MCSA Sloop Championship

Nine teams from eight schools competed in ten races on Flying Scots. Racing began at 1008 hours.

With wind from the NE the course was set off the DYC with the starting line off Slab Dock and the weather mark near the Lagoon where Flying Scots are docked to facilitate rotations.

Race one was a W4 in wind of 7mph with the first boat finishing in about 30 minutes. Race two was a W3 with the first boat finishing in about 20 minutes. The boats then went to the Flying Scot Dock for rotations. During this time the weather mark and offset were moved in to facilitate faster races. Weather predictions for the next day were for light wind so faster races were decided for this day.

Race three was a W4 in wind of 7mph with the first boat finishing in 23 minutes. Race four was a W3 with the first boat finishing in 15 minutes. The boats then went to the Scot Dock for rotation and lunch.

Race five was in wind of 7mph gusting to 8mph and a W4 with the first boat finishing in 16 minutes. Race six was a W3 with the first boat finishing in 17 minutes.

Race seven was a W4 in wind of 8mph with the first boat finishing in 20 minutes. Race eight was a W3 in wind of 6.8mph with the first boat finishing in 14 minutes.

Race nine was a W4 in wind of 7.5mph with the first boat finishing in 19 minutes. Race ten was a W3 with wind at 7.8mph with the first boat finishing in 16 minutes. Racing concluded at 1655 hours followed by a barbeque dinner for all sailors and volunteers.

Bill Heller, Race Chairman and PRO introduced the DYC Vice Commodore and Rear Commodores who gave welcoming remarks. On shore there were about 6 DYC Flying Scot sailors who assisted with instructions about rigging such boats. In addition to the race committee boat there was a mark-set/finish line boat and two chase boats to assist as needed.

One boat experienced a halyard break resulting in granting redress to that team that then missed race two. The reserve boat was then used to replace that boat. A spinnaker pole malfunctioned and was replaced by a chase boat before the next start. A boat experienced a spinnaker halyard block failure resulting in granting redress for that crew and necessitating that spinnakers be discontinued for all boats. Another boat had a main boom vang fuse sever due to overtightening and while the boat can still be sailed in such a condition a chase boat gave improper instruction to that crew to retire resulting in redress being granted to that crew.

There were no protests filed.

Eight teams competed in the final three races of the MCSA Sloop Championship.

One team had a crewmember with a medical issue. The sailor was attended to by the DYC Fleet Surgeon (an ER doctor) and another volunteer (retired nurse) who approved the team to return to their home school. One of the crewmembers placed Google Tracking on the volunteer's phone (with 24 hour disconnect) to monitor their progress home. Until this matter was resolved the Race Chairman postponed start of racing.

Overnight the wind shifted to SW with reduced velocity. Weather predictions were for potential afternoon storms. The course was set further up the Detroit River and reversed to facilitate finishes off the Flying Scot Dock. Bill Heller continued as PRO. In addition to the race committee boat there was one mark-set/finish line boat and one chase boat. Racing started at 1107 hours.

Race eleven was a W4 with wind at 3mph. The first boat finished in 18 minutes. Race twelve was a W3 in light wind with the first boat finishing in 12 minutes and the last boat finishing in 14 minutes. Boats then went into the Scot Dock for rotation.

Race thirteen was a W4 in very light wind. Race Committee decided to end the Regatta at the conclusion of race thirteen. This race concluded at about 1345 hours

Evaluations were distributed by the Race Chairman to the Commodores/Captains for completion during lunch. These will be studied and used for developing improvements to the event in the future.

Bill Heller announced the final standings and presented the awards.

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.