Sailing Instructions 2008
1 RULES
1.1 Racing will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing, the prescriptions of the RYA, the appropriate class rules, these sailing instructions, the Thorpe Bay Yacht Club Sailing Programme, and any supplementary sailing instructions issued.
2 ENTRIES
2.1 Eligibility
Races will be open to Club members and approved affiliates only. Any helmsman signing the declaration form and sailing a race will be deemed to have entered the series. A change of class will be treated as a separate entry. An additional entry fee will be charged for the winter series racing which will be open to visiting yachts.
2.2 Disclaimer of Liability
Competitors participate entirely at their own risk. See Rule 4, Decision to Race. The organising authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during or after racing.
2.3 Insurance
Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third party liability insurance with a minimum of £2,000,000 per event or equivalent
2.4 Personal safety
Rule 40 is changed, flag Y will not be used. Competitors shall wear life jackets or adequate personal buoyancy whilst afloat. Wetsuits and drysuits are not adequate personal buoyancy. For winter series racing suitable clothing must be worn. A full wetsuit is a minimum requirement.
2.5 Measurement or Rating Certificates
Before a yacht is eligible to race, where applicable her valid measurement or rating certificate shall be available for inspection by a member of the sailing committee
2.6 Distinguishing Numbers
Under exceptional circumstances the race committee may permit a yacht to use sails carrying a distinguishing number other than that required by rule 77.
2.7 Declaration Form.
It is the responsibility of the helmsman of each yacht to ensure that its departure from the slipway and its subsequent return are recorded on the Declaration Form provided at the top of the slipway or in the Bosun’s Hut, whether or not the yacht starts or completes the race. Helmsmen must sign-off within one hour of finishing the race, or within one hour of finishing the last race of the day if races are sailed back-to-back. If more than one race is scheduled helmsmen must sign-off separately for each race they completed, or indicate DNS or DNF as appropriate. Failure to sign off will result in disqualification.
3. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS – Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located in the clubhouse lobby.
4. Changes to Sailing Instructions – Any changes to the Club sailing instructions will be posted for at least five days prior to the amendment taking effect. Such notice will be posted on the official notice board located in the Clubhouse lobby.
5. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE – Signals made ashore will be displayed at the shore box gantry.
SCHEDULE OF RACES – The details of Trophy races and particular race series and their starting times are given in the Club’s sailing programme
7. CLASS FLAGS
The class warning signals will be:-
Fleet Warning Flag
Multihull Handicap D
Fast Asymmetric Handicap O (Asymmetric faster than PY 1059)
Mono-hull Handicap 3rd Substitute
Sandhopper Class NN0
Standard Rig Laser ClassLaser Flag
Cruisers W
Cadets Y
Mass Start (All Boats) R
8. RACING AREA – The racing area is located in the River Thames to the south of the Clubhouse.
9 THE COURSE
9.1 The Course – Shore Box Start
9.1.1 Signal
If racing is to be conducted from the shore box an orange flag will be flown from the shore box gantry.
9.1.2 Courses
For shore box starts, the course will be designated in separate supplementary sailing instructions, or on the black-board at the West end of the Bosun’s Hut
9.1.3 Number of Rounds
If the number of rounds is not signalled in advance, then after an appropriate sailing time has elapsed (approximately 60 minutes when 2 races are sailed back-to-back, or approximately 90 – 120 minutes for a single race) International Code Flag S will be displayed accompanied by two sound signals. In the case of single class fleets the leading boat of a class will be finished when it next passes through the finish line and following boats will be finished when they have completed the same number of rounds as the leading boat of their class. In the case of handicap fleets and trophy races boats will be finished when they next pass through the finish line. This changes rule 32.1.
9.2 The Course – Committee Boat Starts
9.2.1 Course
Unless otherwise stated in supplementary sailing instructions or on the black board at the West end of the Bosun’s Hut, the course configuration and the order of rounding of marks will be as follows:
Mark A is the intended windward mark. The diagram indicates the number of legs to complete a round; it does not indicate the exact angles between legs.
Should the Race Officer wish to use the Club’s permanent marks, Code Flag J will be flown from the Committee Boat and the numbers of the marks to be used will be displayed on the Committee Boat. If four marks are to be used, the first number (reading left to right) will be the windward mark (A). The second number the reaching mark (B), the third number the wing mark (C) and the fourth the leeward mark (D). If three marks are to be used, the first number (reading left to right) will be the windward mark (A). The second number the wing mark (C) and the third the leeward mark (D). If only two marks are to be used, the first number (reading left to right) will be the windward mark (A). The second number the leeward mark (D). If an inflatable buoy is to be used in place of a mark, it will be shown by a board with ‘SP’ written on it. If the Distance Mark is to be used as a mark, it will be shown by a board with ‘DM’ written on it. The Distance Mark is usually comprised of two club permanent marks (one denoted as “E” and the other denoted as “W”) and a vertical pole with a green conical top. All three parts of the Distance Mark must be rounded every time it is included as a mark of the course.
A coloured flag will be flown from the Committee Boat to indicate the way in which marks will be rounded: red – round marks to port; green – round marks to starboard. All boats must pass through the start/finish gate on every lap; boats not doing so will be counted DNF.
