The Importance of the “R” Flag

Wednesday night was a great night for racing in Annapolis.  It was one of few Wednesday nights this summer that we’ve had good wind to sail.  At first, it didn’t look like there were going to be many boats out on the course, but the fleet filled out in time for an active start.

Course B6 was posted with the R flag.  Remember, the R flag has the red background with the yellow +. It signifies that the race course should be sailed in reverse.

My Rendition of the R Flag

Well, a lot of people either people didn’t see the flag, or didn’t know what it meant.  Multiple boats started to sail the course in the usual order instead of going to the marks in reverse order.  So, I decided to take a minute and remind all of us that the R flag means to sail the course in reverse.

Luckily, our crew saw the flag and sailed the marks in the right order.  But, it made for an interesting night when half the fleet started going one way and the other half headed in the opposite direction.

I know this sounds obvious, but it’s SO important to pay attention to the race instructions.  Of course, this can be difficult in the moment; but the consequences can be great.  At one regatta, Farr 40s started on a course that was listed to be six legs.  All the other starts after that were set at four legs.  I was racing on a Farr 30.  We weren’t doing great in the regatta, but we got a third place in that race because we finished after completing the four legs — while some boats that were ahead of us stayed out on the course sailing the two additional legs.

OK, now I’ll get down off of my soap box.  It just hurts to see boats place low in a well sailed race because the course instructions were misunderstood.

Have fun out on the water, and pay close attention to the course that is set.