Sailing instructions
Tankerton Bay Sailing Club
Sailing Instructions
1. RULES
1.1 The racing shall be governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), current issue, the prescriptions of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), the appropriate class rules, Canterbury City Council Water Safety Rules and these Sailing Instructions. In the event of conflict the Sailing Instructions shall prevail.
2. ENTRIES
2.1 Eligibility and entry: Members of Tankerton Bay Sailing Club may take part in races and series of races organised by the club. Any boat not completing in more than 50% of a series will be excluded from final series results. Visitors who are members of an RYA recognised Sailing Club and are signed in to the TBSC visitors book may take part but will not be scored in club series. Entrants shall complete the declaration (signing on) sheet in the TBSC club house before going afloat to race.
2.2 Entry fees: There are no fees for racing in club series.
2.3 Insurance cover: All craft under the aegis of the Club must bear and maintain third party insurance to the minimum of £2,000,000.00
2.4 Any boat racing must maintain the same format of sails and crew for the entire series. A helm can still choose which format (where there is a suitable handicap) but is must be maintined per series. This is to ensure fairness across the series. If the usual crew becomes unavailable, then a deputy crew can be arranged by permission of the Race Officer of the day or a member of the Sailing SecretaryTeam/Committee. An oral agreement is acceptable for any requests.
3. SAFETY
3.1 Personal responsibility: Neither the provision of support boats and crews, nor the decision of a Race Officer to start or continue a race shall absolve a boat of the personal responsibilities as defined in the above stated RRS, under Part 1 / FUNDAMENTAL RULES, rules 1 and 4.
3.2 Personal buoyancy: competitors must wear personal buoyancy jackets all times afloat. Wetsuits and drysuits are not personal buoyancy and will not satisfy this instruction.
3.3 Support boat cover: Competitors shall comply promptly with directions from support boats. This may include abandoning a boat and boarding the support boat if persons are at risk.
3.4 All Competitors: Will assist with the launch and recovery of the support boat.
3.5 Shipping: Boats shall keep well clear of shipping at all times, wherever it may be.
4. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS
4.1 Permanent notices to Competitors will be posted on the Sailing Notice Board in the clubhouse at least one hour before the start of the first race affected and remain there as long as they are in effect.
4.2 Where applicable, copies of such notices will also be available on the club website
4.3 Temporary notices relating to one day will be posted on the Course Board in the clubhouse at least ten minutes before the first Warning Signal of the day.
5. CHANGES IN SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
5.1 Permanent changes to the Sailing Instructions will be posted on the Sailing Notice Board at least one hour before the start of the first race affected and remain there as long as they are in effect.
5.2 Such changes will also be made available on the club website www.tbsc.co.uk, under the section ‘On the Water’.
5.3 Temporary changes to the Sailing Instructions relating to one day will be posted on the course board in the club house at least ten minutes before the first Warning Signal of the day.
6. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE
6.1 Signals made ashore will be displayed at the clubhouse mast.
7. SCHEDULE OF RACES
7.1 Series racing: The schedule of races is shown in Dutyman on the club website.
8. CLASS FLAGS
8.1 All scheduled races are either all-in or fast and slow handicap, which will be signal flag z.
(RRS rule 30.2 not adopted for club races).
9. GENERAL RECALLS
9.1 In the event of a General Recall there will be no 5 minute preparatory signal prior to the start sequence.
10. RACING AREA
10.1 The racing area is in the Thames Estuary to the north of TBSC.
11. THE COURSE
11.1 Course diagram: The course diagram will be displayed on the Course Board in TBSC clubhouse.
11.2 Marks: The marks of the course will be described on the Course Board in TBSC clubhouse.
11.3 Briefing: will be 20 minutes before
11.4 the scheduled start time.
11.5 Course change: If series races are taking place, then at least one course change should be made during the day’s racing, to ensure no advantage is gained by any one type of craft.
12. THE START
12.1 The class starting sequence: Will be 5, 4, 1, Go.
12.2 Preparatory signal: Under certain circumstances the start sequence may be preceded by a 5-minute preparatory signal. This will be displayed as a temporary notice on the club course board in the club house (see 4 above).
12.3 Club start line: The starting line will be a line projected seaward from the club house through the Shore Transit Marks and limited to seaward by the Outer Distance Mark (ODM). Boats shall start between the shore and the ODM. The ODM is not necessarily on the transit line. The line definition may be varied by temporary instructions (see 4 above).
12.4 Starting Time limitation: A boat shall not start later than 5 minutes after its class-starting signal.
12.5 If flag I is displayed then RRS Rule 30.1 is operational and OCS boats must restart by rounding the ODM.
13. THE FINISH
13.1 Club finish line: The finishing line will be a line projected seaward from the clubhouse through the Shore Transit marks and limited to seaward by the Outer Distance Mark (ODM). The ODM is not part of the finishing line definition and not a mark of the course unless otherwise designated.
14. TIME LIMIT
14.1 The time limit for all club races will be, 30 minutes after the first finisher for 30 minute timed races, 60 minutes after the first finisher for 1 hour or more timed races. Boats failing to finish within the relevant time limit will be scored as “Did Not Finish”. This amends Rule 35 of the RRS.
15. BACK TO BACK RACES
15.1 On days when 3 races are scheduled or when the time window for racing may be constrained by tide or weather forecast, there may be a decision to run races ‘back to back’, i.e. no return to shore between races. In which case instructions will be displayed on the course board.
15.2 When the last boat finishes the current race, 2 long “10 second” blasts of the klaxon, will be sounded.
15.3 1 minute after that the standard 5-4-1 GO sequence will commence, to begin the next race.
16. MULTIPLE BOATS AND REDRESS FOR DUTY
16.1 Owners with more than one boat, who may wish to, or end up using both boats during any Race Series, must elect before the Series starts, to which boat they wish to apply any redress points they may acquire as a result of performing a ‘race duty’ during any of the races in that Series.
17. PROTESTS
17.1 Protests: Protests and claims for redress shall be written on Protest forms available from the Race Officer and shall be delivered there within 45 minutes after the time of the last boat finishing the last race of the day. Please bear in mind that if you were to lodge a protest from it would be the first in living memory at TBSC.
17.2 Advisory Hearings: If you are concerned that there may have been a breach of the rules, you may prefer an informal consultation with a member of the Sailing Committee, who could, if required, arbitrate and offer advise on the rules.
17.3 Protest hearings: A member of the Committee will arrange Protest hearings and protests will be heard in the order of receipt as soon as possible (sometimes never).
18.0 SCORING SYSTEM
18.1 The Low Point scoring system, RRS, Appendix A 4.1, will apply.
19.0 HAVING FUN
19.1 It is in the club’s interest that all sailors participating in scheduled races should enjoy themselves and keep in mind that maybe not all competitors have the same standard of experience or skill. If a sailor is found to be miserable or using defamatory language during a race, the committee may ask that sailor to retire from races until they cheer up..!!
