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RACING INSTRUCTIONS
1 SAILING RULES
Races will be sailed under ISAF Racing
Rules of Sailing (RRS) and RYA
Prescriptions with thee exceptions given
below
(a) RRS 29.1. The signals for Individual
Recalls do not apply
(b) Under RRS Part 2 Preamble, RRS
48 and RRS J 2.2(3), the International Rules for Preventing Collisions
at Sea will prevail instead of RRS Part 2 between the hours of sunset
and sunrise.
2 RACE TIMES & TIDAL INFORMATION
The times of race starts and the predictions
for time and height of high water will be given in the Race Programme.
3 COURSES
3.1 The course to be sailed
will be signalled on boards displayed on the front of the Clubhouse,
each course being represented by letters and/or numbers as detailed
on Pages 12 and 13 of the Sailing Programme. Where Class 1 and Class
2 courses differ, the appropriate Number Pennant will be displayed
to identify the difference. It is the responsibility of skippers
to note this information when leaving the river.
3.2 Exceptionally, courses
or changes of course may be notified by radio using Channel 37 (Ml).
4 RADIO
All boats entering a race must be
equipped with a VHF radio with Channel 37 (Ml) capability. A listening
watch must be kept on this channel from 15 minutes before the published
start time until the boat concerned has either retired or finished
the race, either of which events should be notified to the OOD by
radio. Timing of each boat's finish is dependent on this information,
so a short warning of approach to the finish is necessary.
5 START
Boats waiting to start must keep clear
of boats which have started.
6 SIGNALS
All signals will be made by the OOD
by radio from a Committee Boat which may itself be a
competitor. Signals will be as below.
6.1 A postponement of 15 minutes
will be indicated by radio at 10 minutes before the published start
time, and may be accompanied by two sound signals.
6.2 There will be a count down
to the 10 minute warning signal which may be accompanied
by a sound signal.
6.3 From the 10 minute signal
to the 5 minute signal the Committee Boat will display an ensign
at its stern.
6.4 There will be a count down
to the 5 minute preparatory signal which will be indicated
by the Committee Boat lowering its ensign, and may be accompanied
by a sound signal.
6.5 There will be a count down
to the Start which may be marked by a sound signal.
6.6 Recall of boats on the
Course Side of the line at the Start will be by radio. Boats on
the Course side at the Start must return to the pre-start side of
the line by sailing around either end of the line (RRS 30.1). If
a skipper knows that he has crossed the line prematurely, but does
not receive a call from the Committee Boat, he should act as if
he had received that call. Boats that do not comply will be penalised
by a severe time penalty determined by the Officer of the
Day.
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6.7 A General Recall will be
indicated by radio. The Committee Boat will rehoist its ensign and
subsequently initiate a new 5 minute count down as in 6.4.
6.8 Shortening of the course
will be signalled by radio, and may be accompanied by two sound
signals.
6.9 Race cancelled or abandoned
will be signalled by displaying code flag 'N' on the Beach Clubhouse
from 45 minutes before the advertised start time until the start
time. If the cancellation occurs later than 20 minutes before the
start time, flag 'N' may be displayed but the cancellation will
also be " notified by radio at approximately 5 minute intervals
until 10 minutes after the published start time.
6.10
The Officer of the Day may elect an Anchored Start to any race if
he deems the weather to be suitable. An Anchored Start will be signalled
by radio before the start of the 10 minute count down. For an Anchored
Start the following special conditions apply :-
a) Yachts must be anchored behind
the Start Line so that no part of the yacht including its ground
tackle is over the line.
b) All sails must be lowered or
furled with at least two ties securing the mainsail to the boom.
c) All crew members must be
in the cockpit at the time of the starting signal
d) Anchors must be recovered before
finishing the race.
e) Any yacht failing to comply with
any of the above will be penalised by adding 10 minutes
to its time
6.11 The Officer of the Day
may also elect for an A or B Series race to be "a no GPS race"
for which, except in an emergency which must be reported, the boat's
GPS must be OFF from the start signal to finishing. This condition
will be signalled by the display of a board carrying Code Flag N
before the course number boards on the Clubhouse.
