Course Racing Series

[slipp007]

Anyone interested in doing some course racing next season.....
I have been wanting to get into course racing -looks like a ton of fun so I have been thinking about trying to get a season series going. I have been competitively racing sailboats for over 25 years but am pretty new to kiting so feel free to critisize any of my ideas...
-Course could be set up off of east beach, great location-could rest on sandbar between races, I have a perfect boat to use as race comittee and have access to marks (bouys), could use course configuration that was used in the nationals (or adjust as we see fit)
-Racedays would be flexible and somewhat impromptu, we would have maybe a 48 hour notice
-Scoring could be a system that we have used for our sailing summer series where you are scored on the races you participate in (not penalized for the races you dont race)

PS If this is someone elses "brain child" please forgive me , I would not want to step on anyones toes! (I would like to help though!)

[BigR]

-Racedays would be flexible and somewhat impromptu, we would have maybe a 48 hour notice

that would be nice if we lived in somewhere that the wind came up like clockwork at 4 in the afternoon to 20 kts everyday from exactly the same direction

[slipp007]

Yes that would be nice, I was thinking it would start in oct with the arrival of the cold fronts

[Skyway Scott]

I would be interested in racing. I don't care if I come in last, it's fun (at least on occasion). There was some talk of racing last year, not much happened. So I don't think it's anyone's "brain child".

[Tom Stock]

Would these be free or small entry fee local races or some huge media centric commercial advertised event?

If it's a locals event of small and regular races I would be totally down for it!!! I will bring food and beer and it'll be friends and good times.

If it's a huge money based advertising centric event with news media I am not interested!

I don't see the point of entry fees if it's just for fun.

[slipp007]

definitly not a big money deal... just some fun races on a course set up close to where everyone is kiting anyway, my company can donate the jerseys for the race numbers, there would be no entry fee...., for those interested in competing in some of the larger races that are getting more common this would be an excellent way to practice and get started competing

[Wolfie]

I too am interested and would be happy to help if I can! I think it is a great idea.

[Skyway Scott]

Sounds awesome.

[Sam]

If you want any help organizing PM me. Ill admit to having dropped the ball on that one last season. tried to organize a small series last year but organic chemistry, physics and calc 2 got in the way of my fun! I raced sailboats for 12 years prior to kiting. Definatly all fair game as no one has pulled through with a series! would be great to get something going. every other area has one...but also has consistant wind too!

[Whitey]

I'll pay Tom's entry fee.

[slipp007]

Sounds like there is plenty of interest, too bad we wont see any significant wind till after summer.
Until then I guess the first thing would be to get a web site going that will have all the info (projected schedule, race courses, rules, ect)
I will post when it is ready.
As always please let me know of any info that would be useful in planning the series (things like...I heard down at so and so they used a reaching course at it worked great/or didnt work at all, ect...)
either post as a reply or email me at Slipp007@aol.com

[Skyway Scott]

Slip. That's the kind of stuff that could easily be added here -
http://www.tbka.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25&Itemid=83

It could have it's own section, no problem.

[slipp007]

Scott, that would work great to have the series sponsored/supported by TBKA
Steve L (there are a ton of Steves, I guess I will be Steve L)

[Skyway Scott]

Cool. I wrote you an email previously as well. I know it is a ways off, but a section is waiting.

http://www.tbka.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110&Itemid=106

[Kiteboarding Tampa Bay]

That was fast work Scott!
I put up a post about course racing in the forum section for planning.
http://www.tbka.org/forum/


Racing is totally NIFTY!;)

[kent]

That's a great idea. We have been participating in a small Wednesday night series here in Miami. This one is run by Shake a Leg Miami and is very low key. There are several sail boats, windsurfers, and now some kites.

We started a very large series in California at the STFYC about 4 years ago. It has grown into something more than it was, but they still race every other Thursday night and everyone is learning about racing now.

In our Miami series, we actually start with the windsurfers and it makes it quite interesting. Generally since it is a Wednesday night there are not too many racers, but we usually see 4-5 formula windsurfers and 3-6 kites (all from my office, but we hope to change that soon).

I think that the most important part of making your series work is making sure that people have the right boards to race on. I'm sure you can find previous posts on this. It is important to know that with the right equipment, racing is great in winds as little as 9-10 mph. In the interests of time and simplicity, windward / leeward courses two times around with a down wind finish seem to work well. Shoot for a target race time of about 10-12 minutes for the first finisher to start. This will allow you to get in hopefully 3 races. I'll attach detailed and illustrated rules for those interested to review.

Racing is growing nicely and offers a fun, competitive environment for everyone regardless of how bad their knees are. After doing a few, you will no doubt find that Florida's wind conditions are even better for kiting that you previously thought. Have fun.

PS. regarding the entry fees... how you going to pay for gas, buoys, etc., if everyone doesn't help out? Our series is $5 per night and usually includes a few beers and burgers.

Kent

[slipp007]

Thanks for the info Kent, greatly appreciated.... about the courses, I was wondering if a reaching course works (or is it just a boring drag race) obviously a windward leg is ideal for including more advanced tactics (playing shifts, current ect) but I am concerned it may exclude newer kiters that dont have the ability to make their way to windward. What do you think?

[BigR]

Tampa afternoon summer wind is very different from Miami afternoon summer wind.

In Miami you can almost always count on a little breeze 9-12mph forming in the afternoons.

In Tampa you can always count on either dead still wind or else huge T-storms with 60kt winds happening in the afternoon. Unless the air is very dry then we get a seabreeze.

[slipp007]

Yes, I dont think anything will happen until october, St Pete Summers are just too dead!

[Skyway Scott]

September, possibly scary wind. ;)

[kent]

I guess to start that you could do reaching races as this will accommodate all riders. I will say however that this will not encourage riders to looking into course racing boards which are far better for riding in light wind FL conditions. If you are going to do a reaching race, I'd at least make the effort to do an on the water start with a timed sequence. It seems as though most of the racing in FL has been pretty bad as far as having proper starts and finishes. Having a proper start will allow riders to actually learn a bit more about racing and will allow future events to be more fun and competitive.

If you pull up the course that I proposed for the Miami Kiteboard Masters race, you will find this very useful. The organizers decided to utilize a different course that didn't work out very well especially considering the conditions. The proposed course would have been perfect and allowed everyone to finish easily while at the same time teaching them a bit about racing and providing areas where passing is possible.

In order for racing to progress as it has elsewhere, we need not only racers with competitive equipment, but also race organizers that fully understand how racing works and utilize proven race management tools. Good luck and have fun.

Kent

[slipp007]

thanks kent, excellent info!

[Tom Stock]

Awesome, would love to see this more as a "sailing" race than a down wind run. Where board selection, kite selection, and just plain technique win over instead of just the first person out of the gate wins.

Light wind is when the competition would really be fierce.

Thanks Whitey but I don't thing entry fees are required anyway.

No prizes, no racing jersey's needed. Just show up on time and race. Duct tape a number on your back and you are ready to go!

That's how I think it should be anyway. When I raced in many different sports, the rule was numbers, white on black or black on white, 8" tall. How they got on you was up to you.