The racing season’s almost here, and it’s time to get things sorted out!  Come out to the club Monday May 16 for a pre-season meeting and we’ll talk all things racing.   For those who have  never raced before (or, if its been a while) we’ll give a once over of all-you-need-to-know-to-get-started (what to do when you arrive on race-night, what the race course looks like, how the races are started, basic rules, etc).  For the old-salts, we’ll go over this year’s SIs and how they are different from last season (especially scoring).

We will be hosting a formal “Racing Clinic” later in the season (after the first Learn-To-Sail lessons are over) as well, but the meeting on the 16th should get us started for the Spring series of races (May 23, water-levels-permitting, to June 20).

Many thanks to Mario for again volunteering as our Principal Race Officer.

If you’ve been on the fence about whether or not to race, let me try to persuade you

• you don’t have to be fast — we’re all in it for fun and for many sailors, race night is just an excuse to get out on the water at least once a week
• it’s the safest time to sail — you’re surrounded by lots of other sailors and the crash boat is out on the course if you get into trouble
• racing’s the best way to improve — even if you are dead last (unlikely, if I’m sailing that day) I think you’ll be surprised at how quickly you move from “way behind everyone else” to “just behind everyone else” to “in the middle of the fleet” to “challenging the leaders”
• tips from the pros — watching and talking to the fast-folks is a heck of a lot easier than trying to figure things out on your own
• “nobody left ashore” policy — if you’re interested in crewing, you can always find a skipper (and vice-versa)
• apres-sail is a blast
• it’s free — as members of KSC, there are no entry fees or other costs to you!

See on you Monday the 16th!