WYC approved race recorders are offered a free social membership in return for committing to at least 10 recording duties per membership year. You do not need to have any sailing experience to be a race recorder, but the ability to listen, record numbers and times quickly is necessary.
Recorder Duties:
To accurately record the lap times and finishing positions of boats for club races, open events and club events throughout the sailing season (March to December) and assist the Race Officer with timings and flags if required.
Duties are allocated by the race recorder coordinator ahead of each season in consultation with the recording team and the team are happy to swap duties as needed throughout the year.
Duties are either carried out from the Race Hut (usually early/late season) and Wednesday evenings, the rest of the time from the Committee Boat (CB) accessed by being transported out on a club rib. Appropriate clothing and footwear should be worn when out on the CB and a buoyancy aid must be worn.
The length of your duty each time will depend on the event and the number of races being held, minimum time is around 2 to 3 hours but if racing is delayed due to weather conditions you may have to wait around. Open events etc can take up to 5 to 6 hours. Recorders need to arrive 30 mins ahead of a race hut duty or 90 mins in the case of a CB start.
Training and Support:
WYC offer an initial trial as a recorder working alongside one of our current team. This gives us the opportunity to explain what we do, how we do it and any additional information we think you may find useful. If you then decide you wish to continue, we will arrange for you to buddy up with members of the recording team for 2 or 3 duties before going solo. Please be assured that we will only let you go solo once you and the race recorder coordinator are confident that you can carry out the recorder duties.
A copy of the Recorders Manual is emailed to all new recorders, so you have your own handbook to check against. The recorders team also have a WhatsApp group to support each other and enable the swapping of duties if required.