Cancelling a Race Because Of Weather

[Deimos]

When I used to do loads of regattas many years ago it was always a strong rule that a race committee would never cancel a race because of bad weather as long as they could actually get out to start it. The logic behind this was always said as it is clearly stated that it is the skippers responsibility to decide if the conditions are safe and to ensure he/the crew/boat are adequate to the weather. Should a race committee make a weather based decision it was thought that this would set a precedent and people then might start basing their decisions on the race committee's decisions (e.g. if the race committee says its ok then I'm going ...).

I remember one Cork Week (Ireland) the offshore race weather was horrendous and the race officer made it very clear at the briefing that they were not going to be daft enough to go out to start it and were using a shore based start line - so at least they would be safe. I decided not to enter that race as the 7 crew had not sailed together before and that represented too much risk (particularly for a 24hr plus race). 10 mins after the start 1st boat back with a broken boom, then another with a crew member with a broken arm, etc. Race officer made it clear that they were not making any decisions about the suitability of the weather and reminded the skippers that it was their responsibility to decide whether or not to start.

I did another dingy national championship where only half the fleet went out of of those 40 boats 37 were towed back in and 3 boats finished - again race officer made it very clear to everybody before the race (in the briefing) that he was not making safety decisions and it was the skippers responsibility.


I was thus surprised a couple of weeks ago when a race I was due to compete in was cancelled by the race committee the day before as a F6 was forecast. No justifications like "we cannot provide adequate safety cover" or other reasons - just that the weather was too windy.

Have things changed now and do race committees now make safety decisions. I see the rules etc. still make it the skippers responsibility but do race officers tend to also make decisions (or cover their arses). Do people think that dilutes the responsibility on the skipper who might then think "race officer thinks it's ok so ..."

(Sorry for going on with such a long post).

Ian

(If this should be posted elsewhere, admins please feel free to move it somewhere appropriate and remove this line)

 

[Old Geezer]

Have things changed now and do race committees now make safety decisions. I see the rules etc. still make it the skippers responsibility but do race officers tend to also make decisions (or cover their arses).

Yes. At least in the US. Race committees will often decided not to start races if they think it is too windy. In theory sailors are still responsible for deciding whether to race or not, but at most regattas if the RC goes out so do 99% of the sailors.

I don't know whether this caution is due to legal reasons, as race organizers always make you sign all your rights to sue them in a waiver form, and usually any rights for your relatives to sue them too if you happen to die on the racecourse.

As someone who does a turn on race committee myself, I have to say that personally I would never want to be run an event where a bunch of participants end up injured or dead. So if it were up to me I would call off racing if I felt I couldn't provide adequate safety cover for the conditions, or if I thought that there was a significant risk of really bad stuff happening.

 

[sk8ingsailor]

At the Junior olympics in NJ, it was pouring rain all day, and about 30+. We had one race. Started the second, Girl in 420 Got bloddy eye on a jibe, Medical heli came, race canceled, went in. Upwind in 35 is not fun.

 

[Reon]

Everything was a lot more relaxed back in the ol' days. (in Australia anyway) but now with insurance costs going up and up, and the pressure more on the committee even when the sailors fault has resulted in more cancellations. A good thing? more often than not i think so.

 

[Old Geezer]

Part of the problem is the wide range of abilities in the fleet. If you have 150 boats there, probably 50 are kids and noobs who can't handle 30 knots, 50 are sailors who would probably go out and struggle but survive, and 50 are true masters who are experienced in 30 knots and who could go out and race and have a ball.

The problem for the race committee is that they have no way of selecting the 50 sailors who can handle the conditions. And they are dreading having to pick up the pieces when the 50 kids and noobs get themselves into trouble.

 

[Chainsaw]

When I was a kid I remember RC not running races due to weather. The club i sail with now frequently cancels and postpones races due to weather. We've had a few runs of 50+ knots during the last month or so. You'd have to be a loon to attempt that stuff.

