Up here in Wisconsin, we are always on the lookout for ways
to make attending the North American Championship Regattas more enticing. An
important component in that is an ongoing effort to ferret out annoyances (By the way, how come ferrets get that verb? I think a hamster could 'hamster' things out and be very effective...more on this emerging topic in the coming months...) that often accompany any out-of-town regatta. Our thinking is that the more little
pains we can remove, the more fun we’ll all have. It’s a simple idea. Now to
execute it well…
One thing that has always been a little annoying about the
NAs is boat measurement. As a class we’ve made big strides in making that very
necessary process less painful. And this year we’re going to make one more. We
will not be measuring every boat’s sails.
Let me say that again: We
will not be measuring every boat’s sails in Sheboygan.
Measuring boats goes pretty quickly. If you keep your crew
with the boat and the crew knows where everything is, the measurement hosts
help keep the process going in a pretty- ahem- ‘measured’ fashion. But sail
measurement requires one or two crew to carry the sails to the measurement
floor…
Removing them from the boat right when they are really needed to pull out
safety gear or fold up a travel cover. In addition, measuring 5 sails per boat
takes exactly as long as it takes to do it right…which can be awhile. Bottom
line: for a lot of effort, very very few sails fail to measure.
Chief Measurer Clausen is willing to think progressively. He
has agreed that this year we will inspect each sail for an ILCA royalty and
distinctively mark the 1 main, 2 jibs and 2 spinnakers each boat is permitted
to use in the regatta. Every sail being
used in the event must display the ILCA royalty and the regatta mark. Any boat
using a sail that doesn’t have those two marks is assuming a risk that can lead
to disqualification. During the regatta, the sail mylars will be in place to
allow Chief Measurer Clausen to spot check any sail he requests.
Please remember, as a competitor, you remain responsible for
using legal sails…just as you have always been. The number on your sails must
still match a boat you own. The number on the main must match the number on the
spinnaker And all numbers must be rendered in colors that contrast their
backgrounds so they may be easily read. None of that changes. If you have
concerns that your sails might be living near the edge, you can request a
measurement, although clearly the Association doesn’t think that is roundly
necessary.
We hope this little change helps stamp out hassle and
squeezes in a few ounces more fun. The same level of measurement compliance--less aggravation...FUN! And MORE FUN is what we’re up here in the arctic section of balmy
Wisconsin scheming (obsessing?) about. If you have any questions or comments about this, just drop me a line at bfaude@gmail.com or just make a comment following this post.
January 6, 2014: Minus 15 degrees and almost completely unlike the conditions you will experience here next August.
