Racing Instructions

2016 HYC SAILING INSTRUCTIONS - Scheduled Club Races

1.) Rules:

Races shall be conducted in accordance with the US Sailing Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), except as any of these are altered by these sailing instructions or at the Skipper’s meeting.

2.) Notices:

Notices to competitors shall be posted at the Clubhouse and/or on the HYC website under Racing tab.

3.) Changes to Sailing Instructions:

Any changes to these sailing instructions shall be posted in the Clubhouse and/or HYC website and announced at the scheduled Skippers meeting.

4.) Schedule:

I. The Skipper's Meeting will begin at 11:00 AM at the Clubhouse on racing Saturdays (normally club races are on the first Saturday of each month or as noted in the Club calendar in The Spreader or on the HYC website).

II. The approximate starting time for the 1st race is 12:15 P.M.

5.) Eligibility:

All competing boats must meet the following requirements:

I. Monohull keelboat or multihull:

a. Lifelines; if normally equipped from builder

b. Anchor and appropriate rode

c. Auxiliary propulsion engine (operable or inoperable) capable of moving the boat at a speed of at least 4 knots.

II. Skipper must be a member of Horizon Yacht Club who has paid Annual Dues & Racing Fee.

(Exceptions):

(1) Any potential new member may sail one race weekend prior to payment of Dues and Racing Fee;

(2) Sea Scout boats do not have to pay the Racing Fee or be skippered by an HYC member.

6.) Race Communications:

I. After the Skippers meeting, communication will be via VHF radio Channel 71.

II. Establishing two way radio communications with the Race Committee shall be the responsibility of each competitor.

7.) Courses and Marks:

I. Courses and marks shall be described at the Skipper's meeting.

II. Courses may consist of temporary marks set prior to the start, permanent government marks, natural features (islands), or any combination thereof.

8.) Time Limit:

I. When the course consists exclusively of buoys set by HYC, the race shall be abandoned if the first boat has not rounded the first mark within 45 minutes, or finished within 2 hours.

II. When the course includes Government marks or islands, the time limit (if any) will be set by the Race Director at the Skippers Meeting.

III. Also see Sections (12.) Other Signals and (14.) Cancellation of Races.

9.) The Start:

I. Races shall be started with a warning announcement given approximately 1 minute before initiation of the 5 minute start sequence. The 5 minute signal and 1 minute to the start signal will be given on the radio (Channel 71).

II. See section (10) below, for additional signals.

III. No flags will be used, unless discussed in the Skipper’s meeting.

IV. Round-an-End Starting Rule will be in effect again for this season, meaning any boat on the course side of the start line with less than 1 minute before the start must go around an end of the line before starting.

10.) Recalls:

I. Individual Recall – It is the responsibility of each boat to ensure a proper start. If a boat is over the start line early and it is witnessed by multiple boats, a protest can be filed if the offending boat does not stay clear and restart.

II. General Recall - will be signaled on the radio (Channel 71)

11.) Recording Time Upon Finishing:

A Race Committee situation (see below) will be announced at the Skipper’s meeting, which may require the following actions by the race fleet. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.

I. Race Committee situation "A" will be in effect when a stationary committee boat with race committee is available.

a. There will be a radio announcement to indicate approximately 1 minute until the 5 minute countdown.

b. There will be a radio announcement to indicate the start of the 5 minute countdown.

c. There will be a 10 second countdown on the radio followed by a short horn blast at 0 to indicate the start of the race.

d. Boats will not need to keep or report their own time.

II. Race Committee situation "B" will be in effect when there are no volunteers and the race committee boat is participating in the race.

a. There will be an announcement on the radio to indicate approx.1 minute till the 5 min countdown.

b. There will be a radio announcement to indicate the start of the 5 minute countdown.

c. There will be a radio announcement to indicate the start of the race.

d. Boats will need to keep their own time (elapsed time since the start signal), and call in their Boat Name and elapsed time to the Race Committee on the radio when requested.

EACH BOAT SHOULD RECORD THEIR OWN TIME TO THE NEAREST SECOND.

12.) Other Signals:

I. Postponement will be signaled on Channel 71.

II. Abandonment of a race will be signaled on Channel 71. The Race Committee shall have the option to re-sail an abandoned race.

III. Course Adjustments: In the unlikely event of course modification, the course changes will be given over the radio on Channel 71.

13.) Number of Races:

I. Races may be started between the initial starting time and the cut-off time.

II. The cut-off time to begin a race is 3:30 PM. When a Club social activity is scheduled to follow after racing is concluded for that day. If no Club social is scheduled after racing, the cut-off time may be extended at the discretion of the Race Director.

III. The warning signal for the next race will be at least 5 minutes after the last boat finishes in order to allow the last boat a fair opportunity to change sails, get a snack, etc.

14.) Cancellation of Races:

I. If the weather forecast as of 8:00 PM the night before the race predicts a high probability of unsafe conditions, the Race Director may cancel the race. Notice will be made on the HYC website and/or via email to race fleet who has given prior email contact information to Race Director.