When two sets of numbered boards are shown on the Committee Boat, the set at the front shows the course for the Multihull Fleet, whilst the set at the back of the Committee Boat shows the course for all other fleets.
9.2.2 Number of Rounds
The number of rounds to be sailed will be indicated as in 9.1.3.
9.2.3 Magnetic Bearing of Mark A
The approximate magnetic bearing of Mark A from the Committee Boat may be displayed on the Committee Boat before the warning signal.
10. Course Marks
Unless otherwise indicated on the black board at the West end of the Bosun’s hut special marks will be orange or yellow inflatable marks. In course descriptions special marks will be designated by the letters ’SP’. Permanent marks will be numbered plastic barrels of a distinct colour. The Distance Mark is usually comprised of two club permanent marks (one denoted as “E” and the other denoted as “W”) and a vertical pole with a green conical top. All three parts of the Distance Mark must be rounded every time it is included as a mark of the course, except at the start of a race using a shore box start procedure when the Distance Mark is only the vertical pole with a green conical top. Navigational marks may also be used as course marks.
11. THE START
11.1 Starting Procedure
The starting procedure will be in accordance with rule 26, modified so that signals are made at 1 minute intervals in the following order:-
Multihull Handicap Published start time
Fast Asymmetric and Mono-hull Handicap Published start time + 3 minutes
Standard Rig Sandhoppers Published start time + 6 minutes
Trophy and Midweek Series races have a Mass Start as follows:
All Boats Published start time
11.2 Starting Line – Shore Box Start
The starting line will, unless otherwise specified, be a line through the Clubhouse transit mark and the vertical mark on the Race Officers’ box and will be limited by the Distance Mark Pole.
11.3 Starting Line – Committee Boat Start
The starting line is defined as the line between the mast on the Committee Boat flying an orange flag and an outer starting mark of the orange inflatable cylindrical type.
11.4 Boats whose warning signal has not yet been made shall avoid the starting area.
11.5 At the discretion of the Race Officer, a boat starting later than 2 minutes after her starting signal may be scored Did Not Start. This changes rule A4.
12. SHORTEN COURSE AND ABANDONMENT
12.1 At the discretion of the Race Committee an abandoned race may be cancelled, re-sailed or decided on the result when a majority of starting yachts last completed a round.
13. THE FINISH
13.1 Finishing Line – Shore Box Start
The finish line, unless otherwise specified, will be as for the start line but including East or West marks.
13.2 Finishing Line – Committee Boat Start
Unless otherwise specified the finishing line will be as for the start line.
13.3 Boats that have finished must, as far as practicable, keep clear of the finish line.
14. TIME LIMIT
14.1 Time Limit – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Midweek Series
A boat which fails to finish the course within thirty minutes of the first yacht of her class, or within 180 minutes of the start, may, at the discretion of the Race Officer, be deemed to have retired and will be shown as DNF. This changes rule 35.
14.2 Time Limit – Other Races
A boat which fails to finish the course within four hours of the start may, at the discretion of the Race Officer, be deemed to have retired and will be shown as DNF. This changes rule 35.
14.3 At the Race Officer’s discretion, a boat that exceeds the time limit may be deemed to have finished on the last occasion it passed through the finish line. This changes rule 35.
15 PROTESTS
15.1 Protest forms are available at the Race Officer’s box. Protests shall be delivered to a member of the Race Committee within the protest time limit. For each class, the protest time limit is 60 minutes after the last boat has finished the last race of the day. Protestors shall inform the protestee of the protest and the parties concerned should ascertain the time and place of the hearing before leaving.
18 SCORING SYSTEM & RESULTS
18.1 Results for handicap races will be calculated on the Portsmouth Yardstick handicap scheme, using PY numbers published by the RYA or approved by the Sailing Committee. Club points series results for multihull fleets may use an alternative handicap system which will be declared in advance of the series and a notice to identify which system is to be used will be displayed on the official notice board located in the clubhouse lobby.
18.2 Where necessary results will be calculated on the basis of average lap times. This changes Appendix A
18.3 The number of races scheduled in a series is defined by the TBYC Sailing Programme. Three races shall be completed to constitute a valid series. Each boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores, discarding a number of her worst scores equal to one-third of the number of races sailed, rounded down to a whole number. Club series are a long series of races and the score for DNC will be decided by the Race Committee. This changes Appendix A of the rules.
18.4 Midweek Points, The Midweek Point series will be sailed under General Handicap, with ALL boats racing the same course.
18.5 A sailor who undertakes Race Officer, Assistant Race Officer or Safety Boat Helm / Crew duty on a points series race day will, at the end of the series, be awarded the average of the points they scored in all races they sailed in that series. On a day when two races are scheduled for a series this applies to both races sailed on the day. This changes Appendix A of the rules.
PRIZES
19.1 Prizes will be awarded for Club races at the discretion of the Sailing Committee. In the event of a tie any perpetual trophy awarded will be shared.
19.2 The dates and times of prize giving will be published in the sailing programme or displayed on the notice in the Club entrance hall.
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