Hi!! Welcome to SLSaiing 2008!

The New Year’s holiday is a time to make resolutions and set new goals for the upcoming year. 

 I know, I know… those resolutions you made last year didn’t work out so well, but you deserve another chance, right?

Well, Starboards Yacht Club agrees with you.  To prove it,  as the picture on the right shows, Mark Twain White yesterday moved the SYC Race Line. Now all SL Sailors can begin 2008 with a real Fresh Start!

But don’t get worried!!  The new race line hasn’t gone far; it’s 20m South and 5m West of the old position, and all the SYC race courses remain the same. MTW made the line adjustment after multiple discussions with sailing fleet, and the new location should provide additional breathing-room for the large majority of boats that cross the start line on a starboard tack. Equally important, the line is 20m further away from the notoriously unpredictable Santa Barbara/ Hollywood sim crossing, so boats should have more room to maneuver and recover from sim-transition effects during the two minute pre-start.

Althought the few-meter adjustments in the race line yesterday may seem small, as any race skipper knows, even that slight edge can prove a deciding difference in a hard-fought race.

This change could be particularly timely, given the recent rapid increase in the size of the USS-SL Race Fleet. It’s fairly common now to see 10- 14 boats and their experienced skippers lining up on either the Hollywood or Bismark Sea Start Lines for the scheduled races at SYC, NYC, and WYC. With that large a starting fleet, even small adjustments that enhance the maneuvering space and reduce bottlenecks can have a pretty measurable effect.

The exact coordinates for the new Hollywood line location are shown in the image above, including the relation of the line to the sim edges and clubhouse. SYC considers the next month a ‘trial period’ to see how well the new location works out. So please, grab your boat, come on over to Hollywood, and kick the tires. Then drive the new Race Line around the block a few times and send some feedback comments to us here. SYC isn’t certain the new line will meet the expectations, but it looks good on the drawing board. Let’s all give it a go and find out.

And hey? If you have any doubts, just think about it this way:  You remember that dismal failure you made of your 2007 New Year’s resolutions? Well..  the 2008 Starboards Fresh Start has got to work out a lot better than that ever did!

See you on the water!