Our RC will race if the forecast says gusts of up to 35. I can survive in that stuff but I can barely move forward beating to windward. Maybe three of the fleet can sail in that like it's a comfortable 15 knots. On the other hand, if the juniors are out we have a ratio of one comittee boat to every 6 sailors.

It's a strange contradiction to have a club of sailors all diving for cover from responsibility and at the same time espousing responsibility for the next sailor should he get into trouble. Why would a RC set a trap for the next (possibly unwary) sailor?

But it's a contradiction I can live with because to swing to either side of that impasse would set up a club and a local sailing culture for big trouble.

 

[GeoffS]

The problem for the race committee ... they are dreading having to pick up the pieces when the 50 kids and noobs get themselves into trouble.

I'd have to second that. I help run an open-class regatta in the spring here, and for two years in a row we had horrible conditions. We've upped the number of safety boats and the like, but in the end if we don't think we have enough people to "pick up the pieces" we would consider canceling.

So far we haven't had to do that, mostly because most everybody is pretty responsible, and the beginners/less-experienced people have made it clear well before the skippers meeting that they were staying on shore (or even - horrors! - going to help run the races ).

Personally, I don't find it very enjoyable sailing in much over a steady 25 kn. I've been out in 30+ a number of times, and it's pretty exhilarating, but to be honest the Laser doesn't go much faster in 30 than in 20, and I just can't help thinking about how high the loads on the rig are, and how many things could go wrong and end the day badly. Anyway, I get plenty of speeds kicks other times.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

 

[monkey_feet]

I believe it is the responsibility of the R/C to present safe races to the competitors. This doesn't mean that you don't go out if it's blowing hard, but you DON'T send out the competitors if there is a massive thunderstorm on its way to your lake.

Case in point: in 1998 I was in Austin in my MC. My buddy and I were listening to the weather radio, and all we heard was "big freaking storm will be sitting on you very soon" The R/C sent us out. Needless to say a 150 boat mixed fleet got caught on the lake when the storm hit. It wasn't just rain, but heavy lightning. A motor boater died from a strike. The R/C got totally ripped.

Guess my point is this. Yes, it's the responsible of the sailor, but the R/C should have more information than the competitors about the weather.

Thanks.

 

[Deimos]

I must confess I have no definite opinion on the matter (the race cancellation I mentioned at the start of the thread just started me thinking - not being annoyed it was cancelled). I can see how the more often a RC cancels a race because of weather the more it would start to erode the skippers responsibility (or the extent the skippers take that responsibility - which is particularly important in larger boats). I think that reasons for cancellation like inadequate safety cover for the conditions if fine as this does not detract from skippers responsibility - though for more major events might raise a few questions as to why adequate safety cover was not available. Similarly, local rules (e.g. no racing allowed in winds about 30Kn) do not detract from skippers responsibility as there background to the rule.

Certainly things seem to have changed (in the UK) over the last 10 years, though my recent regatta experience is too limited for me to be fully aware as to how much and to what extend skippers just "go with the race committee's decision". The 20 years ago dingy nationals I mentioned was a surprise at the time in that it was a competitive and experienced fleet (no beginners or "give it a go" types), yet half the fleet decided to stay ashore - clearly taking the decision for safety on themselves.

I am certainly not in favour of people being sent out to race in dangerous conditions but, they should realise that they are not being sent out to race but are deciding that, given the conditions they are capable of racing and deciding to race.

Ian

 

[powergroove]

one word sums it up in the states....Lawyers

How about lack of wind? How may RC's have been dinged for not starting or starting in winds that are too light?
I was in the F18 NA's 2 years ago when the RC started a race in a 40 boat fleet, we finished 5th which would have put us in about 9th overall, but the California sailors who did poorly in the light wind protested the RC for starting the race in less than 5 kts...and won. Its now called "windgate" in the cat community, and a VERY sore spot for alot of sailors(me included).
Most RC's in my area would consider 30 knots too much to safely race in. I havent been in a Laser regatta before, so Im anxious to see the difference. I personnally would not go out in 30 knots in a Laser or my F18, but Im old and brittle....