2006 NSW International 14 State Championships

 

 

Fri 14th April 2006 to Sunday 16th April 2006

 

 

Sailing Instruction
(Draft – Subject to Change)

 

 

 

 

 

Sailing Instructions

 

The Organising Authority is Sydney Flying Squadron and all races will be conducted on the waters of Sydney Harbour south of the Sow and Pigs reef and east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

1. RULES

1.1 The regatta will be governed by the current rules as defined in the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) for 2005 – 2008, Special Regulations of Yachting Australia, the rules and by-laws of the respective Association, the Notice of Race (all as amended by these sailing instructions) and these Sailing Instructions.

1.2 The regatta is classified Category “C” in accordance with the ISAF Advertising Code (RRS Appendix 1).

2. LIABILITY

2.1 All those taking part in this Series and Regatta do so at their own risk and responsibility.

2.2 Sydney Flying Squadron (the host club) is not responsible for the seaworthiness of a Yacht whose entry is accepted or the sufficiency or adequacy of its equipment.

2.3 Sydney Flying Squadron and the regatta officials, volunteers and sponsors do not accept any liability for material damage, or personal injury, or death sustained prior to, during, or after the regatta.

3. ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY

3.1 All boats competing shall be a current member of the NSW 14 Foot Sailing Council or the equivalent association in their state of residence. Entry forms, together with the $50 entry fee, shall be lodged with NSW 14 Foot Sailing Council prior to 1300 hours Friday 14th April 2006.  Official entry forms will be available at the regatta office.  Online entry is available at http://www.i14nsw.org

3.2 All competitors must be a member of a Yachting Australia affiliated club.

3.3 Late entries will be accepted under the following conditions: Eligible boats may enter as a late entry, but may still be required to make full payment for competing in the regatta.

3.4 Skiffs must have clearly visible sail numbers corresponding to the sail number notified on their entry form in compliance with the International 14 rules.

4. BOATS AND EQUIPMENT

4.1 In the event of damage or breakages, equipment may only be substituted after a written request and the approval of the Race Committee.

4.2 If damage occurs on the water, equipment may be substituted before the following race and written permission shall be requested before the end of protest time of the same day.

4.3 It is the competitor’s responsibility to ensure that their boat and equipment comply with the rules. Measurement, equipment and clothing checks may be carried out at any time during the regatta.

5. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS

5.1 Race Headquarters will be the clubhouse of The Sydney Flying Squadron Ltd, 76 McDougall Street, Milsons Point. A Regatta Office will be established in the downstairs area of the clubhouse. Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located in the downstairs area of the clubhouse.

6. CHANGES TO THE SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

6.1 Any change to the sailing instructions will be posted at least 1 hours before the first race of the day it will take effect, except that any change to the schedule of races will be posted by 1900 on the day before it will take effect.

7. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE

7.1 Signals made ashore will be flown from a flag mast at Race Headquarters.

7.2 When flag AP is displayed ashore, ‘1 minute’ is replaced with ‘not less than 60 minutes’ in race signal AP.

8. SIGNALS MADE AFLOAT

8.1 Flag AP over H [Races not started are postponed.  Further signals ashore]. This flag may be displayed during a race, but not prior to the first skiff finishing that race.  It does not signify the finish or abandonment of that race, but is a notice to the finished competitors to return to the shore and wait for further instructions.

9. SCHEDULE OF RACES

9.1        Registration:

Friday 14th April              from      1200hrs to         1300hrs

9.2        Briefing:

Friday 14th April                         1300hrs

9.3        Races:

            Number of Races           Day & Date                   Time of first Warning Signal

            Up to four races             Fri 14th April                   1355hrs

            Up to four races             Sat 15th April                  1255hrs

            Up to four races             Sun 16th April                 1255hrs

9.4 Races shall be raced back to back; the timing of subsequent heats on the day is at the discretion of the Principle Race Officer (PRO).

9.5 No warning signal shall be sounded after 16:30 on Sun 16th April 2006.

10. RACING AREA  (Attachment A)

10.1 The racing area shall be on the waters of Sydney Harbour south of the Sow and Pigs reef and east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

11. COURSES  (Attachment B)

11.1 Courses shall be Windward Leeward as follows with reference to attachment B.

            1 Lap Course:    Start, Mark A, Finish

            2 Lap Course:    Start, Mark A, Mark B, Mark A, Finish

            3 Lap Course:    Start, Mark A, Mark B, Mark A, Mark B, Mark A, Finish

            4 Lap Course:    Start, Mark A, Mark B, Mark A, Mark B, Mark A, Mark B, Mark A, Finish

11.2 The number of laps for a race shall be displayed via a numeral board on the committee vessel no later than the warning signal.

