Hi gang, because your commodore will be out of commission for awhile and therefore also the committee vessel, Satch came up with what I thought to be the ideal solution. May I point out to the people that don't have the chart, it is Prince Rupert Harbour number 3958. Good to have, especially if you are racing!
This course is approximately 10 nautical miles long. It requires no marker buoys to be set out and eliminates the need for a committee vessel. It also ensures that all boats can participate, without having to sacrifice a race day to be a committee vessel. As you pass the start marker, each individual skipper will mark the time. As he/she passes the finish marker, he/she will note the time. He/she will then figure out how long it took him/her to do the course and pass this on to Sailmaster Paul, or his Deputy, Marty. They, in turn will then do the handicap thing and post who the winners were. (We're all winners, right?)
To start the race, Paul or Marty will give the 10 minute, 5 minute warnings on VHF Channel 05 USA mode, then holler Start! Start! Start! at the time for start. Please,get a chart, put your VHF on Channel 05 and listen carefully at the skipper's meeting!
Here is the proposed course.
Start and finish marker will be the square marker on the end of our breakwater. You will proceed South East about 3 nautical miles to the Bifurcation buoy opposite Fairview. Round that on your Starboard side. Head NorthWest, about 1 nautical mile to McIntosh Rock, just East of Tobey Point. Come around that with your starboard side and head NorthWest down the length of the harbour untill you reach Schreiber Point, about 4.2 nautical miles. (If there is a log ship loading logs, you can use that as a marker) just NorthWest of Seal Cove CCG base. Turn there and proceed with great speed and agility to the finish marker at our breakwater, about 1.5 nautical miles. Congratulations to the winner! Watch out for floatplanes landing or taking off around Seal Cove, as soon as they are in the water, they are under the Rules of the Road, the same ones as you are. If you want, the course can be run in reverse, that can be decided at the Skipper's meeting. The depths around the two Rocks are good, even at low tide. So, let us hear from you before the next race, share your thoughts and suggestions. We now have to call the Port Authority to announce our racing schedule ahead of time, Paul or Marty will do this. They claim it is because the Port is getting busier, they are concerned on a basis of safety. Fair winds and sporting races, thanks, Commodore Dave.
Mr. T