mudeford sailing club

MUDEFORD SAILING CLUB

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS 2010/2011

Rule changes from 2009/2010 are marked in red bold

FUNDAMENTAL RULE

Racing will take place under the current Racing Rules for Sailing, these Sailing Instructions (SI) and the Notice of Race (NR), if issued for the race in question.

CONDITIONS

Before commencing to race, all competitors shall have paid the required entry fee and signed on for the event. All sailors shall possess third party insurance to a minimum value of £2m and may be require to declare the name of their insurance company on entering.  In a class regatta, all boats shall have a valid class certificate.

The safety of the boat and its entire management including insurance shall be the responsibility of the competitor, who must ensure that he and his equipment are properly prepared to face the conditions that may arise in the course of the competition. Neither this SI, nor an inspection of the boat under this SI, reduces the responsibility of the competitor for himself and his equipment.  Mudeford Sailing Club and any event sponsors shall not be responsible for any loss, damage, personal injury or death, however caused, as a result of competitors taking part in a race or races.

IDENTIFICATION AND ADVERTISING

Each competitor shall display his sail number on his mainsail. Competitors may be required to display an advertising sticker on their hull or sail if provided by an event sponsor.

NOTICES TO COMPETITORS

Notices to competitors will be published on an official notice board in the clubhouse. Changes to this SI may be made by the race officer at the pre-race briefing or be published at least one hour before the first scheduled race of the day, accompanied by the appropriate signal.

PERSONAL BUOYANCY AND CLOTHING

Competitors shall wear personal buoyancy at all times when racing. It shall take the form of at least a waistcoat type buoyancy aid.

RACE INSTRUCTIONS

A meeting will be held before racing begins at which competitors will be briefed on the courses to be sailed, the start sequence and the procedure for individual and general recall.  For club racing, this meeting may take the form of the posting of the course and start sequence on the notice board, at least 20 minutes before racing is due to begin.  Alterations may be notified at briefings, or on a board on the committee boat, when an L flag shall be flown.

There are many marks in the harbour, but it is the responsibility of helms to familiarise themselves with Club racing marks before racing begins.

SERIES RACING

Series races will be published by date, type of race, start time of the first race and number of races in the annual racing calendar.  OODs may abandon races due to adverse conditions but may not increase the number of races on a given day.  Sailors who race will be given race points. DNF or RET will be scored as fleet + 1, DNS or DSQ as fleet + 2. These points will be carried forward for the Series. Sailors who DNE a race day will be scored Series +1 for those races.

Racing in the Club will be on a Handicap basis, using the RYA Portsmouth Numbers as a guide. The race committee may publish amended PNs from time to time based on experience gained at Series racing.

Sailors entering a Series will have their results recorded according to the category of dinghy they sail.  These are Fast Fleet (PN<1180), Slow Fleet (PN 1180 or greater) and Crewed boat Fleets.  Skippers of fast fleet boats may opt to sail in the slow fleet in order to gain racing experience and crewed boats with a Fast Fleet PN may sail either in the Fast Fleet competing with mainly single-handed boats, or with the majority of the Crewed Fleet in the Slow Fleet. 

In Series racing sailors may change sails according to the conditions on the day.  Their results will be calculated according to the PN of the boat with the sail in use at the time of racing.  In Short Series such as the Easter Regatta or the Mudeford Week Series sailors are to sail the same boat in each race unless a change is notified to and approved by the Race Committee.  Sailors may change boats in mid-series when that change is to be permanent, for instance on the purchase of a new boat, when only the PN will change.  Where the new boat is in a different fleet, the sailor may carry forward his results from his old fleet. 

Sailors who normally sail with a crew may sail single-handed and vice-versa (with the appropriate PN adjustment) but will be allocated to the category in which the majority of their results were gained.

None of the rules in Para 9 above is intended to prevent a sailor reefing his sail, changing sails because of equipment breakage, sailing with a different crew because of indisposition or other “force majeur”. The aim is to promote fair racing at all levels.

DISCARDS

For Club Series, the discard system is as follows:

For the first 6 races sailed: 1 discard. For every 2 subsequent races: 1 additional discard.

If a Series consists of 5 or 6 races, there will be 2 discards; for 3 or 4 races there will be 1 discard.

PROTESTS

Club racing uses a simplified protest system – see Annex A. 

In open meetings, a competitor intending to protest shall inform the race committee (afloat or ashore) after he finishes the race in question and complete and hand in the protest form to the race officer or committee member within one hour of the race or series in back to back racing. For Inter Club racing, on going ashore he must complete a protest form and hand it to the race officer or committee member of his Club as soon as possible.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

The racing area is Christchurch Harbour unless indicated in the briefing for the day.  At all times, competitors must give way to vessels that are limited in their ability to manoeuvre. This principally applies to vessels in the marked channels, in particular ferries and other commercial craft. 

The Blackberry Point and Stanpit Bight nature reserve is a prohibited area (an SSSI) marked with yellow buoys, to the SW of the Club.  Access or landing is not permitted except in an emergency.

OBSTRUCTIONS

All moored boats in the harbour are Obstructions as defined by RSS.  When boats on the same tack opt to sail to one side of a moored boat, a boat with an inside overlap shall be given room. When boats on opposite tacks are sailing towards an obstruction, the port tack boat may call for water to tack to avoid the obstruction.

Buoys, of whatever sort, are not Obstructions.

SIGNING OFF

Helms need only sign off if they retire from the race or series in question.

MIKE ROACH, SAILING SECRETARY, MARCH 2010

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