Draft Sailing Instructions, Rio Grande Sailing Club Spring Series 2007

Spring Series
March 10 – April 29, 2007
Rio Grande Sailing Club
Elephant Butte Lake, NM

DRAFT SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

1 RULES
1.1 The spring series, and each regatta, will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing.

2 NOTICES TO COMPETITORS/CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Notices to competitors and changes to sailing instructions will be made from the racing committee signal boat. If a notice or change is to be made, the boat will fly flag L, and competitors are to come within hailing distance.

3 SCHEDULE OF REGATTAS:
3.1 Dates of racing: March 10–11, March 24–25, April 14–15, and April 28–29, 2007.
3.2 The scheduled time of the warning signal for the first race on each Saturday is 2:00 p.m. (except 1:00 p.m. for spring series 1).
3.3 No warning signal will be made after 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. for Spring Series 1).

4 CLASS FLAGS
A yellow flag shall be used as the default class flag for a combined start of multiple fleets.
If each fleet is to be started separately, then flags may be used as designated from the committee boat prior to the warning signal for a race. When feasible, the following flags may be used to designate the spring series fleets:
Etchells Class: code flag E or Etchells flag
A Fleet: yellow flag, code flag A, or J fleet flag
B Fleet: red flag or code flag B

5 RACING AREA

Attachment A shows the racing area, including the channel marker buoys to be used in racing.

6 THE COURSES

6.1 The diagrams in Attachment B show the Olympic courses, including the order in which marks are to be passed. All marks are to be left to port.
6.2 No later than the warning signal, the race committee signal boat will display flags for the letter designating the course and the number designating the first mark as shown on the race area map.

7 MARKS

7.1 Turning marks 1 through 8 are designated channel marker buoys as shown on the race area map. The race committee may, as an alternative, use temporary (“drop”) marks in place of the channel marker buoys.

7.2 The starting and finishing marks will be a staff displaying an orange flag on the race committee signal boat at the starboard end, and a round orange buoy at the port end, looking upwind.

8 TIME LIMITS

8.1 If no boat has finished the first leg within 45 minutes, or a course of four or fewer legs within 120 minutes, the race will be abandoned. This changes rule 35.

8.2 A boat failing to finish within 45 minutes after the first boat within her fleet or class sails the course and finishes will be scored Did Not Finish. This changes rules 35 and A4.

9 PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS

9.1 Protest forms are available at the race committee signal boat or from the race committee chairman. Protests shall be submitted to the protest committee within the protest time limit.

9.2 The protest time limit is 45 minutes after the race committee signal boat reaches the dock. The same time limit applies to protests by the race committee and protest committee about incidents they observe in the racing area and to requests for redress. This changes rules 61.3 and 62.2.

10 SCORING

10.1 The scoring will follow the low-point system in Appendix A of the Racing Rules of Sailing except as follows:
The number of throw-outs for the series will be set by the race committee, which will allow approximately one throw-out (from scores eligible for a throw-out) for each five races completed by a boat. This changes Appendix A of the Racing Rules of Sailing.

10.2 One race is required to be completed to constitute a regatta.

10.3 A boat must compete in at least two regattas within the spring series to be eligible for series awards.

10.4 A Fleet boats will be scored on Portsmouth handicap with wind modifiers. B Fleet boats will be scored on Portsmouth handicap with the addition of headsail modifiers.

10.5 The overall series awards (combined fleets) will be scored on DP-N only. Overall awards will be scored based on races in which all boats were able to start at the same time. Depending upon how starts are scheduled, this number may be smaller than the number of races that is used for scoring within each class or fleet.

10.6 Boats that serve as committee boat during a regatta will have average scores calculated for purposes of series scoring.

11 PRIZES
Prizes will be given as follows:
Each regatta: trophies for the top two yachts in each fleet.
Series Awards:
Etchells Class: top two
A Fleet: top three
B Fleet: top three

The number of awards given for each regatta and for the series may be modified based upon participation.

12 DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See rule 4, Decision to Race. Rio Grande Sailing Club will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta.

13 INSURANCE
Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third-party liability insurance with a minimum coverage sufficient to meet New Mexico State Parks requirements.