How to be a helper on the committee boat

There are no prerequisites for being a helper on the committee boat. It’s an opportunity to learn, make friends, and likely have an exciting and busy afternoon on the water. This article doesn’t describe everything the race committee and PRO do to plan, run, and score the race or everything that can happen – rather it describes what a race day might be like for an inexperienced helper.

The race committee (RC) is made up of the principal race officer (PRO) and at least two other volunteers. The PRO is responsible for setting and adjusting the course, calling the starting and finishing lines, and is in charge on the water. The PRO will assign your duties and make sure you understand them. If there are mark and chase boats, they are also part of the RC.

My first experience on the committee boat was for a day of Saturday PHRF around-the-buoys races in June of 2024. It was so much fun that I helped on days when the Etchells went around the buoys three times and everyone else did one pursuit race. Every race is different so I can’t make up a list of what will happen; I can just write some of the things I observed and hope it encourages people to sign up for race committee.

Getting ready

The PRO was in touch with me in the days leading up to the race. I read the notice of race (NOR) and sailing instructions (SIs) and kept an eye on the weather forecast. At 10:00 on race day, I memorized the predicted wind velocities and directions. For someone new to racing I’d recommend reading about our visual signals. If you’re helping on a Sunday dinghy race, the start sequence will be different, but on Saturday this is the sequence. I recommend printing this out and bringing it on the boat.

You might want to take a start sequence cheat sheet on the committee boat

For a 1:00 start we met at the Grover at 11:00. I ate a big late breakfast so all I needed in my cooler was water and a snack. I also took sunscreen, my handheld VHF radio, my binoculars, a hat, and when rain was in the forecast, a raincoat. You could bring gloves for pulling up anchors…there’s the boat anchor and an anchor for each buoy…don’t wear white.

The Grover is on the first dock at Whittaker Pointe.


The RC pulls the necessary buoys from the dock boxes, inflates them, and attaches anchors. They make sure the honker (AKA the microprocessor-based starting timer and horn) is set to the correct start sequence. It’s best to get the buoys and honker ready at the dock.

Other tasks that can be done either at the dock or on the water:

  • Raise the ODC riding sail because it stabilizes the boat.
  • Optionally, put up the bimini.
  • Raise the US Sailing flag on the spar on the forward port side of the cabin top.
  • Hang the course board and fill the slots with the course letters. If it’s really rough out, don’t risk losing this overboard…instead wait until the boat is anchored.
  • Get the flags out of the cabin and sort them out.
  • The sign-in and scoring sheets should also be in the cabin.

Take advantage of the land-based head before leaving the dock. Go under the dock house and open the gate to the pool, and the bathroom is on the left. On Grover there’s a privacy curtain and a portable commode. If you use it, you clean it.

You will help with undocking and redocking. Try to memorize how the boat is tied up before you leave.


On the water

Once you leave the slip, the PRO (or the mark boat if there is one) will drive to where the windward mark should be dropped. The RC drops all the other marks based on that. Then you’ll drop the yellow starting pin (it’s called a “pin” but the others are “marks”) and, at last, anchor the Grover and kill the engine. As a helper, be ready to take instructions from the PRO and other experienced volunteers.


Once the anchor is set, the RC prepares for the first race. You might be assigned any of these tasks (tip: read the Visual signals page):

  • Get the sign-in and scoring sheets together. If this is your first race and there are experienced RC members aboard, you probably won’t do this. But try to watch and learn.
  • Put the orange line flag in the holder on the port side, amidships. An imaginary line between this flag and the starting pin is the start/finish line.
  • Put the Lima flag in any of the holders on the cabin top to indicate to racers that it’s time to “come within hail.” The rules say to sail by on a starboard tack to check in when this flag is up.
  • Find the class flag for the first race. Find the P flag, and also the individual recall and general recall flags.
  • Set up the honker. Put the horns on the cabin top and put the box on the engine cover. Note that there’s a button you can press to blow the horn once. Use that for signaling things like recalls, the postponement flag, and when a boat finishes.

The PRO keeps track of the time and calculates when to start the honker for each start sequence. Any number of problems could cause a need to delay the start. If you think there might be a delay, find the AP flag. Blow the horn twice when you raise it and once when you drop it. Remember the start sequence begins one minute after the AP flag is dropped.

Take down the Lima flag once everyone has checked in, and before the first start sequence. No horn for this.

The PRO assigns race responsibilities to the helpers. At the start, one person operates the flags, someone else watches the time to ensure the honker is operating correctly, and everyone else keeps an eye on the racers and watches the starting line for anyone over early. If only a couple of boats are over early, the individual recall flag goes up with one sound. Technically it’s on the racers to know when they’re over early but the helpful ODC PROs usually call them out on the VHF. Once all the over-early boats have restarted, take down the X flag with no sound.

When boats are finishing, one person writes down each boat’s finish time and another blows the horn.

On days when you have JAM starting shortly after spinnakers, dig up the “meatball” class flag and set the spinnaker class flag aside to be sure you put the right one up. Once all boats have started their first race, everything on the committee boat gets quiet.

If the wind shifts significantly, the PRO might make the decision to change the course.

If there is a protest on the course and the participants feel the need to state that on the VHF, the good news is that the RC doesn’t have to do anything. Likely the PRO will advise the protestor to write down their issue, preferably using a protest form from the US Sailing site, and submit that to the protest committee by the time stated in the SIs.

After the last race

After the last race, the RC gets busy again. They crank Grover’s mighty engine, pull up the anchor, and retrieve all the buoys. While traveling from one buoy to the next, they deflate whatever is aboard unless there’s racing the next day, in which case they stay blown up in the boat overnight. Check the buoys for leaks and make sure the anchor lines look solid. Report any concerns to the PRO.

Back at the dock, tie Grover up just like it was when you left. There’s a diagram of how it should be tied on the engine cover.

Put everything away in the same place it was that morning. It’s better to interrupt the PRO and ask than to make a guess. Take down all the flags and the riding sail. Close back up the enclosure. Turn off all the instruments. The PRO should know whether to run the bilge pump and how to leave the battery switch.

Now it’s time to relax at the post-race social. Bring the scoring sheets and hand them over to Steve Peters.

Conclusion

The ODC is fortunate to have volunteers who care a great deal about running and scoring races properly and correctly. Although it’s going to bum a racer out if you call them over early, doing so protects the integrity of the race.

If you enjoy being on race committee and want to learn more, go to US Sailing to find the racing rules. Also search for RC 101.



ORIENTAL DINGHY CLUBCOME SAIL WITH US!

Contact our Commodore, Bob Slook, by email or call (732) 740-5591

PO Box 981, Oriental, NC 28571


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