Muskegon Yacht Club Handicap Race Fleet

Sailing Instructions

 

1          Rules  The races will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing.

 

2          Notices to Competitors       Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located in the yacht club.

 

3          Changes to the Sailing Instructions     Any change to the sailing instructions will be posted before 0930 on the day it will take effect, except that any change to the schedule of races will be posted one week in advance of the new race date.  Posted instructions may be superseded by written or verbal instructions given by the race committee to each skipper prior to the warning signal.

 

4          Signals Made Ashore           Signals made ashore will be displayed on the MYC flagpole. When the AP flag is displayed ashore 1 minute is replaced with not less than 30 minutes in the race signal
AP.  When Y flag is displayed ashore, rule 40.1 applies at all times while afloat.  This changes the Part 4 preamble. 

 

5          Schedule of Races   Dates, starting times, and number of throw outs will be indicated in the HRF race schedule.  At the finish of a race, the Race Committee will indicate its intent to conduct a subsequent race with the display of code flag ‘Second Substitute’. 

 

6          Class Flags    Class flags will be:      PHRF Div. 1                Code Flag one

`                                                                       PHRF Div. 2                Code flag two

                                                                        PHRF Div. 3                Code Flag three

`                                                                       Melges 24                    M24 class flag

                                                                        Main & Jib fleet            Code Flag five

                                                                        E scows                      E class flag

 

7          Courses    No later than the warning signal the race committee signal boat will display the buoy numbers to be rounded or will display the approximate compass bearing to the first mark and the number of legs of the course. 

 

8          Marks Muskegon Lake races will use the following marks.  Permanent Club race Marks numbered one through eight, The green Navigation buoy, MYC number nine, Bultimas westernmost mooring MYC number B will be used as well as Orange Tetrahedrons called X and Yellow Tetrahedrons called Y.  Michigan Lake races will use Orange and Yellow tetrahedrons. If multiple races are scheduled, the race committee may use a white tetrahedral as one end of the finish line.

 

9          The Start Races will be started by using rule 26 with the following addition.  An attention signal may be made one minute before the warning signal for the first class to start.  The attention signal will be a series of short beeps. The race committee will designate the course to be sailed before or with the attention signal.

            Boats, whose warning signal has not been given, shall avoid the starting area. A boat starting later than 5 minutes after her starting signal will be scored Did Not Start. This changes rule A4.

 

10        Individual Recalls   Will be signaled in accordance with RRS 29.2.  The race committee shall

Try to hail any boat recalled on VHF channel 73.  Failure to make a broadcast or to time it accurately will not be grounds for a request for redress.  This changes rule 62.1 A

 

11        Change of course after the start    A change of course after the start will be signaled before the leading boat has begun the leg, although the new mark may not yet be in position.  Any mark to be passed after passing the new mark may be relocated to maintain the course configuration.  When in a subsequent change a new mark is replaced, it will be replaced by an original mark.  This alters RRS 33. 

 

12        The Finish   The finish line will be between the orange flag on a RC boat and the nearest mark of the course. 

 

13        Time Limit   A Muskegon Lake race shall have a time limit of two hours from the class starting

            signal.  Lake Michigan races will have a three-hour time limit.  Boats failing to finish within

One hour after the first boat sails the course and finishes will be scored Did Not Finish.  This changes rules 35 and A4.

 

14        Protests   A boat intending to protest is requested to report her intention and the boat[s] being protested to the race committee at the finish.  This changes RRS 61.1[a].   Protests shall be written on US Sailing protest forms available from the race committee or the MYC bar and must be delivered to the race committee within one hour of the docking of the race committee boat.

 

15        Protest Arbitration   [this changes   RRS 60.1[b], 63.1, 63.6, and 66.]

            An arbitration meeting will be held prior to the protest hearing for all protests involving part two of the Racing Rules of Sailing.  After a protest form is delivered, one designated representative

            [Conforming to RRS 63.3[a]] of each party will appear before an arbitrator. No witnesses are permitted.

                        After hearing the testimony of each representative, the arbitrator shall reach one of the following conclusions:

            1] There was no breach of the rule.  If representatives agree, the protest is withdrawn and can not be reopened.  If any representative disagrees, the matter goes to the protest committee for a hearing.   

2] There was a breach of a rule by one of the boats involved.  The representative [s]of the offending boats have the option of accepting a 40% alternative penalty [calculated as in RRS 44.3[c] or submitting the matter to protest committee.  If the penalty is accepted, the matter can not be reopened or made the subject of a redress request.

3] The matter should go to the protest committee for a hearing.  When the protest is referred to the protest committee, the arbitrator shall not be a member of the protest committee.

 

16        Safety Regulations A boat that retires from a race shall notify the race committee as soon as possible. 

 

17        Radio Communication   A boat shall neither make radio transmissions while racing nor receive radio communications not available to all boats.  This restriction also applies to mobile telephone

 

18        Disclaimer of Liability Competitors compete in the racing entirely at their own risk. See rule Four. 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 race.

 

19        Insurance   Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third –party liability insurance with a minimum cover of  $ 300.000.00 per event or equivalent.

 

End of HRF Sailing Instructions

 

Dated:  5/12/2006