An Introduction to Hobie Regattas
Edited from the Division V booklet 1988

This introduction is an unabashed rewording of a similar primer used by Division V booklet in 1988 which was in turn gathered from Division 2.   My heartfelt thanks for any unauthorized plagiarism.   Anyway, most of us "old salts" forget that yearly, and event-by-event there are many of you who are new to this whole business. I hope this will answer some questions, eliminate some confusion, and make your first regatta a pleasurable experience, and the first of many.

Sequence of Events

  1. Registration   
    A registration area will be set up somewhere at the regatta site so that arriving boats can check in and get started setting up. At registration you will be required to fill out an entry form that will ask for your sail number so that you can be identified on the lake. Make sure you get it correct or you can be disqualified. Your numbers should be the same on both sides of the sail. If they aren't, you need to tape up a number or remove one. You will also be asked which fleet you will be sailing in: "A", "B", "C", or Novice, if there is one. If there is a Novice fleet, sign up for that. If there isn't, the Novices will be in "C" fleet. In our division there currently aren't "B" or "C" fleets in the 20, 18, 17, and 14/14 Turbo Classes, so you will sail with everyone. Simply ask the folks at the registration table what the drill is. As you get better and win in the lower classes you will move up through the fleets to "A" class. At registration you will also receive your "goodies" (t-shirts, meal tickets, a written set of race instructions, etc.). The race instructions contain information on the conduct of the races, the schedule of races, special safety precautions, and so forth. You should take time to read these carefully. That colored ribbon goes on your sail to identify which fleet you're in. The registration table will tell you on which batten pocket to tie it.
     
     
  2. Boat Set Up
    After you have registered, look for a place to park and rig your boat. Rigging areas vary greatly from lake to lake. If there's a spot next to someone else who is rigging, take it. Now you get to see if you remember how to put it back together. Other sailors will help if you get stuck. They might even give you a beer - to calm the shakes. After your boat is rigged you get to back it into the water where your crew will walk it to an open spot on the beach. You thought rigging was tough? Wait until you try backing! All those people watching! Make sure your rudders are up, no lines or shrouds are dragging, and that your tiller won't smack a pedestrian. Make sure you unplug the trailer lights before you back in the water! Drain plugs in? You forgot didn't you? WATCH OUT FOR POWER LINES!
     
     
  3. Skipper's Meeting
    This meeting is conducted, the first morning of racing, by the race committee and they will explain any last minute changes and answer questions about the written instructions. They will review procedures for recalling a start (too many boats over early). They will also announce the starting order. Pay attention here, because registration can cause changes in the number of fleets starting. If they don't mention it, ask the race chairman to describe the committee boat and the marks so that you know what they look like. Ask any questions here, since the race committee is forbidden to answer questions once on the water. If you're embarrassed, ask a fellow sailor either on land or on the water. Like Boy Scouts, we're always helpful. Don't be afraid - do ask!
     
     
  4. Sailing Out and Racing
    As you sail out to the racing area, start looking for the committee boat and generally head over to it. Since your start will inevitably be somewhere down the list, try to stay out of harm's way and the area around the starting line. Run the boat up into "irons" and survey the scenes. Find the starting line. Look upwind and try to spot "A" mark, or the weather mark, as it is called. Then look for the rest of the marks. Often the marks are a long distance away and are very hard to see, but they're out there! While you're waiting for your start, watch the experienced sailors, where they start, and how they start. The best way to learn how to race is by watching. Note everything!

    If the wind shifts or there is no wind, the committee boat will fly a postponement flag. When they are ready to start, they will sound a signal (horn or gun) and raise a white flag. The first fleet will start exactly 10 minutes after this flag goes up. You should set your watch to the flag raising so you'll know exactly when your start is. The white flag will stay up for 4 minutes and then come down. After 1 minute the committee will again sound a signal and raise a blue flag. This stays up for 4 minutes and then comes down. After 1 minute the red flag goes up with another sound signal and the first fleet is then off. Other fleets then start at 5-minute intervals, with the red flag staying up for 4 minutes each time and coming down exactly 1 minute before each start. If the horn or gun malfunctions, the visual signal governs. The race committee will usually try to hail any boat that is over early so they may re-round the pin or the committee boat and restart, but it is the skipper's responsibility to start properly. If there are too many boats over the committee will sound the signal several times, and the whole fleet will restart in 5 minutes, pushing your start and everyone else's back 5 minutes. If they do it again, the whole fleet will start last.

    A frequent starting order for Division 5 is 20s & 18s, 17s, 16A, 16B & 16C. If you were in 16C you would start 30 minutes after the first white flag and horn. This is good for new skippers because you've got the best seat in the house, and because most of the boats will be gone before you start so you don't have to worry about anyone else except those you're sailing with. After the fleet in front of you has started, sail by the committee boat to see which Course is posed for your race.  You may sail around to the different course than the previous fleet. Those decals at registration come in handy in identifying which marks you sail around for which number.

    As your start approaches, remember, the object is to sail around the course you're assigned, generally keeping the marks on your left, and cross the finish line in front of all the other boats in your fleet. One good way to insure that is to start well. Try to time it where you're under full sail and just short of the start line as the gun goes off. Now get out there and do it! Good luck!

