aboard. > > > > I realize this may not be official according to the rules but we are not > running the Americas Cup. Having spent some time researching via google > there are some commercial alternatives available, only a few I found in > North America. I am looking for anyone’s experience with these devices and > perhaps problems or ones to avoid. My short list of wants: > > > > 1. Ability to do a 5,4,1,0 start. > > 2. Easy to use / reset. Push button with its own clock > > 3. Connected to lights instead of using flags so all human > intervention is avoided beyond the line observations and recording of time. > I think racers on our lake would accept this as long as they are visible. > > 4. Portable, able to be taken ashore and used on different boats. > > 5. 12V power > > 6. Reasonable cost > > > > The lights seem to be a non-standard option on what I found, at least on > this continent, or only on homemade systems. > > > > Any leads or links appreciated. > > > > Regards > > David Donnelly > > C&C 26 Mistress > > ___ > > Email address: > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the > bottom of page at: > http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com > > > ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
Re: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
We use the "regatta pro" system for sound signals - it is almost idiot proof if the operators don't mess with the settings! We recently modified the set up so that instead of the electric output going to the supplied air pump (and horns) it now goes directly to power horns in the committee boat. I dare say an electronics engineer could use the electric output signals from the regatta pro to drive lights - but it would not be very easy. Maybe it's commercially available. I am not sure if this is permissible on lakes, but we on Long Island Sound have been placing "permanent" (removed in the winter) race marks in our racing area. Each year they are re-placed in exactly the same location. Over many many years, the locations have been determined based on common winds. For sure, the windward mark is not always exactly upwind of the chosen starting pin, but usually close enough to satisfy our most competitive sailors. Use of fixed marks, and the regatta pro allows us to run races with two on the committee boat (though we usually have three) and eliminates need for a mark boat. As other Clubs, we also require those that race to do time on the Committee boat - though we do not compensate with a race score. We also rely heavily on non-racing members of the Club to volunteer on RC duty. It's not generally an issue - we make those individuals responsible for finding their own replacements if they cannot perform their duties on a given date. Hope this helps with some ideas. -- Jonathan Indigo C&C 35III SOUTHPORT CT > On Aug 9, 2015, at 22:37, David Donnelly via CnC-List > wrote: > > I know this is sailing related but it is not C&C related. We have a fair > number of avid racers on the list and I was hoping for some useful leads. > > A short background. > > I started sailing essentially 3 years ago when we bought our C&C 26. Although > I have only raced in the “fun races” I have been volunteering on the race > committee since joining the club. One problem we have always had is lack of > other volunteers to help run good races, often there would be only 2 of us. > One person usually ran the start countdowns and recorded times and I assisted > on line calls and did all the mark setting and adjusting for changes in wind > direction. Being on a lake wind shifts are a regular part of the day and > while not an excessive amount there is almost always adjusting of the marks. > 2 people can manage the duties as long as they know what they are doing, > committee boat and mark boat. The other individual is retiring from the > committee boat duties. > > I am only talking keelboat PHRF racing, not dingy racing. Series racing we > have 6-8 boats usually and fun races we have 20ish. > > I have been asked to be fleet captain next year. Having reservations > regarding the ability to get volunteers as I have 3 seasons of experience in > this regard I am trying to think of ways to “automate” the start sequence so > that we can assign other club members to committee boat duty throughout the > season. My thought process being if they are intimidated by racing rules, > having a simple system pushing a button and watching the line is easier to > train and get people acclimated. It also provides consistency to the boats > racing that no one “forgets” the horn because they were talking to someone > else aboard. > > I realize this may not be official according to the rules but we are not > running the Americas Cup. Having spent some time researching via google there > are some commercial alternatives available, only a few I found in North > America. I am looking for anyone’s experience with these devices and perhaps > problems or ones to avoid. My short list of wants: > > 1. Ability to do a 5,4,1,0 start. > 2. Easy to use / reset. Push button with its own clock > 3. Connected to lights instead of using flags so all human intervention > is avoided beyond the line observations and recording of time. I think racers > on our lake would accept this as long as they are visible. > 4. Portable, able to be taken ashore and used on different boats. > 5. 12V power > 6. Reasonable cost > > The lights seem to be a non-standard option on what I found, at least on this > continent, or only on homemade systems. > > Any leads or links appreciated. > > Regards > David Donnelly > C&C 26 Mistress > ___ > > Email address: > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom > of page at: > http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com > ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
