Dinghy Sailing Instructions 2010
1. RULES
Racing will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009 - 2012 (RRS), the rules laid down by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA), the Notice of Race, these Sailing Instructions (SIs) and any amendments thereto.
2. ALTERATIONS TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS OR SCHEDULE
Any alteration to the Sailing Instructions will be posted on the Official Notice Board not later than one hour prior to the scheduled start of the first race. It is the sole responsibility of each competitor to ensure that they have apprised themselves of any such alterations.
3. CLASS FLAGS
The Class Flag for PY1 shall be Numeral Pennant 1 and the Class Flag for PY2 shall be Numeral Pennant 2.
4. SAFETY
Competitors shall wear life jackets, buoyancy aids or other adequate personal buoyancy at all times when afloat (in amendment of RRS40).
5. STARTING
Races will be started using rule 26. The Starting Line shall be between the Crucifix and an outer distance mark which will also be a mark of the course.
6. Finishing
The finish line shall be between the Crucifix and a mark of the course.
7. COURSE
The course to be sailed will be announced at the briefing, which will take place in the boat park at 10.30 hrs on each day a race is scheduled.
8. Schedule of Races
The schedule of races is listed on the Dinghy Calendar for 2003 which is available to each compitetor on receipt of a completed application form.
9. TIME LMIT
9.1 Each boat shall be allowed up to 5 minutes to cross the start line. Boats failing to do so shall be scored “Did Not Start”.
9.2 In amendment of RRS35 any boat which fails to finish within 15 minutes of the leading boat in its class shall be awarded a score equal to one more than the number of starters. The Time Limit for the leading boat shall be 60 minutes.
10. PROTESTS, PROTEST TIME AND HEARINGS
In addition to the obligations in RRS 61.1(a) protesting boats shall, immediately after finishing inform the Race Officer (on the Race Committee Boat at the Finish) of the sail number(s) of any boat(s) against which they intend to protest. Protest forms will be available from the Race Office and all protests shall be delivered to the Race Office within Protest Time. Protest Time will begin as soon as possible after the finish of the last boat in the last race of each day and will last for 60 minutes. The sail numbers of boats involved in protests together with the schedule of protests will be posted on the Official Notice Board 15 minutes after the expiration of Protest Time.
11. SCORING SYSTEM
The Low Point scoring System, RRS A4, will apply.
12. Race Marks
Race marks shall be circular orange buoys.
Guide for Dinghy OOD’s
Introduction
The OOD (Officer of the Day) is the person who is responsible for all activities on the day relating to racing, launch and recovery, rescue and all personnel associated with the listed activities.
While the ultimate decision to race lies with each competitor the decision to run the race lies with the OOD. There are many factors, which can influence the decision to run the race including the weather, rescue cover, experience of competitors etc. Each one of these will be discussed later.
Personnel
The most important thing for the OOD to do is to asses how many people he needs to run the race and to make sure that these people are organised well in advance.
1 OOD
1 Assistant OOD
1 Beachmaster
1 Driver per Rescue Boat
1 Rescue assistant per Rescue Boat
It should be noted that the ISA has a requirement for one rescue boat per ten competitors on the water. There is also a requirement for all drivers to be over 16 and have a Powerboat Level II certificate (the other occupants of the boats do not require any certification).
Based on 30 competitors there is a minimum requirement for 10 people.
OOD
Assistant OOD
Beach Master
Rescue driver boat 1
Assistant boat 1
Rescue driver boat 2
Assistant boat 2
Rescue driver boat 3
Assistant boat 3
It is recommended that the OOD make contact with the other people several days before the race to remind people of their responsibilities
Courses
The aim is to run 3 races back to back on a Sunday morning starting at 11.00. In order to complete all races, the races should be approx 20 min in duration and no more than 30min.
Other factors that can affect the duration and length of the races is the weather and the age of the competitors. The racers will get tired very quickly in winds over 15km particularly the under 15’s
The decision to run any or all races lies with the OOD but past experience would suggest that if you are seeing a signified number of retirements and capsizes then it is often wise to cancel the last race.
There are three main types of courses;
Windward Leeward (2 marks)
Triangular (3 marks)
Trapezoidal (4 marks)
While the OOD is free to set their own course these courses can be started and finished without moving the committee boat and can be shortened if required.
Equipment
Whistle
2 pens
Handicaps
Clipboard
Crucifix
Courses
Result forms
Protest forms
Rulebook
Radios-committee boat
Rescue 1
Rescue 2
Rescue 3
Beach Master
