Rules

All races will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing, the prescriptions of US Sailing, each Fleet’s rules, and each Fleet’s Club rules; except as any of these are altered by these sailing instructions. Current US Sailing rules are found at http://www.ussailing.org

Entry

To be eligible for ranking, a competitor must:

a. Have a recognized class boat
b. Have proper identification numbers on sails
c. Be a member of ELSC

Notices to Competitors

Any changes to the sailing instructions will be emailed to members and posted at ELSC.

The Races

a. The series, dates and times will be listed on the ELSC sailing calendar
b. Starting order for Saturday fleets will be MC then Laser. Sunday fleets will be Thistles, Nationals and then Snipes.

The Course

See diagrams in the course book folder located on the committee boat.
a. Windward/Leeward – designated by the symbol W/L on the committee boat.

  1. W/L course will be followed by another leg
  2. An offset mark will be used after the first mark
  3. All marks will be left to port

b. Triangle – designated by a triangle symbol on the committee boat

  1. Triangle course will be followed by another leg
  2. The direction of the mark rounding will be signaled from the committee boat
  • Green flag leave all marks to starboard
  • Red flag leave all marks to port

c. The number of laps for each fleet will be indicated by a number and fleet designator following the course designator

  1. “A” fleets will be MCs and Thistles
  2. “B” fleets will be Lasers, Nationals and Snipes

Towing or Paddling

Towing or paddling is not allowed after each fleet’s preparatory signs. Any boat which does so, must make a 360˚penalty turn after her fleet’s starting signal but before crossing the starting line.

The Start

Races will be started by using Rule 26 as modified by these sailing instructions.
a. An assembly signal will be made 7 minutes before the starting signal
b. The warning signal will be made 6 minutes before the starting signal
c. The preparatory signal will be made 3 minutes before the starting signal
d. The starting signal for one class will be the preparatory signal for the next class
e. The starting line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on the committee boat and the center of a nearby mark

Recalls (Rule #29)

a. The Race Committee (RC) will attempt to hail any boat that is on the course side of the starting line at her starting signal
b. A boat’s recall number will be her sail number
c. Code flag “X” will be displayed for no more than 2 minutes after the starting signal
d. After a general recall, the recalled class will be started 3 minutes after its original start (rolling start)
e. When a general recall has been signaled, the starts of the remaining classes will be postponed accordingly

The Finish

The finish line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on the committee boat and the center of a nearby mark.

Time Limit

a. One boat of a class finishing within 90 minutes of its logged starting time will make the race valid for the remaining boats in its class
b. The RC will monitor the time and signal abandonment when appropriate
c. Any boats which do not finish within a reasonable time period of the first finisher in their class may, at the discretion of the RC, be credited with their position as determined by the RC at that time. Any boat so affected must be so informed by the RC

Scoring

a. Ranking a starter

  1. Any boat which crosses the start line before or after her starting signal will be considered a racing boat within a fleet
  2. A minimum of 3 starters will constitute an official race. The RC may claim as official a 2 boat race if he/she would otherwise be racing in that fleet. The RC will start fleets with fewer than 3 boats in the normal sequence but the results will not be recorded

b. Season series scoring

  1. Each boat starting and finishing in a race and not thereafter retiring or being disqualified will be scored equal to her finishing place
  2. A boat that started a race but did not finish will be scored equal to the number of boats entered in that race
  3. Disqualified boats will be scored equal to the number of boats in the race +1
  4. To qualify, a boat must have sailed at least 50% of all completed races
  5. One or more races may be discarded providing the total retained races scored do not fall below 70% of all completed races
  6. Scoring for each boat will be the sum of her races scored divided by the number of races for which she is scored
  7. The qualified boat with the lowest series score is the winner and others are ranked accordingly
  8. MCs will use MC class scoring system
  9. Race results will be posted after each weekend of racing on the ELSC website. It is the responsibility of the skipper to report errors in record keeping to their fleet captain. Corrections will be made only upon approval of the fleet captain.

c. Holiday series scoring (appendix A with the following amendments)

  1. 5 races are scheduled for all holiday series. 2 races must be completed to constitute a series
  2. No races will be excluded
  3. A boat that started a race but did not finish will be scored equal to the number of boats that started that race
  4. A disqualified boat will be scored equal to the number of boats in the race +1
  5. A boat that does not start a race in the series will be scored equal to the number of boats in the series

Protests (part 5)

a. Protests must be written on US Sailing standard protest form, available inside ELSC, and received by the RC or Sailing Commodore within 1 hour of the committee boat docking
b. Protests will be heard as soon as possible after receipt of the protest form

Awards

a. To be eligible for fleet season awards, a boat must compete in at least 50% of the completed fleet races
b. 3 prizes will be awarded to fleets with less than 10 participants. 5 prizes will be awarded to fleets of 10 or more participants