11.3 Mark A and Mark B shall be rounded to port.

11.4 The compass bearing to Mark A from the committee vessel shall be displayed no later than the warning signal.

12. MARKS

12.1 Rounding marks will be flag marks displaying an orange SFS Pennant.

13. START

13.1 Races will be started in accordance with RRS 26.

13.2 The Starting Line will be between the flag staff on the Race Committee Vessel at the starboard end and a flag mark displaying an orange SFS Pennant at the port end.

13.3 A boat starting later than 10 minutes after her Starting Signal will be scored Did Not Start (amends rule A4.1).

14. SHORTEN COURSE

14.1 The PRO may elect to shorten course in accordance with RRS 32.

15. FINISH

15.1 The Finishing Line will be between the flagstaff on the Race Committee Vessel at the port end, and a flag mark displaying an orange SFS Pennant at the starboard end.

15.2 Skiffs will finish by crossing the finishing line from the direction of the last mark and hold the committee vessel to port.

16. TIME LIMIT

16.1 The time limit for the first boat to complete the course shall be 90 minutes. Boats failing to finish within 20 minutes after the first boat will be scored “Did Not Finish”. This changes RRS 35.

17 ALTERNATIVE PENALTIES FOR INFRINGING A RULE OF PART 2

17.1 The 720 degree turns penalty, RRS 44.1 & RRS 44.2 will apply, except that the 720 degree turns is replaced by a 360 degree turn.

18. PROTESTS (Attachment C)

18.1 Protests shall be written on forms available from the regatta office and shall be lodged there together with the applicable fee within the protest time limit.

18.2 The protest time limit is 1 hour after the time of the last skiffs finish of the final race each day (amends RRS 61.3).

18.3 A protest fee of $150 is required and may be refundable at the discretion of the race committee.

18.4 Notices will be posted as soon as possible after a protest is lodged to inform competitors where and when there is a hearing in which they are parties to a protest or named as witnesses.

18.5 Protest mediation will be used prior to formal protest hearings. For information on mediation refer to Attachment C.  If a protested skipper admits to wrong doing during mediation they will be penalised 50% of the points they scored in the race in which the incident occurred.

18.6 Infringements of Sailing Instructions 4.1, 19, 20, 23 and 26 shall not be grounds for protest by competitors, but may result in action by the Race Committee or Jury (amends 60.1(a)).

19. SCORING

19.1 The Low Point scoring system, Appendix A. will apply.

19.2 Four races are required to be completed to constitute a series.

19.3 When 4 or less races have been completed, a boat's score shall be the sum of her scores in all races (amends rule A2).

19.4 When 5 or more races have been completed, a boat's score shall be the sum of her scores for all races, excluding her worst score.

20. SAFETY REGULATIONS

20.1 All entrants must sign-on before leaving the park for a session of racing and sign-off within 20 minutes of returning to the park. The sign-on/off form will be located near the regatta office.  Failure to either sign-on or sign-off will result in a score of DNS for all races sailed in that session.

20.2 Specific attention is drawn to RRS Fundamental Rule 4, which states: “The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone.”

20.3 Races may not be started if the wind speed exceeds 25 knots consistently over a period of time or as assessed by the race committee or PRO, or any lesser wind strength, if in the opinion of the race committee or PRO the actual or expected conditions are likely to be unsafe for racing, taking into account all factors, including knowledge of local waters and available rescue facilities.

20.4 If conditions deteriorate after the race has started, abandonment of the race is at the discretion of the race committee or PRO.

21 RACE COMMITTEE

21.1 The Race Committee for the regatta will comprise:

                        Phil Yeomans                Principal Race Officer

                        TBA                              Starter

                        Ed Blackman                 NSW I14 President

                        Paul Carpenter               NSW I14 Race Secretary

21.2      A quorum for a meeting of the Race Committee shall be 2 members.

22. REPLACEMENT OF CREW

22.1 No skiff shall substitute a member of its crew without permission, which must be applied for in writing to the PRO, prior to noon on the day of the race. Approval, or otherwise, of the replacement crew will be given in writing.

