The job of Race Committee (RC) at Herrington Harbour Sailing Association (HHSA) is a shared responsibility for all the racing members. Each boat must run at least one race during the season. This year, 10 new racers joined the fleet, many with little to no experience running a race. Along with a RC seminar in the spring, a couple of volunteers were available to mentor new race officers. The following is a note from the hhsa.org racing forum written by the skipper of Social Security, a first time race officer.
I had the opportunity to do race committee for HHSA this past weekend. At first I was skeptical, thinking this was a job that no salty racer really wants to do. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Here are a couple of take-aways:
- Being the boss is fun. I say that in jest; RC is truly a democracy. The more experienced racers have many suggestions about course selection, wind direction, and pin placement. It is wise to listen to them, but your decision is final in the end.
- RC is in charge of fun. Your number one priority is to make sure that everyone has a good time.
- You have a captive audience. This is a really good opportunity to get to know people better, exchange stories, and build relationships. You never know who is going to have a boat for you to sail on in the future.
- It is a prime opportunity to actually memorize what those nicely colored flags actually mean.
HHSA will continue to grow its PHRF racing fleet with training, social, and on-the-water events for PHRF A, B, and Non-Spinnaker boats. The theme for 2016 is “For the Best PHRF Racing on the Bay, Sail with HHSA!” Check out hhsa.org/racing to see why.
