Race Management for On Water Volunteers The Finish

Finish line On an upwind finishing line, the line must be set at: 90o to the wind direction on all other legs of the course the finishing line must be set at: 90o to the last leg of the course 50 to 60 metres in length for most dinghy fleets or approximately 10 boat lengths width may vary depending on boat & wind The Start boat may become the finish boat, do you need to bring your start pin in?

Finish Flags Displayed according to the description of the finish within the Sailing Instructions These flags go up as the first boats are rounding the last substantial leg before the finish blue - race committee boat is in position at the finish line orange - staff with orange flag forms one end of finish line

The Finish line must be set before boats start last leg check which side of the boat the finish pin is to be located (In the Sailing Instructions where the course is defined) sound for first boat crossing the Finish Line record in finish order – don’t separate classes record all boats – even OCS (On Course Side), UFD (U Flag Disqualified), BFD (Black Flag Disqualified) at the Start record & note if DNF (Did Not Finish), DNS (Did Not Start) Let the Start boat know that all boats have finishedif separate Record times for every boat

Recording the finish Roles required are: caller, scribe & timer if it’s a handicap race caller calls the numbers out, recording them on a voice recorder scribe keeps a paper and pencil record (if only 1 team may need 2 writers) timer calls finish time on the caller’s 'Now' for major events - ideally 2 independent recording teams Remember – you only get 1 chance at the finish! Let the RO know the time when the 1st and last boats have finished Last race of the day let the RO know when the last boat finishes for purposes of the Protest times

Finish issues For the Caller... if you can’t see a number, use another identifier near boat, middle boat, far boat… blue hull, red hat… ANYTHING! you can even identify the boat as ‘BLANK’ do everything you can to get all the numbers in a group if you miss some - don’t stress post results - scoring enquiry

Finish issues For the Writer... Don’t look up! Keep your head down and focus on the Caller only If you have trouble hearing a call, skip a line Get times as they are called Record the Hour once, then the minutes as they change and get all the seconds down

Tools of the Trade for a Finisher Make sure you have these items in your Finish Box, it is up to you! Stopwatch (s) synced to GPS time Compass Wind Stick Voice Recorder Finish Sheets & Clipboard x 3 sets (enough for the expected number of races) Information on Start Number of sailors Any OCS/BFD/etc Course tables (if needed) to put finish boat in the right spot. As the Finisher you work with your Skipper to anchor in the right spot

Has this boat finished?

Interesting points to ponder... Does a UFD/BFD boat trigger the clock for the first finisher?

Thank you