KINSALE YACHT CLUB CLUB RACING-SAILING INSTRUCTIONS WHITE SAIL CLASS VALID FROM January 2013 1. Rules White Sail Class Racing will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing, the prescriptions of the Irish Sailing Association (I.S.A.), Kinsale Yacht Club rules, IRC rules, Echo rules and these sailing instructions, any amendments thereto. 2. Eligibility 2.1 To be eligible to enter club races the owner must be a member of Kinsale Yacht Club (KYC) and the ISA. (This amends RRS Appendix 2) and must comply with ISAF regulation 22.2.1 Group 1A (a competitor who takes part in racing only as a past time). 2.2 All yacht owners/skippers shall complete & sign an entry form prior to competing in their first race of the sailing season each year (available in KYC race office). The entry form is a signed declaration refering to:- A. Echo rules. B. adequate insurance. C. indemnify KYC against claims. D. Complience with ISAF/ORC/ISA/KYC safety rules. 3. NOTICE TO COMPETITORS 3.1 When the L flag is displayed on the Club House a notice to competitors is posted. 3.2 Any change to these S.I. will be posted on the White Sail Notice Board (located in the lower coridor of the club building) at least 2 hours before racing on the day they are to take effect. 4. SPECIFIC RULES FOR WHITE SAIL RACING 4.1 The use of Gennakers, Bloopers and Spinakers or other purpose built downwind sails is prohibited. 4.2 Spinakers poles and/or whisker poles are allowed for poling out headsails.
4.3 Yachts shall use only ONE HEADSAIL at the same time. 4.4 Roller reefing is encouraged for the white sail class Progressive Handicap. 4.5 Yachts racing in the White Sail Progressive Handicap are permitted one headsail change (to a smaller headsail) for safety reasons. Such headsail to be used for the remainder of the race and declared to the OOD when finishing. 4.6 Yachts racing under White Sail IRC are permitted unlimited headsail changes. 5. Extracts from the Echo Rules - 5.1 The Jockey Rule is a part of the Echo Rules which states that Owners / Skippers shall declare to the Race Committee non-regular crew who may significantly enchance the performance of the yacht. 5.2 Owners/ skippers shall declare to the race committee any physical change to the yacht that may significantly enchance the performance of the yacht e.g new suit of sails, etc. 6. White sail competitors shall conform with the ISAF regulation 22.2.1 group 1a. (a competitor who takes part in racing only as a past time) 7. Safety. 7.1 All owners must ensure that their boat and crew comply with the ISAF Category Four recommendations for cruiser racing. 7.2 Life jackets shell be worn in accordance with state regulations. 7.3 Boats without lifelines are not eligible to compete in races West of the Old Head or east of the Little Sovereign. 7.4 Each boat shall have an efficient system and adequate equipment for recovery of crew overboard. 7.5 KYC reserves the right to inspect any boat, at any time, to advise compliance with the minimum safety requirements & class rules. 7.6 Boats shall not race with their anchors projecting over the bow, but shall have a suitable anchor & line on board. 7.7 RRS Rule 49.2 shall apply. Competitors shall not position any part of their torsos ouside the lifelines except briefly to perform a necessary task. 7.8 Head sails shall not be continueosly held out by hand outside the lifelines. 7.9 Each boat shall have a minimum of two crew, (skipper plus one other person complies)
8 Racing Pennant & Flags required on board. and or Class Flag 1 2 Protest Flag Penalty Flag 8.1 Boats shall fly the appropiate pennants. The racing pennant for the White Sail class shall be a white pennant with a blue letter W thereon plus numeral 1 or 2 underneath to identify which class they have entered. Red (ICF B) & Yellow (ICF Q) flags are also required (See appendix). 9. Schedule of Races The schedule of races is published in the KYC annual Sailing Programme. Or in the Notice Of Race / Sailing Instructions of a particular event. 10. Sail Numbers 10.1 Yachts must use their correct sail numbers. Permission to sail under any other number must be obtained from the OOD and the class captain must be advised. 11. Courses Courses will be chosen from the KYC course card OR by the OOD and displayed on the blackboard on the Committee Boat. The course may also be announced on VHF Channel 69. (competitors are advised to be familiar with the symbols representing KYC permanently laid marks e.g. Sandycove is M ; Hake Head is K; Black Head is J etc., see KYC course card). 12. Starting Line
