Positions of the Team at the 2012 Olympics, RS:X Course
Gordon Agnew
Emma Bourne
Andy Bull
Bryn Ellis
Mike Garvey
Liz Gowers
Dez Gulliford
Richard House
Paul Jackson
Peter Knight
Robert Lamb
Jo Lucas
David MacFarlane
Simon Pickess
Gareth Roberts
Ros Scott
Tina Scott
Richard Stirrup
Martin Stephens
Peter Stuckey
Visual Signals operator and navigator. Whilst this sounds simple the flag poles are 5m long and require a bit of muscle and finess in order to have them do exactly what they are supposed to do at the right time.
Navigation can be complex. When in the grandstand arena (the Nothe) the committee boat is positioned very accurately according to the position of Mark 1 at the windward end by a series of 'backward' calculations. Let's hope we don't go aground!
Swiss Timing Operator, Main Committee Boat. Emma translates every 'happening' electronically and submits this to the 'bunker' ashore via the Fisher-Price electronic box supplied. Output from there is to the internet so that the world sees everything within an instant. She is also incharge of the huge countdown clock on the committee boat that shows the start sequence to the sailors.
Deputy Assistant Race Officer on Finish Boat. Andy's primary role is to record the finishes of each board. In addition he will record anything that happens in the vicinity of the finish - boards missing the line but crossing the transit, penalty turns undertaken, etc. This happens even if everything is falling apart around him. In addition, Andy is there to look out for Tina, who is in charge, and ensure that the finish boats doesn't miss a trick!
Mark 3 Mark Layer. Responsible for laying the slalom with Paul Jackson when the boards are planing. This is technically demanding with the internal angles set at 30 degrees and the target time for this section of the course set at two minutes. Each slalom is laid just after the start of a race and then retrived at its end. Mark 3 also doubles up as the pin-end finish boat, recording the finishes as a backup to the main finish boat.
Deputy Race Officer. Mike is in charge of the main committee boat and keeps an eye on the race officer, Rob, to ensure that no mistakes are made at any point on the course. You could say that he is the eyes and ears of the race officer. He also gives valuable opinion into any of the decisions that have to be made before and durng the race. Mike is the line officer identifying boats on the course side of the start line before the start signal.
Safety 2. Liz is there primarily for the safety of the sailors keeping an eagle eye on them at all times. She also acts as a backup mark roundings recorder whenever Mark 1 is busy changing the course.
Mark 2 Mark Layer. Dez works with Neil laying the gate immediately after the start and on a predetermined position (to within a few meters of that point). Once the sailors are above the point of the gate, Dez and Neil step in to lay both marks. First the port hand mark (as viewed by the sailors coming down wind) and then the starboard mark - in that order as the port hand mark is the reference for the slalom marks. In a multiple lap course, as in the Medal Races, the gate has to be laid in less than 3 minutes of the start - a tough job!
Recorder/Spotter on the Pin-End Boat. Richard is part of the team that identifies any boats that are over the line at the start. Anythng called by the International Technical Officer (Ilker Bayindir, TUR) and Peter Knight, who is in charge, is recorded on paper, together with assocaited times. Richard, togeether with Bob Young, also manages the anchor - the 'grunt'.
Mark 3 Mark Layer. Responsible for laying the slalom with Bryn Ellis when the boards are planing. This is technically demanding with the internal angles set at 30 degrees and the target time for this section of the course set at two minutes. Each slalom is laid just after the start of a race and then retrived at its end. Mark 3 also doubles up as the pin-end finish boat, recording the finishes as a backup to the main finish boat.
Assistant Race Officer in charrge of the Pin-End Boat. Peter ensures that the pin-end boat is in the correct place, by angle and distance from the main committee boat, in good time before the start sequence. He then acts as line officer identifying any boards that are over at the start. This information then has to be quickly delivered to the race officer on the main committee boat.
Race Officer. In overall charge of the course. Rob is responsible for all decisions on the race course and leads both the briefings of the team and the debriefs after racing has finished for the day. He attends all daily meetings with the Principal Race Officer when the strategy for the day and weather forecasts are discussed.
Swiss Timing Operator, Finish Boat. Jo submitselectronically and submits the finish order to the 'bunker' ashore via the Fisher-Price electronic box supplied. Output from there is to the internet so that the world sees results within an instant. Her aim is to have the results, all checked, on the internet withn 30 seconds of the last board finishing.