Re: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
My club has a portable battery powered device they carry out to the “committee boat” (actually a large raft) for each race which does the horn sequence for the race with the timing you indicated. The flags are done manually when we use them (not for dinghies but they are used for keel boat series). I know the box was replaced recently so I can find out where it was made if that would help. Dave On Aug 9, 2015, at 10:37 PM, David Donnelly via CnC-List wrote: > I know this is sailing related but it is not C&C related. We have a fair > number of avid racers on the list and I was hoping for some useful leads. > > A short background. > > I started sailing essentially 3 years ago when we bought our C&C 26. Although > I have only raced in the “fun races” I have been volunteering on the race > committee since joining the club. One problem we have always had is lack of > other volunteers to help run good races, often there would be only 2 of us. > One person usually ran the start countdowns and recorded times and I assisted > on line calls and did all the mark setting and adjusting for changes in wind > direction. Being on a lake wind shifts are a regular part of the day and > while not an excessive amount there is almost always adjusting of the marks. > 2 people can manage the duties as long as they know what they are doing, > committee boat and mark boat. The other individual is retiring from the > committee boat duties. > > I am only talking keelboat PHRF racing, not dingy racing. Series racing we > have 6-8 boats usually and fun races we have 20ish. > > I have been asked to be fleet captain next year. Having reservations > regarding the ability to get volunteers as I have 3 seasons of experience in > this regard I am trying to think of ways to “automate” the start sequence so > that we can assign other club members to committee boat duty throughout the > season. My thought process being if they are intimidated by racing rules, > having a simple system pushing a button and watching the line is easier to > train and get people acclimated. It also provides consistency to the boats > racing that no one “forgets” the horn because they were talking to someone > else aboard. > > I realize this may not be official according to the rules but we are not > running the Americas Cup. Having spent some time researching via google there > are some commercial alternatives available, only a few I found in North > America. I am looking for anyone’s experience with these devices and perhaps > problems or ones to avoid. My short list of wants: > > 1. Ability to do a 5,4,1,0 start. > 2. Easy to use / reset. Push button with its own clock > 3. Connected to lights instead of using flags so all human intervention > is avoided beyond the line observations and recording of time. I think racers > on our lake would accept this as long as they are visible. > 4. Portable, able to be taken ashore and used on different boats. > 5. 12V power > 6. Reasonable cost > > The lights seem to be a non-standard option on what I found, at least on this > continent, or only on homemade systems. > > Any leads or links appreciated. > > Regards > David Donnelly > C&C 26 Mistress > ___ > > Email address: > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom > of page at: > http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com > Aries 1990 C&C 34+ New London, CT ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
Re: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
David, This doesn't directly answer your question, but I do have some thoughts on this subject. We race in a series with all volunteer committee boats and have dealt with this challenge for years. Our fleet asks the racing crews to each run a race on their boat throughout the season rather than having a dedicated committee boat. The reward for doing so in our series is a first place for the week. Our first place racing boats gets .75 points, and the committee boat gets 1 point. That has pretty much eliminated the issue of recruiting committee boats. To encourage less experienced boats to run races, we recorded an audio walkthrough of the start sequence several years ago. This was put on our website as an MP3 file and burned to CD's. It goes through the sequence in real time, preparing the racing crew for raising the right flag at the right time. It's not on the site at the moment because we cut back to three divisions from 4 this year, but I can probably get a copy if you are interested. Finally, our racing manual has a pretty thorough discussion of how to run the race. That is on the site here: http://www.mastracing.org/resources. The result of all this is that we have a lot of racers who have a better understanding of what it takes to run a race and also more knowledge of the rules. It's not a system for everyone, but has worked well for us. Regards, Jim Reinardy C&C 30-2 "Firewater" Milwaukee, WI From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of David Donnelly via CnC-List Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2015 9:38 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: David Donnelly Subject: Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals I know this is sailing related but it is not C&C related. We have a fair number of avid racers on the list and I was hoping for some useful leads. A short background. I started sailing essentially 3 years ago when we bought our C&C 26. Although I have only raced in the "fun races" I have been volunteering on the race committee since joining the club. One problem we have always had is lack of other volunteers to help run good races, often there would be only 2 of us. One person usually ran the start countdowns and recorded times and I assisted on line calls and did all the mark setting and adjusting for changes in wind direction. Being on a lake wind shifts are a regular part of the day and while not an excessive amount there is almost always adjusting of the marks. 2 people can manage the duties as long as they know what they are doing, committee boat and mark boat. The other individual is retiring from the committee boat duties. I am only talking keelboat PHRF racing, not dingy racing. Series racing we have 6-8 boats usually and fun races we have 20ish. I have been asked to be fleet captain next year. Having reservations regarding the ability to get volunteers as I have 3 seasons of experience in this regard I am trying to think of ways to "automate" the start sequence so that we can assign other club members to committee boat duty throughout the season. My thought process being if they are intimidated by racing rules, having a simple system pushing a button and watching the line is easier to train and get people acclimated. It also provides consistency to the boats racing that no one "forgets" the horn because they were talking to someone else aboard. I realize this may not be official according to the rules but we are not running the Americas Cup. Having spent some time researching via google there are some commercial alternatives available, only a few I found in North America. I am looking for anyone's experience with these devices and perhaps problems or ones to avoid. My short list of wants: 1. Ability to do a 5,4,1,0 start. 2. Easy to use / reset. Push button with its own clock 3. Connected to lights instead of using flags so all human intervention is avoided beyond the line observations and recording of time. I think racers on our lake would accept this as long as they are visible. 4. Portable, able to be taken ashore and used on different boats. 5. 12V power 6. Reasonable cost The lights seem to be a non-standard option on what I found, at least on this continent, or only on homemade systems. Any leads or links appreciated. Regards David Donnelly C&C 26 Mistress ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
Stus-List Off Topic- Automated Race Signals
I know this is sailing related but it is not C&C related. We have a fair number of avid racers on the list and I was hoping for some useful leads. A short background. I started sailing essentially 3 years ago when we bought our C&C 26. Although I have only raced in the "fun races" I have been volunteering on the race committee since joining the club. One problem we have always had is lack of other volunteers to help run good races, often there would be only 2 of us. One person usually ran the start countdowns and recorded times and I assisted on line calls and did all the mark setting and adjusting for changes in wind direction. Being on a lake wind shifts are a regular part of the day and while not an excessive amount there is almost always adjusting of the marks. 2 people can manage the duties as long as they know what they are doing, committee boat and mark boat. The other individual is retiring from the committee boat duties. I am only talking keelboat PHRF racing, not dingy racing. Series racing we have 6-8 boats usually and fun races we have 20ish. I have been asked to be fleet captain next year. Having reservations regarding the ability to get volunteers as I have 3 seasons of experience in this regard I am trying to think of ways to "automate" the start sequence so that we can assign other club members to committee boat duty throughout the season. My thought process being if they are intimidated by racing rules, having a simple system pushing a button and watching the line is easier to train and get people acclimated. It also provides consistency to the boats racing that no one "forgets" the horn because they were talking to someone else aboard. I realize this may not be official according to the rules but we are not running the Americas Cup. Having spent some time researching via google there are some commercial alternatives available, only a few I found in North America. I am looking for anyone's experience with these devices and perhaps problems or ones to avoid. My short list of wants: 1. Ability to do a 5,4,1,0 start. 2. Easy to use / reset. Push button with its own clock 3. Connected to lights instead of using flags so all human intervention is avoided beyond the line observations and recording of time. I think racers on our lake would accept this as long as they are visible. 4. Portable, able to be taken ashore and used on different boats. 5. 12V power 6. Reasonable cost The lights seem to be a non-standard option on what I found, at least on this continent, or only on homemade systems. Any leads or links appreciated. Regards David Donnelly C&C 26 Mistress ___ Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