12.1 Charles Fort Line: shall be between a red and white staff or main mast on the Committee Boat and the lighthouse situated on Charles Fort. An inner distance mark (IDM) known as Charles Fort Mark, (normaly yellow) may be laid and boats must pass between this IDM mark and the lighthouse to start. (i.e. Do NOT start between the IDM and the Committee Boat (See Appendix 2). 12.2 Marina Line: shall be between a flagstaff at the Pier Head end of the Marina and an outer limit mark. 12.3 Committee Boat Start: this is formed by a red and white staff or by main Mast on the Committee Boat and an adjacent Outer Distance Mark (ODM). An IDM may be laid between the ODM and Committee Boat in which case yachts must start between it and the ODM (i.e. Do NOT start between the IDM and the Committee Boat. NB the IDM may not be on the line. See appendix). 13. Finishing Line 13.1 The normal finishing line for Club racing shall be at Charles Fort. Yachts shall finish between the Committee Boat and the Charles Fort mark (normally yellow) (See diagram in appendix 2). 13.2 Laid Course Finish: This shall be between a red & white staff or the main mast on the Committee Boat and an ODM. 13.3 Marina Finish Line: This shall be between a flagstaff at the Pier Head end of the Marina and an especially laid ODM 14. Starting Order 14.1 For normal club racing on Friday evening, class 1 normally starts before class 2. The OOD may announce the the starting order on ch69 14.2 In event of a general recall for the offending class shall restart ASAP (i.e. subsequent class starts are delayed accordingly). 14.3 For the KYC "at home";"all ins" ; "pursuit races"& open events see the sailing instructions of the day. 15. A yacht shall not start later than 5 minutes after her starting signal. 16. Flags and starting signals. Races will be started by using the following signals. Times shall be taken from the visual signals; the absence of a sound signal shall be disregarded. Mins before start Signal Flag Sound Signal 5 Warning Class Flag; + 1 sound 4 Preparatory P, I, Z, Z with I, or + 1 sound Black Flag 1 One-minute Preparatory flag + 1 sound removed 0 Starting Class flag removed + 1 sound
Or Or Or (+) 17. Postponement (See Appendix Xx) 17.1 When the Answering Pennant (AP) is flown from the committee boat, the warning signal shall be ONE minute after the AP is lowered. 17.2 When the Answering Pennat (AP) is flow from the club flag pole, the warning signal shall be 30 minutes after AP is lowered 18. Recalls 18.1 Individual Recalls will be in accordance with RRS 29.1 18.2 General Recalls shall be in accordance with RRS 29.2 18.3 When a general recall has been signalled, a new warning signal will be made one minute after signalling the end of the General Recall. 18.4 In event of a general recall the offending class shall restart ASAP (i.e. subsequent class starts are delayed accordingly). 19. Shortened Course (RRS 32) 19.1 The course may be shortened at any stage of the race at the discretion of the O.O.D. The Committee Boat or other finishing vessel, which shall be identified by a blue flag, shall move to the mark of the course at which it is intended to finish the race, and when in position it shall hoist the Code Flag "S", and Class Flag(s) of the classe(s) effected and two sound signals shall be made. 19.2 For KYC club racing the course may be shortened at the mouth of Kinsale Harbour at a line laid by the OOD. The Bulman Buoy, a Harbour Mark,a laid mark or any other mark within the vicinityof the course may be used as an ODM.(i.e. The finishing line may or may NOT be at a mark that was on the black board) The finishing line may be announced on ch69
19.3 The OOD may announce a shortened course on VHF Ch69. Failure to give, or hear, this announcement shall not form grounds for protest or redress. 19.4 If a shortened course is signaled (S flag) by the committee boat or if a flag F is displayed at the preceding mark, boats shall proceed directly to the finishing line (ie do not round the next mark). 17. Time Limit 17.1 Evening racing, normally Fridays, when the start time is 19:00 the time limit shall be 21:30. When the start time is 18:30 the time limit shall be is 21:00. All times local. 17.2 For Saturdays, Sundays, Bank Holidays etc the time limit is 3 Hours from the starting time with an extension of 30 mins if the 2nd boat in the class finishes within the time limit. 17.3 For the at home ; all ins ; pursuit & open events, the time limit shall be as prescribed in the sailing instruction s of the day. 18. Race area will be within the confines of the Sovereign Islands to the East and the Old Head to the West. 19. Retiring A yacht which retires from a race shall inform the Committee Boat as soon as possible. 20. Penalties 20.1 RRS 44.3 shall apply A boat that may have broken a rule of part 2 (e.g. A port & starboard incident; not keeping clear etc) OR RRS rule 31(e.g. Touching a mark) SHALL take a SCORING PENALTY by displaying a YELLOW FLAG (at the first reasonable opportunity) until finishing & shall inform the finishing vessel. The PENALTY shall be 20% of the number of the boats in that race. The minimum shall be 2 places. (20% means:- if 10 are boats racing then it is 2 places, 20 boats are racing then it is 4 places that are forfeited) 20.2 RRS 44.1B shall apply if the boat caused injury or serious damage or gained a significant advantage in the race or series by her breach her penalty shall be to retire. 21. Protests Rule RRS 61 applies 21.1 A boat intending to protest shall inform the other boat & display a red flag at the first resonable apportunity 21.2 The OOD must be advised verbally or by VHF Channel 69 of a pending protest before leaving the finish area.