If a yacht infringes a Rule in RRS Part
2, "When Boats Meet", she may exonerate herself by, as soon
as possible, sailing clear of all other yachts and completing a 720°
turn before reaching the next mark of the course. If in the incident
she also touched a mark, an additional 360° turn is not required
(RRS 44.1 and 44.2). If either of the above penalties result from
an infringement at or near the finishing line, the yacht must complete
the penalty turns before finishing.
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10 SCORING
10.1 Unless otherwise specified
in Sailing Instructions, the Yardsticks used for calculating
the results of all events shall be based on the Portsmouth Numbers
as identified in para. 15 below.
10.2 All events shall be scored
in accordance with RRS 88.3 and Appendix A, Low Point System, except
that 0.75 will be used for first place.
10.3
For a Trophy depending on the results from a 'Series' of races,
the number of results to count will be half the number of races
held plus 1. In the event of an odd number of races the half shall
be rounded down.
10.4 A helmsman carrying out
OOD duties, and as a consequence not racing, may claim for that
race the average of the points scored for the other races in the
Series
11 NUMBER OF ENTRIES
There shall be no minimum number of
boats required to make a trophy or series race valid,
provided that the course is completed.
12 ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS
Additional instructions as necessary
may be given in writing by the Sailing Committee and shall carry the
same authority as these Sailing Instructions. A notice of such instructions
shall be placed on the Club Notice Board 14 days before they become
effective.
13 TIME LIMITS
The limit on all one-tide races will
be 3.5 hours after the start time. The limit on all two-tide races
will be 12 hours after the start time. The limit on the Scarweather
race will be 36 hours after the start time. Any yacht finishing after
the appropriate limit will be deemed to have retired.
14 USE OF ENGINES
Engines may be used anywhere up to the
5 minute preparatory signal and at any time thereafter if, while approaching
the start line, the yacht is south of a transit line subtended by
the Tropicana. If a yacht uses its engine during a race for emergency
purposes, the circumstances are to be logged and reported. Any resulting
penalty shall be at the discretion of the Race Committee.
15 PORTSMOUTH NUMBERS
All WBYC boats will be given a Portsmouth
Number based on that recommended in the current issue of RYA YR2.
This number will be valid for all open events and will be the base
for Club Races. For Club Races only, each individual boat's Portsmouth
number may be adjusted, such variation will be decided by the Sailing
Committee before the start of each season and will be based primarily
on the results of the previous season. In exceptional circumstances
an additional adjustment may be made during the season. The object
of this procedure is to encourage more boats to participate in Club
events.
10
SAFETY REGULATIONS AS PER RULE D3 OF WBYC
The following items of equipment, or
facilities.are required based on RYA document YR9/2003 "Racing
Yacht Safety". For this purpose, all WBYC events sailed within
Weston Bay and all "B" Series events are deemed to be ISAF
Category 5, and "A" Series events to be Category 4.
FOR ALL EVENTS
* a manual bilge pump
* a bucket of at least 7 litres capacity
on a stout lanyard
* a compass (hand-held is acceptable)
* a fire extinguisher
* a fire blanket
* a lifebuoy with drogue
* a buoyant heaving line, 15m minimum,
readily accessible
* for each crew member, foul weather
clothing.
* for each crew member, a lifejacket
and a harness (to be worn when conditions require), harness clipping
points
* a VHF radio
* an anchor and chain/warp suitable
for the size of yacht and a strong attachment point suitable for
anchoring or towing.
FOR "A" SERIES EVENTS
In addition to the above
* a small jib and the ability to
deep-reef the mainsail
* navigation lights
* a chart of the area and chart table
instruments
* a tidetable and navigation publications
for the area
* a hand bearing compass or a GPS
* an echo sounder or a leadline
* a radar reflector and a means of
hoisting it
* a minimum of 2 hand held red flares
and 2 orange smokes
* a sound signalling device and a
torch
* materials and tools for simple rig,
sail and engine repairs
* a first aid kit
* sufficient food and water for a
possible extended stay at sea
