Sailing Instructions

 

RC Laser Fleet 28

2017

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Wickford Harbor Mudheads

Pleasant Street

 

 

Racing Rules– All competition shall be governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2009-2012, as amended by the United States Sailing prescriptions and incorporating Appendix E-Radio Controlled Boat Racing Rules, the current RC Laser Class Rules and these Sailing Instructions.

 

Entries - Skippers shall be members of the Wickford Harbor Mudheads.

Entry Form and $5 entry fee shall be submitted prior to a boat's first competition.

All RC Lasers shall use the type B rig with a sail area of 710 square inches.

 

Management - The Race Director (RD) for each evening shall be a volunteer from among non-boat owners or, if that proves unsuccessful, shall be established by lottery of the fleet membership in attendance that evening. If selection is by lottery, the individual selected will be exempt from additional RD duty until the balance of the fleet has served as RD for an evening.

 

Changes to the Sailing Instructions - Each evening's designated Race Director (RD) has the authority to change these Sailing Instructions during the course of the sailing day.

 

Series Format - Racing to be held on Thursday afternoons, starting at 5:15 PM. Each race will have a targeted duration of 15 minutes.

 

If there are lees than 10 competitors on a particular evening, all boats will race together.

 

Should there be 10 or more boats, the fleet will be divided into A and B fleets, racing alternately. After each pair of A/B races, the fleet division will be re-distributed, with the 2 slowest A division boats moved to B division and the 2 fastest B division boast consequently moved to A division.

 

The Race Director (RD) for each evening shall be a volunteer from among non-boat owners or, if that proves unsuccessful, shall be established by lottery of the fleet membership in attendance that evening. If selection is by lottery, the individual selected will be exempt from additional RD duty until the balance of the fleet has served as RD for an evening.

 

Launching Area - Launching area is to be at the end of the Mudhead Facility dock, adjacent to the race course, unless otherwise designated by the RD.

 

Control Area - The Control area will as designated by RD. All competitors are to remain in the control area while competing. Competitors not racing shall remain outside the Control and Launching Areas unless they are acting as mentors to other fleet members.

 

Race Course - The RD shall announce the race course before the start of each race. The RD may announce a change of course at any time, before or during a race, prior to any boat reaching a mark beginning the leg of the course to be changed.

 

Courses and Marks - Most races will be sailed on a windward-leeward course. The windward mark may have an offset mark. The leeward mark may be a gate.

 

Start/Finish Line - The start/finish line will be a line drawn on the course side of the two-start/finish buoys. The Start/Finish buoys are an obstruction for all boats not on their final leg to finish.

Starts - The start sequence will be 2 minutes in length. Audible signals shall be at one minute intervals and shall be a warning signal, a preparatory signal and a starting signal. During the minute before the starting signal, oral signals shall be made a ten second intervals and during the final ten seconds at one-second intervals. Boats are considered to be competing at the 1 minute mark.

Only the RD may call a boat over early (On the Course Side -OCS). Any boat found OCS must return and get her entire hull behind the line before restarting, but does not need to round the end of the start line. A boat found OCS that does not return will be scored DNS.

General Recall - All boats must round the end of the start line in order to begin the next sequence.

Gates - The RD reserves the right to incorporate a leeward gate into a racecourse.

Finish - A boat officially finishes when her bow crosses the finish line.

After finishing, boats must keep clear of boats that have not finished. If they interfere, they may be DSQ'd.

The RD may require a last place boat to retire, clear the racecourse and accept last place in the fleet to allow the next heat to start promptly.

 

Repair Delays - A boat may request a 5 minute repair delay BEFORE the one-minute mark of her start sequence. Repair delays will not be allowed for boats that were not in the last heat to be run. Only one repair delay per boat per day is allowed.

Adjustments to boats are not considered a reason for delaying a race start.

 

Penalties -

There shall be no penalty for hitting a turning mark.

There shall be a penalty for hitting the start mark at the start. The fouling boat must return to the non-course side of the line and complete a 360 degree turn after the staring signal, keeping clear of other boats, before restarting.

There shall be a penalty for hitting the finish mark before finishing. The fouling boat must return to the course side of the finish line and complete a 360 degree turn before finishing, keeping clear of other boats.

 

 

Protests - To protest, the right-of-way boat must hail the keep-clear boat by sail number. If the offender refuses to do turns, then a protest may be filed at the completion of the race.

Protesting boats must inform the RD of their intention to protest immediately upon finishing. Filings are to be made to the RD. The RD or his designated representative will in turn hear the protest, using a "three minute justice" system. Each party will be given one minute to make their case, without witnesses. The RD or his designate will then take a minute to ask questions, followed by a prompt decision. No written protests, no juries, no BS. Loud arguments and false hailing during a race will not be tolerated. Offenders are subject to Rule 69 and may be disqualified.

This sport is supposed to be self-policing. IF YOU FOUL SOMEONE, DO YOUR TURNS.

 

 

Redress - The RD will respond to a call of Redress by a Right-of-way boat at the time of the incident. If the RD decides that the Right-of-way boat was significantly prevented from competing in that race because of the fault of a give-way boat then s/he may authorize a Redress. However, if the boat continues to race, she is not restricted from filing for redress at the completion of the heat under Rule E.

Redress will be awarded as an average of the places in the preceding 5 races including throw outs.

Scoring

 

Scoring will be done using the RRS low point scoring system.

 

Throw outs - There will be one (1) throw out for every five races completed. Only full races will be thrown out. A DSQ cannot be thrown out.

 

General Guidelines -

On-the-Water Judging/Protests - It is the obligation of competing skippers to hail protests. The RD may resolve a protest situation on the spot if s/he observed the foul and feels comfortable making a ruling.

The RD is encouraged to announce "incidental contact", if a foul did not cause serious loss to the right-of-way boat AND was not intentional by the keep clear boat, meaning no disqualification or penalty required for that incident.