22. Protests & Arbitration 22.1 Protests shall be written on forms available at the Race Office and lodged there within 1 hr. (Evenings) and 1 1/2 hrs. (w/e day racing) of the finishing time of the last yacht in that class. The Class Captain, Vice Commodore, Sailing Secretary or other designated person may arrange to deal with the protest or Arbitration when given the completed protest form. 22.2 As an alternative to a full protest hearing, an arbitration system may be used. When all parties to an incident agree, a Protest Arbitrator, appointed by the Race Office may decide a protest. Such arbitration shall replace the protest hearing required under RRS 63. This system may only be used if before the hearing all parties agree to accept the arbitration decision as final. All the parties shall have the opportunity of stating their case. The Arbitrator shall have total discretion as to whether any witness will be called. At any time during the hearing he may terminate the arbitration and refer the incident to a full protest committee hearing; otherwise, at the conclusion of the arbitration hearing he will reach a decision. Any party found to have infringed a rule shall not be disqualified but shall instead incur a 35% place penalty. No penalty shall result in a score, which would exceed that of a disqualification. Any decision shall be final, however a request for reopening may be made under RRS 66. When any party, at the time when arbitration is offered, declines to accept arbitration a full protest hearing shall take place. 23. Scoring The low points scoring system will be used as per RRS Appendix A with certain alterations (see appendix 1 attached). 24. Discards after 5 races 1 discard shall apply. 25. HANDICAPING SYSTEM. 25.1 An initeal handicap shall be assigned by the race office and published on the officeal notice board two hours before the start of the first race. 25.2 Boats joining the series after the first race will have a handicap assigned by the race office. 25.3 Valid ECHO certificates (obtained from the ISA Dublin) are required to be submitted to the race office with the entry form. 26. PROGRESSIVE HANDICAPING SYSTEM 26.1 Handcaps shall be calculated using the PROGRESSIVE HANDICAPING SYSTEM and shall be adjusted and declared after each race. (see attached appendix for guidelines). 26.2 The use of the progressive handicapping system shall not give rise to protest by competitors.
27. IRC non spinnaker class. Non endorsed certificates will be accepted, the non spinnaker TCF will be used 28. Commercial Traffic 28.1 Boats shall yield right of way to commercial traffic within the limits of Kinsale Harbour and in accordance with Articles 11 & 12 of the Bye Laws of Kinsale Harbour & the laws governing collision at sea. Failure to comply will result in disqualification. 29. Advertising 29.1 ISAF regulation code 20.5.1 shall apply. The display of advertising on a boat / sail is prohibited (except the sponsor of the competition). 30. Failure to comply with any of the foregoing Rules may result in disqualification Appendix 1 Scoring system. Appendix 2 Sketch for Charles Fort line (for information purposes only). KYC White Sail Committee recommend that Competitors download the Racing Rules of Sailing 2008-2012 and the guide to the Progressive Handicap. Rev 5 05.07.12
Appendix 1 Races and series shall be scored as provide for in RRS Appendix A using Low Point System except for the following provisions. Short Code Description Penalty DNC Did not compete Race Starters Plus 2 places DNS Did not start Race Starters Plus 1 place OCS On course side Race Starters Plus 1 place DNF Did not finish Race Starters Plus 1 place RET Retired Race Starters Plus 1 place RAF Retired after finishing Race Starters Plus 1 place DSQ Disqualified Race Starters Plus 4 places 20% Penalty Race Starters 10 = 2 Places Race Starters 20 = 4 Places For individual race results, each boat starting and finishing (and not retiring, being penalised or given redress) shall be scored points as follows:- Finishing Place First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Each Place Thereafter Low Point System 1 Point 2 Points 3 Points 4 Points 5 Points 6 Points 7 Points Add One Point
Appendix 2.