ESC and ESSC - New courses for 2021
Published 08:39 on 23 Mar 2021
As we've been sailing off 2011 courses until now, we feel it's time to revisit them. We've checked them for accuracy and introduced some shorter, closer to shore ones for the parallel series for Juniors and those who don't want a longer course.
We've also been looking at the issue of Echo to port as the first mark with lots of boats. Obviously with a Northerly wind, this isn't ideal, though we did successfully have a running start in 2020 missing out Echo on a set course.
Why
We have listened to feedback from the sailors over the past couple of years
- Faster boats are frustrated that they sometimes finish a race in 30 mins
- Slower boats can sometimes be out for more than 1.5 hours
- ..... but everyone united in wanting to sail in a single fleet!
- Race Officers sometimes have difficulty in identifying boats crossing the finish line
The changes
As a result, we have some new courses (many with Echo added)
- We will therefore commence with the new courses from first race on 2 April
- There is also a plan to introduce 'the RYA 45-minute lap system' sometime in the future.
More information on this to follow in due course
Courses for each wind direction
Each wind direction aims to have 3 courses of differing length
- 1 of them allows the option of multiple laps which would require rounding Echo (or a temporary mark) to enable the finish/start line to be sailed through etc.
- If rounding Echo as the 1st mark of a race, (under specific conditions) then it has been moved to a Port rounding in most (but not all) course options
Trial period
We know this is a big change for dinghy sailing at Emsworth but both clubs have been involved in the changes, the changes have been designed by dinghy sailors for dinghy sailors.
The courses can be downloaded from Emsworth Sailing Club : Courses and marks (emsworthsc.org.uk) - there are two versions, depending on your preference.
Any feedback, please contact sailing@emsworthsc.org.uk