Little Wing wrote:
So I will rise to the level of the competition after how many races?
Depends on how fast you learn. I've been doing this for 36 years and I'm still learning stuff. That's what keeps it interesting.
Little Wing wrote:
Why not just learn the rules to start with so I'm not a hazard on the course to myself and others, plus i won't have to announce that this is my first goat roping.
It's much easier to learn by doing. I think it's more important to get out sailing, get proficient and confident with your boat handling than to know the rules chapter and verse. You're making this a bigger deal than it is.
Little Wing wrote:
Sounds to me like there is a differing opinion as to general course set up. One says AC, some one else says we did races with a B mark, all season. But then this is determined by the race committee correct?
The RC sets the course, but it's the competitors that let the RC know what they want. Windward/Leeward courses provide more passing lanes than triangles, which tend to turn into parades. Triangles provide the excitement of high speed reaching, as long as there's wind. There's the "crash & burn" factor with tight reaches.
It depends on what the competitors want.
At the H-14 NAs in Toronto last month, the ride back to the beach was a screaming reach over a mile long. It was a hoot doing that in 6' waves and 15 kts! Especially after 5 winward/leeward races. We probably should have had at least one course 3 (S-A-C-A-B-C-F), but the RC wasn't set up for it. Wasn't a big deal.