We take this opportunity to welcome to the group all of those people who have recently purchased Wayfarers. We think that you will receive ten-fold the price of the boat in pleasure, sailing and racing with congenial people. Welcome!

This is the time of the year when everyone is collecting taxes and the Committee is no different. If we are to continue functioning as an active representative of Wayfarer owners across the United States, we need some operating capital. This money, you know, pays for the cost of the Skimmer, postage, and the National Championships. If you have not sent your $2.50 fee in as yet for 1966, do it now. Mail it to:

Fleet officers should also encourage any members who have not paid the $5.00 boat registration to send that along too. It is important to meet these obligations if you wish to sail in sanctioned races.
 
 

Racing Captain, Dick Johnson, has prepared a tentative schedule of events for the coming season.

May 28, 29, 30 North American Opening Regatta - Chicago. Sponsored by Fleet No. 1.
July 23, 24 Invitational - Cleveland. Sponsored by Fleet No. 4.
August 13, 14 United States Championships - Rochester. Sponsored by the National Committee.
September 3, 4, 5 North American Championship - Windsor. Sponsored by South Port Sailing Club, Windsor and Fleet No. 2, Detroit.
September 24, 25 Michigan Invitational Regatta - Lake Orion. Sponsored by Fleet No.6.
October 8, 9 Lake Margrethe Regatta - Grayling, Michigan. Sponsored by Fleet No. 2.

In the April Skimmer, we will publish a complete schedule of Wayfarer events. If you would like your fleet activities included in this, please send information to Don Healy.

• A current roster of United States Wayfarer owners.
• Fleet reports - fleet activities, pictures, etc.
• A history of Wayfarer activities in the United States.
• A list of past winners of United States and North American Championships.
• Up-to-date class rules and measurement form.

Fleet #2 - Detroit. Members of this fleet worked at the Detroit Boat Show and have added six new Wayfarer owners to the fold. On February 5, they held a general meeting and invited new owners, possible owners, and old sea-dogs to join them. Approximately 60 people attended.

Fleet #4 - Cleveland. Grace Fay reports that Fleet 4 had a great racing season with ten boats usually out for every race. Final results were as follows:

Wednesday evenings: 1st Gene Perme  2nd Nelson Richards  3rd Phil Fay
Weekends: 1st Nelson Richards  2nd Phil Fay  3rd James McCann

Special mention goes to Bev Reulbach who still continued to crew for her husband, Jack, even after several capsizes. Jack won the season’s "champion flipper" award.

The Cleveland Boat Show was held the last week of January, and several Fleet 4 members had a Wayfarer stand. We understand that they had the best display at the boat show, with spinnaker up and flying. Of course, with a good looking boat like the Wayfarer you can’t go wrong. Nelson Richards reports that they sold two boats at the show and have a long list of prospects.

Fleet #5 - San Francisco. No recent news. Probably still sailing and just don’t have time to compile their events for the Skimmer.

Fleet #6 - Lake Orion. No recent news.

Fleet #7 - Longview, Washington. No recent news.
 
 

Major racing events of the Association have been held in several locations throughout the United States and Canada over the past few years. These have been well attended by delegations from the various fleets across mid-America. Although by and large these events have been well handled with a showing of good sportsmanship throughout, it is obvious to those who have attended many of these regattas that the methods, procedures, and general race conduct vary widely from one area to another. In the interest of uniformity and in order to avoid confusion of skippers, crew, and spectators, the following suggestions and recommendations for the conduct of races may be of help:

The Race Committee
The powers of the Race Committee and the methods to be used in the conduct of races from the Committee’s viewpoint are outlined in Part II of the rules of the NAYRU. However, the true responsibility of the Race Committee may be pretty well summed up by the following statement:
The Race Committee shall conduct the races in such a manner that the races will provide a true test of the abilities of the skippers and their crews, the tuning and condition of the boats and, in some cases, the design of the boats; where the element of luck, the possibilities of damage, and the chance of protest situations shall be reduced to a minimum; where due consideration has been given to the safety of the contestants; and where the rules of yacht racing and good sportsmanship shall prevail.
It has been found through experience in committee work that it generally takes more effort to run a poor regatta than it does to run a good one.
The powers of the Race Committee are spelled out under Part II of the rules of the NAYRU in rule #1. The Committee should not extend their powers beyond the limits prescribed but neither should the powers be abridged by the fleets of the Association by special local rules.
The Race Committee can make or break a regatta. Therefore, it should be made up of the most competent people available and be chaired by a real expert.

