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Officer of the Day Duties

Racing is a big part of Burwain Activity, however it would not be possible without the designated ‘Officer of The Day’ (OOD) and their Assistant.
It’s their job to run the days sailing and every member of the club is given the task of being an OOD or assistant at least 3 times during the year. Members are asked to fill in the Online Race Officer Duty Rota with their 3 preferred dates. If you have to change a date please inform the Club Captain as early as possible, or try and swap your day with another member.(please inform the Club Captain of any swapped dates.

OOD Duty DQ2K9275Some people just have to use every course mark!

Setting up

Getting organised
• Turn up at least 1 hour before race time.
• Locate and check all race information and equipment which is kept in the OOD Box.
• Launch a committee boat
• Start thinking about the wind and a course
• Hoist some flags.
OOD Duty DQ2K9599

Choosing a course

Assessing wind conditions
This is never as easy as it looks. Wind at one end of the lake may be different to that at the other. The best way to assess wind conditions is to take the committee boat out with your assistant and go round the lake to the various marks checking where the wind is strongest and its direction. Remember that you ideally should start the first leg on a long beat. If you are in doubt then ask the advice of some of the senior members.
• Pick the start line
• Work out your course
• Indicate the course to the members using the course display markers.

The Countdown

5,4,1,Go
The clubs standard starting procedure is the 5,4,1,Go sequence. e.g. For a 1pm start give the 1st warning signal at 12:55.
OOD’s need to operate both the flag (visual) and Hooter (Audible) signals. Remember, the flags are the primary source of information to the sailors. Whilst the racers are getting ready to race now is a good time to record all the participants on the race sheet, including: Helms name, Crew (if applicable) Boat, Sail Number, plus any specific rig (Radial, GP14 without spinnaker, etc). The club also runs OOD refresher courses so you can learn the start sequences.

Length of races

45 minute optimum for handicap races
When running a handicap race the ideal race time is 45 minutes. This time is for when the lead boat passes your designated finish line at 45 min +- 2min either way. When races are about 15 minutes old you should be able to roughly predict where the lead boat will be after 45 minutes. Not all finishes need to finish in front of the club house either. Monitor the first lap times and try and estimate where the competitors will be approximately after 45 min. This will then be where you consider placing your finish line.

Recording Results

Get ready as some races are close
Once you have decided where you the finishing line is get ready with your stop watch and assistant as the boats approach the line. As the nose of the boat crosses the line sound one blast on the sound signal and read out the time. Your assistant should then write the time down next to the correct boat on the race sheet.
Recording results on the OD lap top This is relatively simple. Please follow the instructions on how to locate the correct race series and enter the names, boats and times in the online forms.
Work out the results on the day’s race sheets Members like to know how they have done on the day, therefore take time out to calculate the adjusted times and final results using the Handicap Adjustment Formula which is listed on the race sheets along with the individual boats PY’s. If unsure, there will be plenty of members who can show you want to do.

Managing the day

Keep things moving along
On Saturdays when there are 3 races in an afternoon it is always good practice to keep things moving along. Prompt start times are appreciated and it is good etiquette to run races 2 & 3 back-to-back.