Whitstable Open 2011

[JimC]

Does anyone know the process for appealing against a disqualification?

The RC are not allowed to disqualify you without a hearing (unless there's something very weird in the SIs) so if there was no protest for not sailing the course (RRS 28 IIRC) then you should not have been disqualified.

A request for redress (=protest form) to the club would be the appropriate thing, but I expect you will be considered out of time now. Might be worth a try though. See this thread on the YY forum http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7848&PN=5&title=laser-start and note posts by "gordon" on the last page

[jwlbrace]

Does anyone know the process for appealing against a disqualification?

yes, you should go the pub, drink 3 pints of Guinness and when taking your first sip from Number 4, you should start to reconsider your life priorities   

[simon_jones]

Here goes on the event report then.
Saturday 14th May saw the cherub fleet at Whitstable yacht Club, the wind was a gusty 20mph+ north westerly which coupled to an out going tide made for tricky launching conditions.
Race 1 Pasta Frenzy was proving that in these conditions age is no handicap in a cherub and the combination of Dave Roe/Will Lee proved difficult to beat. Eleanor managed a 2nd.
Race 2 saw some very close racing with a win or swim attitude from Eleanor saw her go from 1st to 3rd only to claw back another 2nd behind Pasta, followed by Riot Van then Ronin
Race 3 the breeze dropped (a little) for this one and Pasta struggled for pace with her 97 rules rig. Stu and Nick took the honours in Ronin
with Eleanor again 2nd, Pasta 3rd and Riot Van 4th
Race 4 the wind was back up for this one and the race officer thought it would be great to add an extra lap ( he's obviously not sailed a Cherub
for 4 hours in those conditions) Eleanor who was once again in 2nd place on the last lap tipped it in at the windward mark, her crew lost a boot which led to yet more swimming. Riot Van was in front for most of the race and finished 1st, Ronin was 2nd, Pasta 3rd, Eleanor 4th
Sunday saw Atum arrive to play and the wind dropped slightly to around 15 knots
Race 5 saw only 2 cherubs sailing as Graham went shopping after leaving their wetsuits in the tumble dryer, and Eleanor broke her goosneck on launching

[simon_jones]

Cont....
Race 6 saw Ronin retire due to gear failure and Atum take the win with Riot Van 2nd, Eleanor 3rd and Pasta with replacement crew Tom Bruton
4th
Race 7 this was another hotley contended race in which Riot Van and Atum swapped places, Pasta was 3rd and Eleanor who again joined swim club 4th
Race 8 Eleanor retired due to crew failure in this one, Riot Van secured a series win with a win in race 8 followed by Atum  then Pasta.
The racing was very close with all boats except Eleanor taking a win and the results were.

1st Riot Van
2nd Pasta Frenzy
3rd Eleanor
4th Atum bomb
5th Ronin
6th EJ
7th Srgt Murphey

[Graham Bridle]

I notice theres some photo's here - http://www.championmarinephotography.co.uk/galleries/B14%20-%20Skiff%20Open%20WYC%202011/index.htm

[roland_trim]

Technically we scored a single DNF in race 4 day 1. Sgt Murphy attended the event, but was having too much fun to attend the course. That makes 6th and 7th.

Our race report (not for Y&Y):
After an uncommunicated bear-away 65 seconds before start 1 EJ went from happy and having much fun - to wet and having no goose neck. After a protracted swim we sailed back to shore under jib and raided the local chandlery for a replacement (think A-Team in a big hut of unsuitable boat equipment, but with a credit card in addition to a hammer, vice, plexus and cordless drill).
 
Tired and happy we headed off the shore again in time for race 4. We arrived and headed straight at the line, binned it in and then started 2 mins 30 seconds after the gun. For the race we sailed like tired muppets. After a storming downwind leg we had a protracted swim after helm mis-read a speed hump during the gybe. Highlight of the race was being lapped by Ellenor, we dropped behind her and found lovely groove splashing uphill and being close enough to need to take avoiding action when they stufffed the tack. Race ended when I went through the jib! We tried to get home with the kite, but the flailing jib made it impossible to set so and likewise 2 sailing was impossible. Another long swim, main off and a long sail in under the tatters of the foresail followed.

Day 2. Decided to miss the first race to get a clear bit of beach to set up the spare jib. Ellenor escaped past the groins and as they left the wind shifted - No way out. Broke T on a failed exit attempt.

Shame as we thought our open meetings of swimming were behind us. However, was a fantastic weekend. Really enjoyed the sailing we did do and was great to see everyone.

[pratn0]

just to point out that in rounding the start pin in each round we would have passed the out side of the actual  mark thus would have completed the course correctly( string rule thing)

anyway moving on.

[Stuberry]

Just to keep everyone in the loop. I have written to the rear-commodore (sailing) at WYC requesting the results be amended under the following rules and RYA case history:

63.1 Requirement for a Hearing

A boat or competitor shall not be penalized without a protest hearing,

except as provided in rules 30.2, 30.3, 67, 69, A5 and P2. A decision

on redress shall not be made without a hearing. The protest committee

shall hear all protests and requests for redress that have been

delivered to the race office unless it allows a protest or request to be

withdrawn.

A5 SCORES DETERMINED BY THE RACE COMMITTEE

A boat that did not start, comply with rule 30.2 or 30.3, or finish, or

that takes a penalty under rule 44.3(a) or retires after finishing, shall

be scored accordingly by the race committee without a hearing. Only

the protest committee may take other scoring actions that worsen a

boat’s score.

RYA 1989/7

When a race committee believes that a boat has broken

a sailing instruction, it cannot disqualify her without a

hearing or deem her to have retired. The race or protest

committee must first lodge a protest against her, within

the time limit for doing so, and a hearing must then be

called.

RYA 1989/8

A race committee is not allowed to disqualify a boat

without a hearing, except under the Black Flag rule. A

race committee is not allowed to score a boat DNF for

failing to sail the course if she complies with the

definitions Start and Finish. A protest is needed.

RYA 2006/8

Unless otherwise specified in the sailing instructions, a

race committee has no power to disqualify a boat

without a hearing, or score her DNF if she finishes, if it

believes she has not sailed the course. Instead it must

protest her within the protest time limit.

[Stuberry]

Whitstable YC have sent me a full apology and re-instated both me and Paul in Race 5 of the open meeting. They have assured me they will not make the same mistake again.

Atum Bom scored 1st in race 5 and Ronin scored 2nd, so this makes no difference to the overall results.

[simon_jones]

The results on the WYC website have been ammended to show the above.