SAILING INSTRUCTION

1              RULES

1.1          The event will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2021 – 2024, and where applicable, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (IRPCAS), and/or the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) Regulations.

1.2          In RRS 44.2 insert after the first sentence: However, if Mark 1a is set, a boat may delay taking a penalty for an incident in the zone around Mark 1 or on the leg between Mark 1 and Mark 1a, until she has passed Mark 1a.

2              COMMUNICATIONS WITH COMPETITORS

2.1          Notices to competitors will be posted on the Official Notice Board located online at https://proregatta.com/clubs/sb20-singapore/events/144/. 

2.2          Changes to the Sailing Instructions will be posted no later than 30 minutes before the first warning signal of the day they will take effect, except that any change in the schedule of races will be posted by 2000h on the day before it will take effect.

3              [DP][NP] CODE OF CONDUCT

3.1          Competitors and support persons shall comply with any reasonable request from an event official. Failure to comply may be misconduct.

3.2          Reasonable actions by event officials to implement COVID-19 guidance, protocols or legislation, even if they later prove to have been unnecessary, are not improper actions or omissions.

4              CLASS FLAG

The class flag will be the code signal flag E.

5              THE COURSES AND MARKS

5.1          The diagram in SI Addendum A show the courses, including the approximate angles between legs, the order in which the marks are to be passed and the side on which each mark is to be left.

5.2          To change the next leg of the course, the Race Committee will move the original mark to a new position.

5.3          Mark 1 will be a pink sphere and Mark 2 will be a blue sphere. The offset mark 1A will be a white teardrop buoy.

5.4          The starting and finishing marks will be a Race Committee vessel and a pink teardrop buoy.

6              THE START

6.1          The starting line is between a staff displaying an orange flag on the Race Committee signal Vessel at the starboard end and the course side of the port-end starting mark.

6.2          A boat that does not start within 4 minutes after her starting signal will be scored Did Not Start (DNS) without a hearing. This changes RRS A5.1 and A5.2.

6.3          To alert boats that a race or sequence of races will begin soon, the orange starting line flag will be displayed with one sound at least five minutes before a warning signal is made.

7              THE FINISH

7.1          The finishing line will be between a staff displaying a blue flag on a Race Committee vessel and the course side of the nearby finishing buoy.

7.2          [DP] When boats are finishing, boats who have finished shall avoid the finishing area, keeping well clear of all boats racing, and shall not act to interfere with a boat that has not finished.

8              PENALTY SYSTEM

8.1          The first sentence of RRS 44.1 is replaced with: “A boat may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2 (except RRS 14 when she has caused damage or injury) or RRS 31 or 42 while racing.”

8.2          Umpired fleet racing will apply as follows:

(a)           Protests by Boats and Voluntary Penalty

While racing, a boat may protest another boat under a rule of Part 2 (except RRS 14) or under RRS 31 or 42. However, a boat may only protest under a rule of Part 2 for an incident in which she was involved. To do so she shall hail “Protest” and conspicuously display a Red flag at the first reasonable opportunity for each. She shall remove the flag before, or at the first reasonable opportunity after a boat involved in the incident has taken a penalty voluntarily or after an umpire's decision or after the incident. If there is no voluntary penalty turn taken or no decision from the umpires, she may lodge a protest by complying with SI 11.3. The third sentence of RRS 61.1(a), “She shall display the flag until she is no longer racing” is deleted. This changes RRS 61.1.

(b)          Procedure on the water

(1)          When the umpires observe a breach of a rule of Part 2 or RRS 31 or 42 with a valid protest, they will whistle and display a Red flag not directed towards any boat. This signal means that the umpires have seen the incident and has sufficient facts to decide that a boat has broken a rule. The umpires will then wait a few seconds to see if any boats decide to take a One-Turn Penalty voluntarily.

(2)          If one of the boats involved in the incident promptly takes a One-Turn Penalty, there will be no further action by the umpires, unless injury or serious damage resulted from the incident.

(3)          In a valid protest, if no boat takes a One-Turn Penalty, the umpires may impose a Two-Turns Penalty, signalled by blowing a whistle and by pointing at the penalised boat with a Red Flag. The umpires may aid identification of the penalised boat by hailing identifiers such as her sail number or boat name until the boat positively knows she has been penalised. The penalised boat shall get well clear of the other boats as soon as possible and take a Two-Turns Penalty.

