NOR Beer Can Racing

 Sequoia Yacht Club

2010 Beer Can Racing
(Every Wednesday from April 14 through October 13)

It's a long, cold winter, but don't worry, Spring will be here before you know it & it will be time for Beer Can Racing!   We will have a Beer Can Fleet Meeting Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 1930.  Purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the schedule and review/revise the racing instructions.   All interested SYC members are invited to attend.

The 2010 Beer Can Racing season kicks off with a dinner on April 7, 2010 and the first race is on April 14, 2010.  Watch this page for more details.  

2009 Beer Can Racing
(Every Wednesday from April 15 through October 7)

Starting September 2 we will be using a 5:30 start time, please adjust  

A fun race series designed to get you and your friends out on the water!

 Courses and Marks

Signal flags indicating courses will be hoisted on the Yacht Club mast at approximately 1700.

When double pennants are flown

• the top flag shall indicate courses for boats such as Catalina 42s with a PHRF rating numerically lower than 169 and
• the bottom flag shall indicate courses for boats such as Merit 25s rating numerically higher than 169.

When the L (Lima) flag is flown from the club mast without a flag designating a course, this indicates that all racers must come within hail on channel 69 for special instructions.

A November (N) flag (white/blue checkerboard design) indicates that races have been abandoned for the day.

Please note: All government markers and buoys shall be taken on their proper side (no short cuts). If two courses have been called and the second course is course three, all boats racing course three will round Buoy 3 to starboard.

• p indicates that a mark should be rounded to port.
• S/F is an imaginary line between day mark 20 and the dolphin just off the SW end of wharf 4.
• 3 is a green navigational buoy located at the mouth of the Redwood Creek channel at 37deg 32.99N, 122deg 11.60W
• Y is a blue barrel approximately 7/8 nautical miles east of the Redwood Creek channel, located at 37deg 33.29N, 122deg 10.73W.
• 12 is a red day mark located at 37deg 33.58N, 122deg 12.64W.
• S is a white barrel approximately 1.5 nautical miles north of the entrance to Redwood Creek, located at 37deg 34.46N, 122deg 11.95W
• X is a white barrel near the San Mateo bridge in a direct line above Y & S, located at 37deg 35.5N, 122deg 13.2W
• B is a green navigational buoy located at the San Mateo Bridge Shipping Channel at 37deg 34.966N, 122deg 14.888W

Racing Rules

SYC Beer Can races are governed by the 2009-2012 U.S. Sailing's Racing Rules of Sailing. In addition, the use of auto pilot is allowed.

Protests: Protests are discouraged during the Beer Can Race series. The series is designed for fun and fellowship for you and your crew. Friendly discussions of right-of-way rules at the bar following the race are encouraged.

Decision to race: Conditions are highly variable on the courses available to us, and will often intensify after the course has been called. The responsibility for a boat*s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is the skipper*s alone. Please do not assume that just because a given course has been called that it is safe for your particular boat to navigate that course in the current conditions.

Motoring Allowance: Motoring is permitted any time it is required for the safety of the vessel involved. All racers are specifically granted a motoring allowance anytime they are passing barges, dredges or ship traffic inside the shipping channel, however, this allowance is to be used for the purpose of safety only, and not to achieve tactical advantage over another racer. Any vessel going aground is permitted to continue racing after using their motor to return to deep water. As soon as it is clear and safe to do so, they must then sail a 360-degree penalty turn in order to exonerate the mistake.

Disqualifications: Any vessel interfering with shipping traffic is automatically disqualified. Any vessel participating in a collision, regardless of whose fault the collision was, is automatically disqualified.

Lifejackets: The wearing of suitable personal flotation devices is required for all race participants at all times.

Radio Channel: Racers shall monitor Channel 69 for racing communication and instructions.

Prizes: There will be a prize awarded to the skipper of the first-to-finish vessel after each race, provided that the aforesaid skipper shows up at Sequoia Yacht Club after the race. Additional prizes will be awarded to the winning skipper of any one-design class that has had four or more boats racing in that particular race. Otherwise, pickup awards and miscellaneous other awards will be bestowed by the Fleet Captain. A permanent trophy will be awarded for the Yacht with the most wins in the season and an award for outstanding SYC pickup boat. Both of these awards will be presented at the Installation Dinner in November.

Race Notices amending these sailing instructions will appear on the race board in Sequoia Yacht Club. A courtesy copy will be provided to Spinnaker Sailing.

Release and Waiver: A registration and skipper release needs to be signed by all skippers and a crew registration and waiver is required to be signed by all crew to participate in Beer Can racing. Crew may move from boat to boat without signing an additional waiver. Copies will be available at the Club before the race and can also be downloaded off the Sequoia Yacht Club web site. Please turn in completed forms to the Fleet Captain or Fleet Vice Captain.

Start Times: Each Skipper is responsible for their start time using the start times of these instructions and GPS data.   The start times are based on the course sailed and the San Francisco YRA PHRF certificate for your yacht. After winning 2 races during the season, a winning boat shall reduce her PHRF rating by 6. Each additional time she wins she will reduce her PHRF rating by 6 and these accumulated reductions shall be in effect for the remainder of the season.

 NOTE: From September 2nd through October 7th, all races will begin 30 minutes earlier than the listed start time. 

NOTICE OF RACE