OptiAUS 2018 Australian & Open Optimist Championship Incorporating the Australian Optimist Teams Racing Championship 3 rd 10 th January 2018 Green Fleet Sailing Instructions Organising Authority Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in association with the Australian International Optimist Dinghy Association 1
1. RULES 1.1. The Green Fleet will be governed by the Introductory Rules for Racing (see Attachment) 1.2. The Australian Sailing Special Regulations Part 2 Off the Beach Boats. 1.3. For this event the Advisors shall be the Race Officer, the appointed event Coaches and members appointed to the regatta Jury. 1.4. The Advisors may refer allegations of poor sportsmanship to the Jury who may deal with the matter using the provisions of Rule 2 or Rule 69 of the Racing Rules of Sailing. 1.5. Discretionary Penalties will apply to those SIs marked with a [DP] 1.6. Standard Penalties will apply to those SIs marked with a [SP] 2. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS All notices to competitors shall be posted on the Official Notice Board located adjacent to the Southern fenceline in the vicinity of the Sailing Office veranda and may be displayed on event website. 3. CHANGES TO THE SAILING INSTRUCTIONS (SI) Any change to the SI shall be posted 2 ½ hours before the earliest warning signal on the day it shall take effect, except that any change to the schedule of races will be posted by 1900 hours on the day before it shall take effect. 4. CHARTER BOATS 4.1. Charter Boats shall be managed in accordance with the information supplied with the Notice of Race. 4.2. Competitors sailing charter boats shall report any damage or loss of equipment, however slight, to the Organizing Authority s representative immediately after securing the boat ashore. 5. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE 5.1. Signals made ashore shall be displayed from the official flagpole located to the North of the main rigging lawn, at the top of the gang way to the Bill Kirby Jetty. 5.2. When flag AP is displayed ashore, 1 minute is replaced with not less than 30 minutes in the Race Signals: Postponement Signals AP. 2
6. SCHEDULE 6.1. The schedule is as per the following table: DATE EVENT TIME/FIRST WARNING SIGNAL Thursday, January 4 Green Fleet Registration and Measurement at Junior Rigging Lawn 12:00 16:00 Official Regatta Briefing 16:00 Opening Ceremony Buffet Dinner and AOTR Presentation 17:00 Friday, January 5 Green Fleet Daily Briefing 09:00 Championship Racing 11:00 Saturday, January 6 Green Fleet Daily Briefing 09:00 Championship Racing 10:00 Sunday, January 7 Green Fleet Daily Briefing 09:00 Championship Racing 10:00 Monday, January 8 Lay Day - Provision for resails if minimum races have not been sailed. TBA Tuesday, January 9 Green Fleet Daily Briefing 09:00 Championship Racing 10:00 Wednesday, January 10 Green Fleet Daily Briefing 09:00 Championship Racing 10:00 Closing Ceremony Buffet Dinner and Presentations 18:00 6.2. A maximum of 20 races may be sailed, with a maximum of 4 races per day. The race committee may conduct multiple racing sessions each day. 6.3. The coaches may also incorporate fun activities and games into the program to ensure it is not all about competition. 6.4. The Lay Day may be used for racing if the program is behind schedule. 6.5. On the last day of the regatta no warning signal will be made after 15:00. 3
7. CLASS FLAG 7.1. The class flag shall be a Green flag with the Optimist emblem on it. 7.2. All boats shall display a green ribbon permanently fixed and free to fly from the top of the sprit. These ribbons will be provided by the Organising Authority at registration. 8. RACING AREA Attachment 1 shows the location of the racing area. 9. THE COURSE & MARKS The diagram in Attachment 3 shows the course and marks. The course to be sailed will be displayed via a course board on the start boat. 10. THE START AND FINISH The Starting and Finishing line shall be between a staff displaying orange flag on the Committee vessel and the port-end Start/Finish Mark. 11. PENALTY SYSTEM 11.1. The penalty system shall be as per the WS Introductory Rules for Racing (See Attachment 2). 11.2. Coaching of Green Fleet skippers while racing is permitted only by the appointed event coaches, however coaching shall be limited to skippers in the bottom third of the fleet in any given race. 11.3. Only coaches who are Organising Authority appointed Green Fleet Coaches will be allowed to coach on the course during racing. All other coach and support boats must not come within 50m of boats during any racing session. Violation of this instruction may result in any penalty which the Protest Committee deems appropriate, up to and including the disqualification of the coached skipper from the race/regatta. 