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RACING AT NEPTUNE SAILING CLUB

What races are there?  

bulletBoth of our J22’s are entered in the Friday evening Anthony’s Home Port Summer Series races, and also in the J22 Wednesday evening Fleet race series.  The Blue Catalina is entered in the PHRF fleet for the Friday evening races as well.
bulletRace practice sessions are scheduled periodically.  The topics include spinnaker sailing, tactics, boat handling, boat speed, and racing rules.

Who can race?

bulletA Neptune boat may enter a race if it is under the direction and control of a Club certified Racing Skipper.
bulletRace Crew – ANY CLUB MEMBER CAN PARTICIPATE AS A RACE CREW.  Racing as a crew member can be as exciting as skippering.  A good crew member is definitely as valuable to the success of a race as the skipper.  Crew positions can become as specialized as those of any sport.  Typical crew positions include “foredeck”, “mid-trimmer/tactician”, and “back-trimmer”.  We encourage all interested club members to learn the various positions and the boat handling skills that are part of each position.  The club has a new Race Crew Certification which gives the holder more recognition amongst the racing community and is also the first step towards Race Skipper certifications. 
bulletThere are two levels of Race Skipper certification.
bulletLevel 1 Race Skippers are certified to take a boat to a local race (local means in the normal Neptune sailing area) and for winds under 12 knots. 
bulletLevel 2 Race Skippers are also certified to take Neptune boats to “away” regattas such as Leschi and Shilshole (given permission by the Club Board) and in higher winds.  A defined process for gaining Race Skipper certification is available upon request.

How do I get involved?

Friday Night Races

bulletFriday night races are sponsored by Anthony's and take place just outside the marina starting at 7:00pm  June through August.
bulletThe two J/22s and the Blue Catalina are entered in Friday evenings (PHRF).
bulletFriday evenings are designated as a “drop-in” format.  We will try to get everyone who shows up by 5:45pm on a Friday evening a place on a boat. There are occasionally evenings where we will fill up.
bulletThe boats will leave the docks at 6:30pm.
bulletRace Crew members may sign up in advance to show their intention but this does not guarantee a boat.   Positions are assigned first-come, first-served.
bulletIt does not take any special training or certification to crew and it is a club goal to give all interested members as many opportunities as possible. The Policy of the Club is that Club Members have priority over guests for available crew positions.
bulletRacing Skipper may sign up in advance to show their intention but this does not guarantee a boat. The intent of the Club for Friday night races is to give all Racing Skippers a chance to Skipper and polish their skills. In the event that there are more interested Skippers than boats at the dock at 6:00pm on a Friday night then the racing Skipper who has gone the longest without Skippering in a Friday night race shall have first choice.
bulletRacing Chair Dan Mathews has committed to be a regular Friday evening Race Skipper and to be the Club race coordinator for the Friday evenings this summer – so we should have at least one boat at the starting line every Friday race.

Wednesday Night Races

bulletWednesday night races are part of Seattle's J/22 Fleet 21 one-design series.  Races are held at 7:00pm off Kirkland May-August  (J/22 Web site here).
bulletWednesday evening is a more organized format where Skippers are encouraged to recruit and train specific crewmembers in advance.  There are still is a good chance of finding a ride at the last minute on Wednesday – but it won’t be strictly “first come first served”.  We’ll encourage crew to solicit rides in advance from skippers so that race preparation and race day can be more organized.  Guests are welcome as crew – BUT skippers are encouraged to make club members their crew if there is interest.
bulletCertified racing skippers can reserve a boat for the Wednesday night races on the sign-out sheet posted in the clubhouse. Reservations can be made 14 days in advance of a race. In the event that there are more teams interested than boats available, reservations will be rotated so that members have equal opportunity to race. Contact Racers@NeptuneSailing.org for more information.
bulletIn the event that a boat is not reserved, a Skipper may show up and take a boat and race. As with Friday night races, in the event that there are more interested Skippers than non-reserved boats at the dock at 6:00pm then the racing Skipper who has gone the longest without Skippering in a Wednesday night race shall have first choice.
bulletThe J/22 Fleet is member-run, this means that Neptune Sailing Club occasionally takes responsibilities for setting the course, starting the race, recording and reporting results. Accordingly, race skippers should be familiar with the 5-4-1-Starting sequence, have an adequate starting horn and be able to set a race course with the Fleet buoys.

Other Races

bulletNeptune occasionally participates in other Lake Washington races such as Mark Mayer, Meydenbauer Spring regatta, SYC Lake distance races.  Permission for participating in these races must be obtained in advance from the Race Chair or the Board because these involve taking a boat away from the membership for an extended period.
bulletOff-season, Neptune occasionally participates in Shilshole races (Star & Bar, etc). In this case, special approval from the Neptune Board is required to take a boat to a weekend regatta.  To participate in an away weekend regatta, a Level 2 Racing Skipper Certification is required to take a boat to the regatta and coordinate the entry, boat delivery, crew, etc.