Sailing Instructions (SI)

Monmouth Boat Club

Old Sailing Instructions - 2018

RULES
1. All races will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing 2017-2020 (“RRS”) (www.ussailing.org) and class rules, except as modified by these instructions.
2. Skippers shall comply with all applicable governmental and safety regulations, including adequate personal buoyancy. Boats not in compliance may be disqualified by the Race Committee.
3. The responsibility for a skipper’s decision to race or to continue racing is his or hers alone.
ENTRY:
1. MBC members and guests may enter club races by hailing the race committee with their sail number and the name of the skipper to be scored before the warning signal.
  1. Regular members of a boat’s crew may substitute for the skipper by giving the skipper’s name when hailing.
  2. One hail for a vessel at the beginning of a multi-race series shall be sufficient unless any of the information changes.
2. Skippers participating in the Summer Series must be MBC members.
3. A boat that retires from a race shall notify the race committee as soon as practical.
NOTICES:
1. Notices will be posted on the MBC Website (www.monmouthboatclub.org) and/or the official bulletin board on the East wall of the club.
2. These sailing instructions may be superseded by instructions given by the Race Committee prior to the warning signal.
3. Code Flag L, flown on the committee boat at the dock, indicates that a change in the sailing instructions has been posted today. When Code Flag L is displayed on the water, all boats shall come within hail of the Committee Boat to receive further instructions.
RACING SCHEDULE:
1. The racing schedule shall be published on the MBC Website www.monmouthboatclub.org).
2. Official changes to the racing schedule will be posted on the MBC Website and/or the East wall of the club.
3. A departure sound signal shall be made at MBC 30 minutes before the first warning signal.
4. Unless otherwise indicated, the start order shall be: Lightning, Flying Scot, Albacore, Laser, 420, Woodpussy, Sanderling.
RACE COURSES
1. A Committee Boat shall signal by letter a course as diagrammed in these instructions, or as otherwise indicated by the Race Committee prior to the warning signal.
2. The Finish Line shall be between yellow flag on a Committee Boat and the nearby mark of the course or designated finishing mark.
BRIDGE RACE COURSES
1. A skipper’s meeting shall be conducted by the Principle Race Officer prior to the race committee leaving the dock. The meeting is intended to ensure the participants understand the course description, start sequence, which way to round marks (to port or starboard), and cover any questions the racers may have.
2. Unless otherwise indicated, the course shall be to a windward mark with optional offset mark, then to a mark within the vicinity of Government Mark 17, to finish at MBC. Boats shall leave Government marks 17, 18, 19, and 20 on the channel side throughout the race. Unless otherwise needed, a race committee boat shall around the appropriate course.
3. In an easterly, the windward mark may be omitted.
4. The Finish Line shall be between a yellow flag on the T dock of MBC and the nearest “No Wake” buoy.
THE START:
1. At the discretion of the Race committee, races shall be started in accordance with RRS 26 or Appendix S.
  1. Low limit: The RC shall determine if there is sufficient wind to conduct a race. Indicators include…
    - The ability to fill sails throughout the starting sequence.
    - The likelihood of finishing the race within the prescribed time limit.
    - Input from experienced competitors.
  2. Upper limit: The RC shall have the final determination regarding cancellation due to high winds. Considerations should include…
    - Experience levels of the competitors.
    - Capability and availability of RC chase boats.
    - Input from experienced competitors.
2. Boats not starting promptly after their starting signal may be scored DNS.
TIME LIMITS:
1. Tuesday Evening Races: The time limit for the first boat to complete the course is 30 minutes. Boats finishing the greater of 30 minutes total or more than 15 minutes after the first boat will be TLE (Time Limited Expired) and scored as if they had finished last. This modifies RRS 35 and A4.
2. Bridge Races: The time limit for the first boat of each division to complete the course is 2 hours.
3. Boats finishing more than 3 hours after the start of their division will be TLE (Time Limited Expired) and scored as if they had finished last. This modifies RRS 35 and A4.
PROTESTS & PENALTIES:
1. Protests shall be made in accordance with RRS 60 except as modified herein.
2. Protests shall be lodged with the RC within 30 minutes after the committee boat returns to the dock, except a protest in a bridge race shall be lodged within 30 minutes of the protestor’s finish time.
3. The RC may hear a protest immediately or post the sail numbers of the boats involved and schedule the hearing for the future. It is contestants’ responsibility to monitor the bulletin board for protests. The RC PRO shall designate parties with no conflict of interest, shall post the sail numbers of the boats involved and notify all parties of a date, time and place in accordance to RRS 63.2.
4. On Tuesday Evenings only RRS 44 is changed to require a One-Turn Penalty for infractions of Part 2 of RRS.
SCORING: The official MBC Race Committee, and ultimately the 1st Rear Commodore, shall be the final arbiter on matters relating to scoring.
1. All Series Racing:
  1. Series totals and averages shall be based on one throw out for every four races completed.
  2. Skippers shall participate in at least half of the races in the series in their fleet to qualify for series scoring.
  3. One completed race shall constitute a series.
  4. Skippers shall receive points equal to their average points in a series for the first date that they serve on Race Committee in that series.
  5. MBC Skippers away at US Sailing ladder events shall receive points equal to their average points in that series.
2. Additions for One-Design Racing:
  1. The Low Point System of RRS Appendix A shall apply except as modified herein.
  2. For MBC regatta scoring no races shall be excluded.
3. Additions for Handicap Racing:
  1. The basic Portsmouth numbers, as published by US Sailing, shall be used to correct elapsed times.
  2. The Low Point System of RRS Appendix A shall apply except as modified herein.
  3. For Handicap races, skipper (s) is substituted for boat (s) in all places in RRS Appendix A
Race Committee Participation: All Series Racing and Race Committee Participation
1. Skippers must participate in no less than one (1) day of Race Committee over the course of a season (floats in to floats out) for their scores to counted at the end of that season.
2. In Accordance with Section 11.I.D of these Sailing Instructions, the skipper shall receive average points for the first day served on Race Committee for that series.
3. The Skipper shall register for RC with First Rear Commodore, No later than 2 days prior to the race. Send an email with your intentions to racing@monmouthboatclub.org. A notice will be returned to said skipper. All registered RC commitments will be posted on the MBC Calendar for that that event.
4. A list of all RC participation will be kept, and it is the Responsibility of the Skipper to ensure that they are credited with RC Participation for that series.
5. No race shall be held if the RC is not staffed with adequate personnel. This includes, but is not limited to a committee boat and a chase boat. There shall be no persons on any committee boat that are unable to assist with racing and the safety of all persons on the water.