Conditions permitting, the race committee will conduct 2 or 3 races back to back, without breaks in between. That means that you'll need to bring along something to drink and eat because you'll be out all day, and not all races or lakes are convenient enough for you to sail to shore. You'll also learn why people jump in ice-cold water after a race - and it's not because they're hot!

After racing, the committee picks up the marks and scores the races.  Everyone gets to throw out their worst score if there were enough races, and the finishes are tabulated. A first scores 3/4 points; second scores 2 points; third 3 points, etc. Low score wins. If for some reason, you must retire from a race without finishing,  let the race committee know (i.e. sail by them on the way in).  A Did-Not-FInish (DNF) can be a point(s) better than a Did-Not-Start (DNS).   After racing, it's back to the shore, sails down unless you plan on going for a recreational ride, boats dragged out of harm's way, refreshments, and lies. Sunday morning it's back on the course, with cotton mouth and red eyes. At the end of Sunday's racing there's the trophy presentation after scoring is done. That's it, you get the boat out of the water on the trailer, and reverse the entire process.
 
 

Something You Will Need To Know and Do Before Your First Regatta

  1. Your boat must be class legal

    2. Basically you cannot modify your boat in any way that might offer an unfair speed advantage (i.e. custom-made sails) or be unsafe (undersize wires). The standard boat is fine, and items like additional non-skid carpeting on the side rails and wind indicators are okay.   See the North America Hobie Cat Association (NAHCA) rule books for legal modifications.

      In addition you should have the following:

      1. A coast guard approved throwable life preserver.
      2. One coast guard approved personal flotation device for each person on board (life jacket), and it must be worn during the race.
      3. An oar.
      4. A sounding device.
      5. While not required, you should have a righting line for the boat.
      6. Valid state registration and boat numbers.
  1. Skipper and Crew (weights based on IHCA 1997-2000 rule book)

    Skipper and crew must weight 285 lbs. for 16 and 18, and 160 lbs for 17. No minimum crew wieght is required on the 14.   The minimum crew weight for a Hobie 20 is 295 lbs.  If you are less, you must carry additional weight on the boat.

    Adequate clothing - In our Division some of the lakes are frigid at best. A good wetsuit is a necessity, and can be a lifesaver if you capsize. Even in warmer lakes a wetsuit keeps the spray from chilling you. Many of our sailors wear rain gear over wetsuits since the new wetsuits are more porous than the old black rubber ones were. Sailing gloves are a good investment to keep the skin on your hands where it belongs, and to give you good grip and traction. A time piece, preferably with a countdown timer, will let you know exactly when your start is, and with even the best ones under $50, you don't have to worry about wrecking your good watch.
     
     

  2. What you need to know

You need to know what the flags mean and what the course numbers mean. There are stickers available at most regattas. Stick one of each on either side of your boom. You also need to know the racing rules. They are basically right-of-way rules to prevent collisions. It happens often during a race that two or more boats desire to occupy the same place at the same time, and rules spell out who prevails. A good book is Paul Elvstrom Explains the Rules. If you continue the racing game, eventually you'll learn them all, but for starters these will do:
    1. Boats on opposite tacks - port boat stays clear (learn which is port and starboard before you learn anything else)
    2. Boats on same tack - windward boat stays clear - don't run into someone from behind.
    3. Don't tack or jibe in front os someone so they have to turn to avoid you during your maneuver.
    4. Give a boat that has an inside overlap on you at a mark rounding, room to go round without hitting the mark.
    5. Don't hit any marks.

      There are exceptions to all of these rules, depending on where you are on the course (mostly mark roundings) but at first you must want to give people room when in doubt. Stay out of the way is a good rule.  Fleet Hobie Cat racing is governed by the North American Hobie Cat Association (NAHCA), and the US Sailing rules.
       

    6. Almost always - don't sail through the start/finish line unless you are starting or finishing. This is so the scoring people can tell who is still on the course and who is finishing.

A Remark

After your first race you'll probably come to the startling revelation that racing is a lot more difficult than just going out to the local lake and flying a hull. I contend that you don't really know how to sail until you race. We never sail upwind when we're playing, but in racing one has to. Don't be intimidated, the rules aren't that difficult, and unless you get in the middle of things, they don't generally interfere. Most of the Hobie sailors are very nice, they'll help you learn, lend you parts, share their beer, and tell rude jokes just as you do. You, however, just can't sit there when you get to shore. Talk to people, introduce yourself. Ask them how they did. Look for boats you sailed against. You have to take some initiative to make it happen. See ya on the pond!
 
 

Fleet Movement? (Editors note:  This section no longer applies in 2000, but it is a record of how sailors moved up in the fleets during the 1988 season.)
As the 1987 "Points" racing season neared its end, some discussion of movement up and down fleets may be in order. Moving up from C fleet to B fleet is accomplished by finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd overall in any one regatta. Moving from B fleet to A fleet is a little harder. You must win 1st overall in one regatta, or get 2nd overall in two regattas, or one 2nd and two 3rd's, or three 3rd place regattas, all within a single sailing season. It's easy to know when you have accomplished this move because you are most often informed at the trophy presentation along with a new fleet ribbon being awarded by a Division 5 officer.