(4)          If a boat penalised by the umpires does not take the Two-Turns Penalty promptly, the umpires will signal again the penalty directed to this boat as described in SI 8.2(b)(3).

(5)          If a boat still does not take the Two-Turns Penalty after the second signal, she will be disqualified (DSQ) from the race and shall immediately leave the racing area. The umpires will signal the disqualification by pointing a Black flag towards the boat and blowing a whistle repeatedly. In addition, this boat may be subjected to a hearing under RRS 69.

(6)          When there is a valid protest by boat(s) on water, if the umpires identify that there is no breach of a rule by any boat, the umpires will display a green and white flag with a short whistle which means no penalty to any boat and the incident is closed.

(c)           Penalties and Protests Initiated by an Umpire

Umpires can penalise a boat without a protest from another boat when a boat:

(i) breaks RRS 31 and does not take a penalty;

(ii) breaks RRS 42;

(iii) gains an advantage despite taking a penalty,

(iv) deliberately breaks a rule,

(v) commits a breach of sportsmanship

Umpire initiated penalties will be made in accordance with SI 8.2(b)(3) and boats will have to take a Two-Turns Penalty.

(d)          Request for Redress

Umpire decisions are final, and a boat is neither entitled to a hearing nor to request redress for any action or non-action by the umpires. This changes RRS 60.1(b), 62.1(a) and 63.1.

9              TIME LIMITS AND TARGET TIMES

9.1          The race time limit (see RRS 35) is 50 minutes.

9.2          The target time for a race is 25-30 minutes. Failure to meet the target time will not be grounds for redress. This changes RRS 62.1(a).

9.3          Boats failing to finish within 10 minutes after the first boat sails the course and finishes will be scored Did Not Finish (DNF) without a hearing. This changes RRS 35, A4 and A5.

10           SCORING

10.1        As per NoR 10.

10.2        Results will be posted online at https://proregatta.com/clubs/sb20-singapore/events/144/. 

11           HEARING REQUESTS

11.1        Add to RRS 61.1(a), “To inform the Race Committee of the boat(s) being protested, the boat intending to protest shall approach the Race Committee vessel at the finishing line as soon as possible after finishing or retiring, and shall hail the protested boat(s) sail number(s).

11.2        The protest time limit is 45 minutes after the last boat has finished the last race of the day, or the Race Committee signals no more racing today, whichever is later. The time will be posted on the Official Notice Board.

11.3        Hearing request forms are available via the event website. Protests and requests for redress or reopening shall be submitted online via the event website, within the appropriate time limit.

11.4        Notices will be posted no later than 15 minutes after the protest time limit to inform competitors of hearings in which they are parties or named as witnesses. Hearings will be held in the Jury room, the location of which will be made known by the OA on site, beginning at the time posted.

12           [DP][NP] SAFETY REGULATIONS

12.1        RRS 40.1 shall apply at all times while afloat.

12.2        Before leaving the Raffles Marina for racing, the registered helmsman of each boat shall check-out by signing on a form provided on the whiteboard located near the Discovery Pub entrance.

12.3        Upon arriving back ashore, the registered helmsman of each boat shall check-in by signing on a form described in SI 12.2.

12.4        [DP] A boat that retires from a race shall notify the Race Committee at the first reasonable opportunity on VHF CH 77 or by hailing a Race Committee vessel verbally, before leaving the Race Area.

13           [DP][NP] REPLACEMENT OF CREW OR EQUIPMENT

Substitution of competitors, or damaged or lost equipment, will not be allowed without approval of the Organising Authority and are at the discretion of the Organising Authority. Requests for substitution shall be made at the first reasonable opportunity.

14           TRASH DISPOSAL

Trash may be placed aboard official or support person vessels. The use of ‘single-use’ plastic bottles or containers on shore or afloat is strongly discouraged.

ADDENDUM A – THE COURSES

Numeral Pennant 2: Start – 1- 1A – 2 – 1 – 1A – Finish
Numeral Pennant 3: Start – 1 – 1A – 2 – 1 – 1A – 2 – 1 – 1A – Finish

Race Officer: Jonathan Kwek (IRO) – SGP

Chief Umpire: Jerrold Ng (IJ, IRO) – SGP