The Race Course
In yacht racing there are two basic types of race courses which may be chosen. These are the open course and the closed course. The open course is used in cruise racing where the point is to get from one point to another in the shortest possible time, the only stipulation being that the yacht must start between the starting marks and finish between the marks designating the finish line.
The closed course is most commonly used in small boat racing and may be the familiar triangle, the seldom used windward-leeward, the olympic, or any other course where the yachts start and finish along a line which encloses marks which must be passed in a specified order and manner.
In a closed course the importance of laying a square starting line with the first mark squarely to windward is obvious. A cocked line means jam ups and protests. A first leg which is not directly upwind means the same. A first leg which is not a beat does not spread the boats sufficiently and causes problems at the first mark.
In order to provide an equalization of skippers and boats and provide a true test of skills under all points of sailing, at least one race in a series should be over a windward-leeward course. This guarantees at least two beats and two spinnaker runs.
Whenever possible, the course should be sailed with marks to port. This leaves no question as to the rights of yachts on different tacks when approaching marks. A starboard tack yacht reaching a mark slightly ahead of a port tacker merely turns the mark and sails away. With marks to starboard, he is forced to tack in front of the port tacker, thereby losing his rights during the tack with the possibility of being passed or protested when just an instant before, he was ahead with all starboard tack rights.

Starting Procedures, Signals, etc.
Probably the widest variation in procedures from one racing area to another is in the matter of starting procedures and signals. All groups use five minute intervals between preparatory warnings and starting guns but here the similarity seems to end. Therefore, beginning with the 1966 season, all race committees must use the signals and procedures called out under Part II, rules 4,5,6, and 8, and rule 7.1 is to be encouraged. It must be said here that it is just as easy to learn and use the proper signals as to use improper ones and the cost of signal flags is the same whether the right or wrong ones are purchased. Also, in large starts, a yacht over early at the gun must return outside the starting marks to recross.

Protests
The Protest Committee will be a subcommittee of the Race Committee but may, at the option of the local authority, be made up of the entire Race Committee. The powers of the Protest Committee are limited to those outlined in the NAYRU rules.
The Association will require strict adherence to the rules of protest as outlined in Part VI. A yacht which is to file a protest must fly a red code flag from the rigging from the time of incident until finishing and, when recognized by the Race Committee, report the intent to protest to said group. Every attempt must be made to inform the yacht to be protested of the intent to protest at, or shortly after, the time of the foul.
The hearing of the protests should be held as soon after the race as practicable. All witnesses to the foul must remain in the area for call to testify. Protests should be heard in their entirety in the order in which they are filed. However, if there is more than one protest against a yacht, the hearings may be expedited by having all protests on that boat at one time.
The decision of the Race Committee must be made in triplicate with one copy to the protesting yacht, one to the protested yacht, and one posted on a bulletin board for all to see. The posted copy will be filed in the permanent records of the Association.

Scoring
The low point system of scoring will be used by the Association. That is, each yacht will receive the score corresponding to its place of finish with 3/4 points for first place in a race.
 
 

Wayfarer skippers thoroughly enjoy sailing their craft and the more activities a fleet arrange, the better they like it. We thrive on the stimulus or the excuse that a scheduled event provides. The profit from our boat investment is paid in big dividends of healthy recreation, fresh air, warm friendships, fascinating scenes, and, at times, peaceful relaxation. We have earned our weekends or evening "breaks" from this demanding, landlubberly, laboring, and time-grabbing world so let’s collect the dividends!