Moving back down fleets is a little harder to understand. To be eligible, you must sail in at least three regattas within one season and earn less than seven "division points". The table below shows how many points are earned for each fleet.

Several years ago, Division 5 Board of Trustees voted to make backward fleet movement voluntary. If you have had a "learning" season and would like to move back down fleets to salvage some self-confidence, notify a division officer of your intent for the following season.
 
 
 

A Fleet

B Fleet

C Fleet

Place

Points

Place

Points

Place

Points

1

25

1

10

1

3

2

20

2

7

2

2

3

17

3

5

3

1

4

14

4

3

   

5

12

5

2

   

6

10

6

1

   

7

9

       

8

8

       

9

7

       

10

6

       

11

5

       

12

4

       

13

3

       

14

2

       

15

1

       

Intra-Divisional Regatta

WHAT IS AN INTRA-DIVISIONAL REGATTA?….A points regatta outside your Division that you can sail in and take points home.

PURPOSE….The Intra-Divisional Regatta has been created to help alleviate the problems of long distance travel and divisional boundaries in some divisions of the country.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS….A points regatta will be considered an Intra-Divisional Regatta if the following requirements are met:

    1. 3 Hobie 14's, 5 Hobie 16's or 3 Hobie 18's from any other division attend for a particular class to count.

    2.  

       

      Example: If 3 14's, 4 16's and 2 18's attend a points regatta in Division 14 and they are from Division 7, the 14' class would be able to take their points back to their home division, the 16's and 18's would not. They did not meet the minimum requirements. There is no regard to fleet designation in the amount of boats (A, B, C).
       

    3. It will be the skipper's responsibility to identify his home division on his registration card and bring this to the attention of the regatta organizers.
    1. It will be the regatta organizer's responsibility to notify the skipper's home division chairman and the Hobie Class Association of the skipper's name, sail number and points after the event.
    1. For a skipper to take points home to his division he must travel at least as far within his home division to a points regatta as he did to a points regatta outside his division.
    1. Skippers may only count points regattas outside his division up to 1/2 the amount his home division is counting.

Example: 6 of 10 points regattas earn points in a skipper's home division, only 3 can be Intra-Divisional regattas.
 

Go to the Nationals!

As our Division becomes more active, more of our sailors venture to their respective Nationals races. I thought it might be useful to remind the fleets and their members of how one qualifies for the Nationals.

First, the Current National Champion is automatically qualified for the National championships of his class.

Area Championships qualify each first place A skipper for the Nationals in the class they win. Area Championships are open to any U.S. skipper. Examples of Area Championships are the Midwinters East and West.

Division 5 championships qualify each first place A skipper for the Nationals in the class he wins. Division Championships qualify only skippers who reside in or primarily sail in that Division.

Points Regattas allow skippers to earn points in any Division. While these points technically stay in the Division in which they were earned, points from outside the sailor's home Division may be applied to the Championship status in his home Division. Each Division sets its own standard with regard to the number of points that may be earned outside its own Division. In Division 5, one half of the scored races may be counted. We have 7 races in the Division. A skipper gets to choose his best 4 races to count toward the Championship. That means that he may use a maximum of 2 races (one half of 4) from outside the Division to count toward his Championship. However, there must be at least three (3) 14-17-18's or five (5) 16 boats entered from Division 5 to count toward Divisional points. Furthermore, the skipper must travel at least as far within the Division for the out-of-Division race to count. There are also other rules that may affect the ability for the race to count.

All skippers intending to sail in the Nationals must pre-register by the deadline published in the NAHCA Newsletter whether they are pre-qualified or not. Late entries from anyone, pre-qualified or not may not be accepted.

In addition, most Nationals have open qualifications before the actual Nationals start. While these slots are not numerous, they do give the non-qualifier sailor a chance. Another opportunity exists in our region, especially since the Nationals are generally some distance away, and often at times that conflict with our normal vacations, football interests, etc. Frequently, the pre-qualified champions are unable to attend the Nationals, thereby allowing sailors in lower positions the opportunity to attend.

Because of the Divisionals size, the number of boats allowed to go to the Nationals from a Division varies. We may send one 20 as the Points Champion, one as Division Champion, for a total of 2 20's to the Nationals. The top 3 16's in points standings may go to the Nationals, plus the first-place finisher at the Divisionals for a total of 4 16's. The 18's are like the 20's in that they may send their first place points finisher and the first place Divisionals boat for a total of 2. The 17's may send the top 2 points earners, and the first place Divisional boat for a total of 3 skippers.

Ties in the Division points standing are broken in the following sequence: 1) Comparison of every Division 5 points regatta in which the skippers were involved in head-to-head competition (who beat who the most); 2) Comparison of the last Division 5 points regatta, next-to-last, etc. in which the skippers competed in head-to-head competition (who beat who last); 3) If the skippers have not been involved in head-to-head competition, then a comparison of throwouts is used (the skipper with the best throwouts); 4) Total sum of points earned at Division 5 points regattas for the entire sailing season.

 
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