12. TIME LIMIT Boats deemed still racing by the Race Committee but failing to finish within 10 minutes after the first boat sails the course and finishes may be allocated a Still Racing Score. (see Scoring SI 14.4). 13. PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS Refer to Attachment 2. 14. SCORING 14.1. Two races are required to be completed to constitute a series. (a) When five (5) or fewer races have been completed, a boat s series score will be the total of her race scores. (b) When from six (6) to eleven (11) races have been completed, a boat s series score will be the total of her race scores, excluding her worst score. (c) When twelve (12) to fourteen (14) races have been completed, a boat s series score will be the total of her race scores, excluding her two (2) worst scores. (d) When fifteen (15) or more races have been completed, a boat s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her three (3) worst scores. 14.2. To request the correction of an alleged error in posted race or series results, a boat shall complete a Scoring Enquiry Form available at the Regatta Office. 14.3. Failure to sign on will result in that boat being penalized five (5) points for the first race of the session (but not worse than DNF). Failure to sign off shall result in that boat being penalized five (5) points for the last race of the session (but not worse than DNF). 4
Penalties will be applied without a hearing. 14.4. Still Racing Score determination: Boats determined by the Race Committee to still be racing at the expiry of the time limit after the first boat has finished may be given a Still Racing Score equal to the points of the last finisher plus two (2) points. The scoring abbreviation for a Still Racing Score is SRS. 15. SAFETY REGULATIONS 15.1. Before leaving the beach and up to the warning signal of the race session each boat shall sign on. All helmspersons shall do this prior to going a float for racing in any session. [SP] 15.2. Sign off shall be completed within 60 minutes of the last boat finishing in the last race of the race session of their allocated class/fleet assignment. [SP] 15.3. Failure to Sign on or Sign off will result in a penalty as described in SI 14.3. 15.4. A boat that retires from a race shall notify the Race Committee as soon as possible. 15.5. Competitors who require assistance should blow a whistle or wave the paddle or one arm. The Race Committee reserves the right to assist competitors who in its opinion require assistance, regardless of the wishes of the competitor. [DP] 16. EQUIPMENT AND MEASUREMENT CHECKS [DP] A boat or equipment may be inspected at any time for compliance with the Class Rules, the NOR and these SI. 17. OFFICIAL BOATS Official boats will be marked with lettering, prominently displayed on a flag or sticker: Race Committee & Instructors Media Boat RC in black letters on a white background Media in black letters on a white background 18. BEHAVIOUR Sailors, parents, team members and officials shall observe the codes of conduct available on the regatta website www.optimist.org.au/race-entry-documents. 19. RUBBISH DISPOSAL Rubbish may be placed aboard support and Race Committee boats. (DP) 20. BERTHING Boats shall be kept in their assigned places in the boat park. 21. PRIZES 21.1. Refer to Notice of Race. 21.2. More prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the Organising Authority. 22. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY 22.1. Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See rule 4 of the RRS Decision to Race. The Organizing Authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta. In addition to this the following clauses are applicable: 22.2. A boat is entirely responsible for her own safety, whether afloat or ashore and nothing, whether in the Notice of Race or the Sailing Instructions or anywhere else, reduces this responsibility. In this paragraph and the following paragraphs, wherever the context so permits, boat includes the helm and their parents or guardians. 5