II. The Race Director may at his/her discretion, cancel, postpone or abandon any race before or during a race, due to hazardous weather development or other factors. At all times, it is the responsibility of each competing boat to decide if conditions are safe to compete or not.

III. If the high temperature forecast for race day at 8:00 PM the evening before race day is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit the Race Director will cancel the race. Notice will be made on the HYC website and/or via email to race fleet who has given prior email contact information to Race Director.

15.) Minimum Race Conditions to start a race:

I. At least 4 knots (4.6 MPH) of wind (average sustained)

16.) Scoring:

I. Handicaps: The PHRF (time-on-time) scoring system will be used. PHRF handicaps will be set by the Race Director using the "average" rating from the US Sailing PHRF listing modified by any additional factors deemed appropriate by the Race Director. Any design not listed in the PHRF book will have a handicap assigned by the Race Director. If there are questions or concerns about a rating, any skipper can and should contact the Race Director.

II. Points: Seasonal points will be based on the following:

a. The HYC Frostbite Series (January, February, and March races) will count for yearly points for all fleets. The name of the A or B fleet vessel with the lowest corrected total score at the end of the Frostbite Series will be added to the HYC Frostbite Series plaque. Due to the small number of races, no races will be dropped for the plaque competition. These races will count towards the yearly points.

b. Both the Spring Regatta and the Fall Regatta will count for yearly points. For the purposes of HYC series points, the Fall Regatta will be scored as if only HYC boats are included.

c. Low point system 0.75 for 1^st positions 2 and subsequent are scored as finished. DNS boats are scored last place (number of boats raced in fleet) +1.

d. The worst 10% (rounded down) of the season total number of races will be dropped from each yearly individual total.

III. Fleets: Three fleets will be maintained this year. At the end of the year, fleet awards will be given based on the following formula: (number of boats in the fleet / 2, rounded down). So for example if there are 5 boats in a fleet, there will be 2 awards given for that fleet.

IV. Corrected times: Races will be handicapped using Time-On-Time scoring.

V. Posting of Results: The Race Director will communicate results as quickly as practical. Results will be posted at the Clubhouse and via other media (e.g. The Spreader, e-mail, or HYC website).

VI. Scoring Errors: Mistakes will be made. You are encouraged to bring them to the attention of the Race Director as quickly as possible so that the errors can be corrected.

17.) Penalty System:

Racing rule 44.2, shall apply. If a boat touches a mark, a 360° turn penalty shall apply. For other penalties, a 720° turn penalty shall apply.

18.) Protests:

In order to protest another boat, the protesting boat must notify the boat in question of their protest

I. Hailing "Protest" to that boat as soon as possible, to ensure that boat's awareness of the protest and fly protest flag.

II. Report the protest on the radio to the fleet as soon as possible (to make the fleet aware of the situation).

III. A written protest must be filed with the Race Director or his designee within 45 minutes of their return to the dock.

IV. The written protest must state:

a. The protesting and protested boat

b. The incident, including where and when it occurred

c. Any rule the protestor believes was broken

d. Any known boats in the vicinity which can be used as witnesses

V. The Race Director or his designee will convene a committee of 2 or 3 members to hear the protest. All decisions will be final.

19.) Outboard Motors:

Yachts equipped with outboard propulsion motors may leave them lowered, raise them out of the water, or place them down below.

20.) Self-Steering Devices:

The use of an ‘auto-pilot’ device is permitted. This changes RRS Rule 52, MANUAL POWER - A boat's standing rigging, running rigging, spars and movable hull appendages shall be adjusted and operated only by manual power.

21.) Substitution of Boats:

As it is conceivable that a skipper may get a new boat during the year or that a boat will not be able to compete due to damage or other reasons, the following guidelines will apply to substitution of boats:

I. The skipper may choose to have the replacement boat scored separately from the original.

II. The skipper may combine the results of both boats, but the replacement boat must sail within the same fleet, assuming it is suitable for that fleet.

III. In case of a temporary substitution (e.g. due to damage or similar reason), the substituted boat must sail within the same fleet as the original boat, assuming it’s suitable for that fleet. The skipper of the original boat must skipper the substituted boat.

IV. Fleet designations are determined by the Race Director. If the new boat must sail in another fleet, it will assume the yearly point total of the last place boat in that fleet.

22.) Right of Way:

Commercial barge traffic has the right of way. Motors may be started in order to avoid collision. Report any usage of your engine to the fleet and Race Director. Do not gain an advantage toward the next mark. The Race Director may abandon the race due to barge traffic.

23.) Safety:

It shall be the sole responsibility of each yacht to decide whether or not to start or to continue to race.

24.) Spinnaker Poles / Whisker Poles: The use of devices other than spinnaker poles or whisker poles shall be permitted to pole out sails; the device shall not be required to be attached to the foremost mast. This changes RRS Rule 50.2, SPINNAKER POLES; WHISKER POLES - Only one spinnaker pole or whisker pole shall be used at a time except when gybing. When in use, it shall be attached to the foremost mast.