Safety 1. David is there primarily for the safety of the sailors keeping an eagle eye on them at all times. When any of the other safety boats act as a backup mark roundings recorder, Safety 1 has to ensure that the vacuum created in the safety cover is filled. David works with Richard Stirrup.
Mark 1 Mark Layer. Simon is responsible for laying the marks at the windward end of the course, giving the race officer vital information on wind speed and angle (as he is the first to see any change) and recording the order and time of all boards as the round the windward mark. He is also responsible for changing the course at the top end when necessary, negotiating his boat through the boards to lay the new mark.
Recorder/Spotter on the Finish Boat and results ratifier. Clare's primary role is to record the finishes of each board. Asd with Andy, she will record anything that happens in the vicinity of the finish.
In addition, Clare has the responsibility to sign off the results with the International Technical Officer (Nathalie Peberel, FRA) as soon as they hit the shore.
Course Safety Leader. Gareth is in charge of the safety cover that we offer the sailors on the RS:X course. Whilst reporting to the race officer he decides the strategy of how this is carried out in addition to effecting rescue in the case of any incidents. He must know how to deal with fog, sudden increases in wind speed, injury, etc.
Secretary on the Main Committee Boat. Ros records everything that happens on the main committee boat including all the radio traffic. She plots the wind direction and speed that the Committee Boat sees as well as that reported in by the mark layers. This happens every 2 minutes throughout the regatta. Times of starts, first boards around each mark with times, times of first and last finishers. Any nformation availabale is written down.
Assistant Race Officer in charge of the Finish Boat and Results. Tina runs the finsh boat to ensure that it is in the correct position, the order of finishing is correctly identified and that the results published as as they were on the boat. You can start a race as often as you wish but you only get chance to do the finish once. So setting the correct procedures and then executing them accurately is a must.
Skipper, Recorder/Spotter on Finish Boat. Kevin very accurately puts the finish boat in the correct place at the right time. For each race the boat will move into and out of position. Once he his happy with the position he assists in recording the finishes.
Safety 1. Richard is there primarily for the safety of the sailors keeping an eagle eye on them at all times. When any of the other safety boats act as a backup mark roundings recorder, Safety 1 has to ensure that the vacuum created in the safety cover is filled. Richard works with David MacFarlane.
Bridge and senior Mark Layer. Martin managed to break his ankle whilst mark layng at Crosshaven in Cork Week. So, as he was in plaster, he was not allowed out onto the water - his home. Bridge is the communications centre for the course, 'bridging' the gap between the on-the-water activity and the shoreside aspect of the event. With the amnount of experience Martin has as a mark layer he was also able to contribute to the mark laying team.
Skipper and Timekeeper on Pin-End Boat. Peter is responsible for putting the pin-end boat into the correct position quickly and accurately. Once that has been achieved, Peter is timekeeper just as Jane is on the main committee boat. The pin-end boat will move in and out of position for each race so that it becomes 'invisible' during the finishes.
Course Safety Leader Crew. Nigel assisted Gareth Roberts in every respect whilst out on the water.
Mark 2 Mark Layer. Neil works with Dez Gulliford laying the gate immediately after the start and on a predetermined position (to within a few meters of that point). Once the sailors are above the point of the gate, Dez and Neil step in to lay both marks. First the port hand mark (as viewed by the sailors coming down wind) and then the starboard mark - in that order as the port hand mark is the reference for the slalom marks. In a multiple lap course, as in the Medal Races, the gate has to be laid in less than 3 minutes of the start - a tough job!
Timekeeper on Main Committee Boat. Jane is on charge of the clock. She has to be the loudest person on the boat so that everyone knows exactly where we are in the sequence. She also reminds the race officers to do those little things that are often forgotten - turn on digital tape recorders, start stopwatches, etc.
Recorder/Spotter on the Pin-End Boat. Bob is part of the team that identifies any boats that are over the line at the start. Anythng called by the International Technical Officer (Ilker Bayindir, TUR) and Peter Knight, who is in charge, is recorded on paper, together with associated times. With Richard, Bob also assists with deployment and retrieve of the anchor and then fine adjustment of the position of the pin-end boat by letting out or pulling in cable - the 'grunt'.