PRO Training from a Pro

Those who volunteered at the Women’s Laser Regatta were very privileged to receive a PRO training session on Saturday afternoon from renowned International Race Officer, Louise Davis.

Thanks to Louise for running the session and to Kirk Marcolina for filming it. You can check out her presentation HERE (password DBSC2019).

This is a fantastic resource for us as we continue with our major strategic priority of improving the quality of our racing.

We strongly encourage every member to watch this – it will benefit you immensely, both as a sailor and as an aspiring PRO.

There were a few points during the session where there was confusion among the people present –highlighting how important it is that everyone watches the video.  The points of confusion were:

1.     There was some debate about when to use the AP to postpone during a start sequence – the club’s position is that, if any error is made in a start sequence (even by one second), the AP must be put up and the start sequence re-commenced

2.     There was some discussion about when the orange “on station” flag should go up – our PRO guide is clear on this, namely that it must be at least 4 minutes before the start sequence commences 

3.     There was a suggestion that we do not move marks when the wind shifts – while that has generally been our practice, because the wind usually does not shift materially during a race, it is not necessarily the case.  If there is a big enough wind shift, we will change the course (see the PRO guide)

4.     There was a suggestion that only the last three digits on a sail need to be recorded – in our fleet it is critical that the last four digits are recorded because the last three digits are duplicated and result in confusion in our fleet

5.     There was a technical discussion on sailing rules around a finish (including penalty turns and buoy room) – ignore this as it is out of the intended scope for the session and should not be relied upon

International Race Officer, Louise Davis.