22.3. It is for the boat to decide whether she is fit to sail in the conditions in which she will find herself. By launching or going to sea, the boat confirms that she is fit for those conditions and that her helm is competent to sail and compete in them. 22.4. Nothing done or omitted to be done by the organizers can reduce the responsibility of the boat nor will make the organizers responsible for any loss, damage, death or personal injury, however it may have occurred, as a result of the boat taking part in the racing or other parts of the event. The organizers encompass everyone helping to run the events and their associated activities, afloat or ashore and include the Organizing Authority, the Race committee, the race officers, safety and support boats and beach masters. 22.5. The provision of safety boats does not relieve the boat of its responsibilities. 22.6. The fact that the Race Committee conducts inspections of a boat does not reduce the responsibilities of the boat set out in these conditions. 22.7. The Race Committee may hold a boat ashore, or require a boat to go ashore at any time when afloat, whether racing or not, if it considers that (a) The boat, the equipment or the clothing of the helm, or (b) the physical condition of the helm is not adequate for the conditions. 23. INSURANCE All boats shall have third party insurance cover of not less than AUD$5,000,000. (recommend AUD$10,000,000 or the equivalent thereof in any other convertible currency) for any accident. All owners / competitors who sign the entry forms are deemed to have made a declaration that they hold such cover. Owners / competitors not holding this cover shall withdraw their entry. The skipper of each boat must be able to display proof of cover if requested to do so. 24. SUPPORT BOATS 24.1. For the purposes of these Sailing Instructions, spectator boats shall be classified as support boats. All support boats and coach boats shall be registered with the Organising Authority. All boats shall be marked with a numbered flag available at registration upon the completion of the Online Support/Coach boat registration. The flag must be clearly displayed by all boats at all times whilst a float. 24.2. Support boats are not permitted to come within 50m of Green Fleet competitors from the time of the first warning signal of a racing session until the Race Officer has signalled there will be no more racing in that session. 24.3. Each coach/support boat is required to have the appropriate current insurance for their vessel, the support boat driver must have a current powerboat drivers licence recognised in Australia. The boat shall also carry all safety equipment required to comply with the local state laws and be equipped with a working VHF Radio, an accessible serrated knife and a whistle or horn. 24.4. When Code Flag W (with a long sound signal) is displayed on a committee vessel all support boats are required to remain afloat and assist all sailors until Code Flag W is lowered. 24.5. The penalty for failing to comply with SI 24, may result in the disqualification (from the race/s in which the infringement took place) of all boats associated with the infringing boat or other penalty at the discretion of the Jury. 6
Attachment 1 Course Areas 7
Attachment 2 Introductory Rules for Racing Version 1.01 - February 2008 Some Explanations Windward and Leeward: The leeward side of your boat is the side where your mainsail lies. The windward side is the other side. Port and Starboard tack: You are on port or starboard tack according to your windward side. Advisor: A person appointed by the race organizers to assist competitors in understanding the rules and, when appropriate, to penalize a boat. Basic Rules 1. You must comply with the principles of good sportsmanship. 2. You must try not to collide with another boat. Rules When Boats Meet 3. When you and the other boat are on opposite tacks, if you are on port tack you must avoid the boat on starboard tack. 4. When you and the other boat are on the same tack, you must avoid the other boat (a) if she is in front of you, or (b) if she is on your leeward side. 5. After starting, when you and the other boat approach a mark or an object that both boats need to avoid, and the other boat is between you and the mark or other object, you must give her sufficient space to pass it safely on the same side. However, when the boats are on opposite tacks at a windward mark, this rule does not apply. 6. When the other boat is required to avoid you, if you change course, you must give the other boat an adequate opportunity to avoid you. Other Rules 7. At the starting signal you must be behind the starting line. 8. After the starting signal, you must sail the course described by the race organizers. 9. You must not touch a mark of the course. 10. If you think you or another boat has broken a rule or if you are unclear about the rules at any time during the race, you must describe the incident to the advisor after the race. The advisor may then add two points to the score of any boat that has broken a rule. If the offence is serious, the advisor may refer the matter to the Jury who may deal with the matter as they deem suitable within the spirit of the racing rules of sailing. 8
Attachment 3 Course CODE COURSE MARKS DESCRIPTION T1 Start 1 2 3 Finish Mark 1, 2 & 3: Orange Teardrops T2 Start 1 2 3 1 2 3 - Finish Start/Finish Starboard End: Race Committee Boat Start/Finish Port End: Orange Teardrop 9