The more varied the fleet activities, the greater the interest and enthusiasm because we will satisfy more desires. We must reach and help the beginning sailor, the skipper who hasn't raced but wants to, the apprehensive first mate, the children (small fry and juniors), the newcomer, the racing enthusiast, the cruising devotee, the camper, the skipper who can only make it on Saturday or Sunday P.M., week nights, the "crew", the fellow who doesn't have his boat yet, and many others ad nauseam.

Attendance tends to perpetuate and the skipper and family who "try" one of the enticing activities will find the next event easier to attend. Furthermore, a friendly phone call is a helpful adjunct to the reminder post card and the event schedule, and the newcomers must be treated warmly (don’t wait to be introduced). The "race-aholic" must not look with disdain on the cruising events - he should try them for enjoyment, and the "cruis-aholic" should enter races to sharpen his skill. All groups have the same objective - to participate in the fun of sailing. Let’s plan, in succeeding issues of the Skimmer, a calendar of events for an imaginary and ideal Wayfarer fleet. Constructive suggestions (even anonymous) are solicited. In this issue we can lay the keel and start a few frames. As time goes by we will plank her in.

U.S. Wayfarer Fleet No.*** - Schedule of Events.
Winter - Excellent time for gaining knowledge. Fleet advocates and helps to sponsor classes put on by Coast Guard Auxiliary and U. S. Power Squadron. Fleet holds dry-land sailing classes which are especially good for children, wives, and interested public. An article in the local paper and classes in the local school gym are suggested by Commodore Healy because usually a boat on a trailer can be rigged for demonstration purposes. Fleet holds three racing classes to review the NAYRU racing rules and hear talks on tactics by the Experts. Classes are 
   (1) general racing rules and tactics
   (2) starts 
   (3) rounding marks 
Fleet schedules pot-luck dinners and shows slides and movies.

Spring - Fleet holds an informal panel discussion on "Fitting-Out." Experts on paint, sails, woodworking, etc., speak briefly on their respective areas and then there are questions and open discussion from the floor. Fleet holds fitting-out party to start season's fellowship. Fleet schedules an early combination sailing and picnic event. Such a target date one week before the first race of the season tends to give everyone something to shoot for. This is a good day to invite for a sail, the interested public who took the dry-land sailing course during the winter. It is also a good day for a fun race which tends to coax the newcomer into racing. One idea for a fun race is to have all boats anchor along a starting line which is directly into the wind, sails are dropped (halyards remain on sails), booms off goosenecks, centerboards up, rudders inside on floorboards. At the gun skippers and crew get things in order, hoist sails weigh anchor, sail to a mark and back and the winner gets a can of beer or a hot-dog.

Summer - During the regular sailing season, the fleet schedules, every few weeks, a regular series of events related to its prime interest. The racing fleet has its points races and the cruising fleet has its regular cruises. The National races and North American races are included in this fixed schedule. The time between these events is scheduled for 
   (1) interfleet activities 
   (2) informal rendezvous’ 
   (3) sailing and racing instruction. 
Interfleet activities include regional Wayfarer regattas as well as get-togethers with other class fleets or clubs. Sailing or racing with other clubs every so often enlarges friendships and small fleets can help each other when they host regional regattas, need race committees, or sponsor winter activities. The informal rendezvous’ include practice races, races with crews, wives, or children skippering, races sailing backwards, team races, and boats assigned in pairs for a concurrent match race. In this race, each skipper has only one other boat to beat. Boats may be changed for the next race. Another type of practice race is to have many consecutive short races to one mark a short distance away. The prep gun for the next race is fired as soon as the last boat crosses the finish line. This type of race provides starting and mark-rounding practice. Informal rendezvous’ also include picnics either at a base or by sailing to a picnic site. A rendezvous can also be merely a time and place for those skippers who are free to meet, sail, and chew the rag. Places are alternated for interest and convenience. Fleet has a Haul-Out Party which is an informal old-clothes affair.

Fall - Fleet schedules a Commodore's Ball or party where season trophies are awarded and holds an election of officers for the ensuing year.

It should be noted that fleets affiliated with active yacht clubs will have extracurricular activities right at hand and if they have interesting programs, we would like to hear about them. Please send in your suggestions to improve our imaginary Fleet No. ***.