Every year there is a good sized Messabout at Magnolia Beach in Texas, sometime in June.  The date for the 2008 messabout is June 14.  This will coincide with the end of the Texas 200 raid, which takes place June 9-13.  Shorty Routh, who organizes these messabouts has also organized several interesting races; there was a $50 boat race in 2003, for example, the entries into which you can see here.

There were a couple of proas at the 2007 messabout, but it was very windy and we all had brand new boats or untested rigs, so none of us went sailing.   So this time we of course need to make up for that, and have a proper proa race.  Shorty made a race proposal on his page, but has since asked me to host it here in the hopes we'll get more proa people interested in the idea.  I've made a few changes, but the basic idea is the same.

The usual wind direction at this time of year is from the right of the picture to the left, so we should have a reach, a run, a reach, land, then a reach, a beat, and a reach.  That seems like a reasonable course to me, but we're open to changes.

I'll have started a thread on the proa_file group to discuss the race format here.  If you have an opinion please chime in.

Kevin

South Texas International Proa Championship Regatta

Definition of a Proa:

For the purposes of this race, a Proa is a sailboat which exchanges end for end to come about; that is, it has to shunt rather than tack and jibe.

Start and Finish

The race will start with a Le Mans start.  All boats will be beached and all skippers will start behind the Start/Finish line, which will be about ten feet up the beach from the waterline.  Boat position on the beach will be determined by lot.  At the starter's bell skippers will run to their boats and launch.  Or walk to your boat, if you like.  One crew member or a helpful observer may hold the boat before the start, only the skipper has to start behind the Start/Finish line.

Course to be run

The boats will sail from the beach, round marker 55, round marker 57, then return to the beach, leaving all marks to port. At the beach one of the crew must run up to the Start/Finish line and put an X on a piece of paper next to the boat's name.  The second half of the course is back out, round marker 57, round marker 55, leaving all marks to starboard, and return to the beach where the boat must be beached and the skipper must run up and cross the Start/Finish line to finish the race.

The usual racing rules will apply, unless we decide otherwise.

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