Valcour Sailing Club Soling NA's

1.         RULES
The regatta will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012 (RRS), the rules of the International Soling class, except as any of these are changed by these sailing instructions, and by these sailing instructions.

2.         ENTRIES
Eligibility requirement for competitors (helmsman and two crew members) is membership in their National Soling Association or the International Soling Association (ISA). All yachts must have a 2009 ISA sticker affixed in the prescribed manner.

3.         NOTICE TO COMPETITORS
Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located near the marina launching hoist.

4.         CHANGES IN SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

            4.1       Any change to the sailing instructions will be approved by the Regatta Chairperson.
           4.2       Any change in the sailing instructions will be posted before 10:00 a.m. on the day it will take effect, except that any change to the schedule of races will be posted by 7:00 p.m. on the day before it will take effect.

5.         SIGNALS MADE ASHORE

           5.1       Signals made ashore will be displayed from the Valcour Sailing Club Race Committee boat.
           5.2       Flag AP with two sound signals (one sound signal when lowered) means the race is postponed. The warning signal will be made not less than one minute after the AP flag is lowered.

Race	Day and Date	Time of Warning Signal
One	Friday, August 14	1055
Two	Friday, August 14	after Race One
Three	Friday, August 14	after Race Two
Four	Saturday, August 15	1055
Five	Saturday, August 15	after Race Four
Six	Saturday, August 15	after Race Five
Seven	Sunday, August 16	0955
Make Up Races	Sunday, August 16	As necessary

            6.2       No warning signal will be made after 1300 on the last day of racing.
            6.3       Seven races are scheduled, of which four must be completed to constitute a valid championship.
            6.4       When a second race will be held on a day the warning signal for that race will be made as soon as practicable.

7.         THE COURSE

            7.1       The racing area will be in Cumberland Bay, Plattsburgh, NY.
            7.2       The courses for each race will be chosen from the following diagrams

            7.3       Note that with course 2, other than during the start or the finish, the RC boat and the pin are not a mark of the course and can be left on either side. In other words, on legs two, three, or four competitors may cross the line in either direction.
            7.4       The course will be designated by displaying the course number on the starboard side of the committee boat.
            7.5       The course may be shortened at any mark of the course or at the start finish line of course 2 when going to windward at the completion of the first lap.
            7.6       Neither the selection of the course nor the length of legs shall be grounds for redress.

8.         MARKS
Marks will be orange or yellow cylinders, tetrahedrons or pyramids. New marks when used in accordance with Section 10, Change of Course after the start, will be orange or yellow cylinders, tetrahedrons or pyramids.

9.         THE START

            9.1       Races will be started in accordance with RRS 26. The class flag will be light blue.
            9.2       The starting line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on the Race Committee boat at the starboard end and a mark at the port end.
            9.3       A yacht shall not start later than 5 minutes after her starting signal.

10.       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 then be in position. Any mark to be rounded after rounding the new mark may be relocated to maintain the original course configuration. When in a subsequent change of course a new mark is replaced, it will be replaced with an original mark.

11.       THE FINISH
The finishing line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag or shape on a Race Committee boat and the nearby mark at the port end.

12.       TIME LIMIT
Any race in which no yacht rounds the first windward mark within one hour of the start or finishes within two and one half hours of the start will be abandoned. If any yacht finished within the 2.5 hour time limit, the time limit for all other yachts will be thirty minutes after the finish of the first yacht. Yachts not finishing within the time limit will be scored “Did Not Finish”.

13.       PROTESTS

            13.1     Protest shall be made in writing on forms available at the Race Tent and lodged with the race committee there within 90 minutes after the last boat has finished in the last race of the day. The same protest time will apply to all protests by the Race Committee and jury and requests for redress.
            13.2     The jury will hear protests in the order that it deems appropriate. Notices will be posted within 30 minutes of the end of the protest time limit to inform competitors of hearings in which they are parties or witnesses.

14.       SCORING

            14.1     The Low Point scoring system, Appendix A, will apply so that each boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores, with her worst score discarded if five or more races have been completed.
            14.2     Red and blue fleets may be designated at the discretion of the regatta chairperson.

15.       RETIREMENT
A yacht retiring shall attempt to notify the Race Committee before leaving the racing area or club personnel upon arrival at the dock.

16        RADIO AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
A boat shall neither make nor receive transmissions on or from any electronic communication device while racing.

17.       SAILS
Yachts shall use only two jibs, two spinnakers of either size and one main sail.

18.       INSPECTION AND MEASUREMENT
At the discretion of the Regatta Committee, all entrants are, at the time of registration or any time during the event subject to (a) measurement of hull, rigging and sails and (b) inspection of required safety equipment. Failure to pass a measurement or equipment check after the event has commenced will result in disqualification of all races up to the time of detection.

19 .       HAUL-OUT RESTRICTIONS
Boats shall not be hauled out after the warning signal for the first race except in an emergency or with the prior permission of the regatta chairperson.

20.       DISCLAIMER
Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk: see RRS 4, Decision to Race. The race organizers shall not be liable for any loss, damage, death or personal injury howsoever caused to the owner/competitor, his skipper or crew, as a result of their taking part in the races. Moreover, every owner/competitor warrants the suitability of their boat for the races.

21.        SUBSTITUTION OF CREW
Substitution of crew is allowed.