23. EQUIPMENT AND MEASUREMENT CHECKS

23.1 A boat or equipment may be inspected at any time for compliance with the class rules and sailing instructions.

24. OFFICIAL BOATS

24.1 Official boats will be marked by the Sydney Flying Squadron burgee.

25. SUPPORT BOATS

25.1 Team leaders, coaches, and other support personnel shall not be in the racing area. Defined as within 100 meters from a competitor or a mark of the course, from the time of the preparatory signal for the first fleet to start until all boats have finished or the race committee signals a postponement, general recall or abandonment, except in the case of an emergency or when asked to assist by the Race Committee. The penalty for failing to comply with this requirement may be disqualification of all boats associated with the support personnel who do so.

26. RADIO COMMUNICATION

26.1 A boat shall neither make radio transmissions while racing nor receive radio communications not available to all boats. This restriction also applies to mobile telephones.

27. PRIZES

27.1 Prizes shall be awarded at the discretion of the race committee.

28. INSURANCE

28.1 Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third party liability insurance with a minimum cover of AUD$5,000,000 whilst racing. Evidence of this valid third party liability insurance, shall be produced upon request by the race committee.  The insurer and policy number must be notified via the entry form.

29 NOTICE TO COMPETITORS

29.1 Port Shipping; Competitors shall keep clear of Sydney Harbour Transport vessels displaying an orange diamond and other commercial traffic.

29.2 Use of Milson Park; Cars must not be driven into the park other than for the express purpose of dropping off or picking up a boat trailer.  Cars may not be parked in Milsons Park, any car that does so may be towed away. Every skiff crew is responsible for ensuring that all rigging areas are left clean.
2006 NSW International 14 State Championships

ATTACHMENT  A – Sailing Area

 

2006 NSW International 14 State Championships

ATTACHMENT  B – Courses

 

 

 

 

Start/Finish Line
 

Mark B
 

Mark A
 

2006 NSW International 14 State Championships

ATTACHMENT  C – Protest Mediation

 

1         A mediation hearing will be conducted for all protests lodged in accordance with RRS 61, which allege a breach of a rule of Part 2 or Part 4.

2         The mediator will be appointed by the Protest Chairman and may be a member of the Protest Committee.

3         The mediation hearing will be conducted as soon as reasonably possible after the protest is delivered and prior to the scheduling of the protest hearing.  The time and place of the mediation hearing will be decided by the mediator and such advice will be given verbally.

4         One representative of each boat may attend the mediation hearing and no witnesses (except the mediator) shall be allowed.  The mediator shall decide the manner in which testimony is taken.

5         After taking testimony at a mediation hearing the mediator shall make one of the following conclusions:

a.       The protest does not comply with rule 61 and the protester may withdraw the protest.

b.       The protest shall proceed to a protest hearing. (This may be:

                                                               i.      because rules other than Part 2 or 4 are or may be involved, or

                                                             ii.      because evidence is too complex or divergent to reach a reasonable and timely conclusion, or

                                                            iii.      because of the apparent severity of the alleged breach, or

                                                            iv.      for any other reason decided by the mediator.)

c.       There was no breach of the rules and the protester may withdraw the protest.

d.       There has been a breach of the rules by one or more of the boats involved, the boat(s) which have broken a rule may accept scoring points equal to 50% of the points scored for that race and if so accepted, the protester shall withdraw the protest.  (Half points shall be disregarded and the points of other boats shall not be adjusted.)

6         Should a mediated protest proceed to a protest hearing the mediator may be present throughout the hearing (changes RRS 63.3 (a)) and may be called to give evidence and may be questioned by the Jury or any of the parties to the hearing, but he/she shall not question any person who gives evidence and shall not be present while the Jury is discussing and deciding the protest, unless the mediator is a member of the protest committee.

7         A mediation hearing shall not be re-opened.  No conclusion of a mediator shall be subject to appeal, nor be grounds for redress.

8         Should it be the opinion of the Protest Committee that proper advice was given with point 3 above, or that every reasonable attempt was made to advise the parties to a protest of the time and place of the mediation's hearing, and a representative of one or more of the boats involved does not come to the mediation hearing, then the following conclusions may be made without a further hearing           (changes RRS 63.1);

a)       If the protesting boat does not come to the mediation hearing - Conclusion:  The protester requests to withdraw the protest.

b)       If a protested boat does not come to the mediation hearing - Conclusion:  The protestee accepts the scoring points in accordance with 5(d) and the protester requests to withdraw the protest.