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Home / Sailing / Race Sailing Instructions

Race Sailing Instructions

Racing Pennants- All competitors should fly a racing pennant from the back-stay whilst racing.

Numeral Pennant "0" (ZERO) is for the Slow Fleet, and Numeral Pennant "1" (ONE) for the Fast Fleet,

1. Rules. Races are governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing 2013 - 2016 and by these sailing Instructions which will take precedence in the event of conflict.

2. Eligibility. Boats taking part in club races must be steered by a club member.

3. Communications. For races starting from the club start line, VHF Channel 37 (M1) will be used by the Race Officer to announce the starting procedure and communicate with competitors. For passage races/rallies Channel 08 will be used for all communications. It is paramount that all competitors monitor the agreed VHF Channel during a race to ensure they receive any changes to the race instructions. After finishing a passage race/rally, if possible please send a text to the Race Officer (or provide the information by another means) giving boat name, sail number and finishing time in hours, minutes and seconds BST.

4. Notification. Except for races starting at the club start line, boats intending to race must notify the race officer preferably by sailing past the committee boat, displaying sail number, and receiving an acknowledgement. Any retirement must also be notified, usually by radio.

5. Boats are prohibited from racing in the club mooring area. This is defined by the yellow piles, the large pile with diamond topmark and a line joining the adjacent outermost boats and buoys in the mooring area.

6. Courses from the Club start line. The course numbers and starting signals may be displayed from the start hut balcony. The course for the fast fleet will be shown above the course for the slow fleet.

7. Club Starting & Finishing Line. This is a transit of the white mast on the start hut balcony and the red & white post on the outer pontoon.

8. Starting Procedure (Rule 26) at the club line. VHF radio (Ch37 M1) will be used as the primary means to announce the course, starting procedure and any other communications. Flag signals from the Start Hut may also be used in conjunction. There will normally be separate starts for the Fast & Slow fleets. The Class flag for the fast fleet is Pennant "1" (ONE) and the class flag for the slow fleet is Pennant "0" (ZERO)

5 minute warning

4 minute preparatory

1 minute

Start

Class flag + sound signal

Flag "P" + sound signal (engines off)

Flag "P" removed + long sound signal

Class flag removed + sound signal

9. Individual recall (Rule 29.1) may be indicated by one additional sound signal and flag "X". This will be displayed until all OCS boats are completely on the pre-start side of the line. Any boat OCS at the start may be announced by radio.

10. General recall (Rule 29.2) may be indicated by the flag "1st Substitute" and two additional sound signals.

11. Postponement (Rule 27.3) may be indicated at any time before the starting signal by flag AP (answering pennant) with two sound signals. AP will be removed 1 minute before the new warning signal with one sound signal.

12. Starting Procedure for passage races/rallies. Starting lines, finishing lines and courses will be published before the race. Starting procedure ( 5mins, 4mins, 1min, start ) your start time must be within 10 minutes after the start time, the OOD will then have an extra 15 minutes to start the race and any amendments, will be given by radio. The committee boat may elect to take part in the race by sailing through the position of the line; they will allowed an extra 15 minutes before starting the race. Her elapsed time shall be taken from the time she crosses the starting line.

13. Wind Conditions. Races will not start until there is a minimum of 5 knots of breeze, should there not be 5 knots, the start line may be reviewed & moved to a new point

14. Saturday Race Closure. Closure of the racing on a Saturday will be 4pm BST, unless stated differently on the days instruction, this is to enable a timely closure to the race.

15. Shortened Courses (Rule 32) may be indicated by flag "S", with two sound signals, displayed at the start hut or any other mark of the course. A shortened course may be announced by radio only and competitors may be required to take their own time at the finishing mark which will be one of the buoys on the stated course. The Race Officer has sole discretion to make changes to the course before or during a race

16. Time Limit will normally be 2115 hours for evening races. Boats failing to finish within the time limit will be scored DNF (this changes Rule 35).

17. Protests (Rule 61) must be in writing and will be heard as soon as possible after the race. A boat intending to protest must inform the other boat at the first opportunity. She should hail "Protest" and display a red flag immediately after an incident in the racing area.

18. Penalties (Rule 44.3) A boat that may have infringed a rule of part 2 (When Boats Meet) or touches a mark whilst racing, may take a time penalty. As soon as possible after the incident, she should display a yellow flag, keep it displayed until finishing, and inform the Race Officer of the incident. Her penalty shall be 2 minutes added to her elapsed time for each infringement.

19. Scoring System will be the Low Point System (appendix A - 1 for first, 2 for second etc.). This system will also be used for the overall points trophy for passage races/rallies. A series result will count as one result for this trophy. One third (or nearest third) of the completed passage race/rally results will be discarded to calculate overall points. All DNS, DNF etc results will be scored as 1 point more than the total number of passage race/rally starters during the season. Series ties for racing from the Club start line will be broken in accordance with appendix A - 8 unless as stated in the notice for the racing.

20. Commercial Shipping. Boats which obstruct commercial vessels under way or contravene local by-laws whilst racing may be disqualified without a hearing. An engine may be used to avoid risk of collision with another vessel under way or in grave emergency. After racing the facts of any such evasive action must be reported to the Race Officer who will use discretion to award a time penalty if appropriate. In the event of a ship obscuring part of the club finishing line, boats must finish between the ship and the Start Hut.

21. Disclaimer. Competitors participate in the racing entirely at their own risk. The Club will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury sustained in conjunction with, prior to or after the racing.


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Last updated 10:04 on 24 November 2023

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