These General Sailing Instructions shall be applied together with the Specific Event Sailing Instructions for the Lake Washington Racing Program.
REGISTRATION
1 To enter an event, submit a completed registration form and pay the appropriate fee by 1600 at least three days prior to the first race entered. Registration forms can be hand delivered to the CYC Clubhouse at Shilshole or submitted via mail, fax (206) 789-5896, or through the web site at www.cycseattle.org.
RULES
Races will be governed by the 2009 - 2012 Racing Rules of Sailing ('RRS'), the prescriptions of US SAILING, the rules adopted by local one-design fleets (when applicable), the rules of PHRF Northwest (when applicable), these sailing instructions, and the specific event sailing instructions for each event. In case of conflict between these sailing instructions and the specific event sailing instructions for an event, the specific event sailing instructions will govern.
NOTICES TO COMPETITORS
3.1 Notices will be posted in a bulletin board case located on the North fence across from the hoist in the lower parking lot directly East of the BluWater Bistro hereafter referred to as the "Leschi Notice Board". Notices and class breaks may be posted at www.cycseattle.org, but this will not constitute an official notice location.
3.2 Any change in the sailing instructions will be posted at least 90 minutes before the first warning of the race in which it will take effect. Code flag "L" may be flown from the Race Tower or the race committee boat at its moorage.
3.3 The Race Committee may post on the Leschi Notice Board a list of any boats scored OCS, DNS, ZFP, BFD, or DNF at the earliest opportunity after returning to dock and before the stated protest time-limit.
RESPONSIBILITY
4.1 The skipper of each boat is responsible for any unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of his or her crew. If action is taken under RRS 69, Allegations of Gross Misconduct, it may result in a competitor being excluded from further participation in the CYC racing program.
4.2 Occasionally, sailboat racing has resulted in injury or loss of life. All competitors in CYC events participate at their own risk. It shall be the responsibility of the skipper to inform the crew of the risks of sailboat racing, to make sure they understand and accept those risks, to decide whether the crew is competent and adequate for the event, and to decide whether to start or continue in a race.
4.3 All boats/boat owners shall have liability insurance currently in effect, covering yacht racing activities, property damage, personal injury and death in an amount appropriate for the type of boat being sailed. (Minimum coverage of $300,000 per occurrence is recommended for keelboats.)
4.4 When a boat is notified that she has been selected for an inspection of required safety equipment, she shall report for and submit to the inspection.
SIGNALS MADE ASHORE
Signals made ashore will be displayed from the Race Tower or the race committee boat at its moorage. When flag "AP" - Postponement Signal is lowered after having been displayed ashore, all contestants shall proceed promptly to the starting area.
SAFETY
6.1 Competitors in centerboard boats shall wear a life jacket or flotation garment other than a wet suit or dry suit at all times when racing.
6.2 Unless racing in a one-design class, keelboats (including those with retractable keels) shall comply with the PIYA Category III equipment requirements. A PIYA form listing these requirements is available at www.ussailing.net/piya.
6.3 Competitors needing help should signal by waving an open hand. A wave of a closed fist will be interpreted to mean help is not needed.
6.4 A boat that leaves the racing area before finishing or before the last race of a day should notify the race committee.
6.5 Navigation lights, if standard equipment for the boat, shall be lit between sunset and sunrise and in times of restricted visibility per COLREGS Rule 20.
CHANGES IN RATING
A change in a PHRF rating takes effect on the day it is recorded by the local handicapper. After that day, the boat's corrected time will be calculated using her new rating.
STARTING ORDER AND CLASS FLAGS
Classes will start in the order in which class placards are displayed, reading from left to right and from the top line to the bottom line on the race committee boat readerboard. When a plus sign ("+") is displayed between two class placards, those two classes will start together at the same time.
COURSES
9.1 Each course will be signaled by a row of letters following the placards of the classes that are to sail that course. Each letter designates a mark. The first letter displayed is the starting mark, the last is the finishing mark, and those in between are the rounding marks.
9.2 Mark descriptions and locations are printed inside the front cover of this Racebook. NOTE: The leeward marks may be either to windward and/or leeward of the committee boat.
9.3 Start between the starting mark and the orange flag on the race committee boat. Pass each rounding mark in the order displayed and on the same side as the starting mark. Finish between the finishing mark and the orange flag on the race committee boat. When a number, such as "2" or "3", follows the course letters, it signals a multiple-lap course. Sail the course as many times as is indicated by that number, crossing the finishing line at the completion of each lap.
9.4 IMPORTANT RESTRICTION: After completing the first leg of the course, a boat shall not cross the line between mark F and the committee boat or the line between mark "G" and the orange flag on the race committee boat unless she is:
(a) finishing,
(b) completing a lap of a multiple-lap course (as indicated by a number following a designated course), or
(c) rounding the mark end of the starting or finishing line when such a rounding is required by the course for her class.
A boat that fails to observe this restriction may exonerate herself by making a Two-Turns penalty. This changes RRS rule 28.1. The finishing line and the line between mark "G" and the orange flag on the race committee boat are obstructions for boats that are subject to this restriction. A boat that fails to exonerate herself may be scored DNF without a hearing. This changes RRS 63.1 and appendix A5.
9.5 Gate mark: If flag "G" is displayed at the preparatory and the starting signals for a class, there will be a gate (two marks) instead of a single mark for that class, and boats shall pass between the two gate marks and then round either the port gate mark to port or the starboard gate mark to starboard.
9.6 Individual classes may be abandoned or shortened by displaying their class flag along with the appropriate race signal flag.
9.7 Warning: The race committee may use its engine to hold position, and it may do so even when apparently anchored.
THE START
Races will be started by using RRS rule 26 except a blue shape will replace flag P. The race committee may give a hail to the next class whose warning signal is about to be made.
INDIVIDUAL RECALLS
The race committee may attempt to hail the sail numbers of recalled boats. Failure to do so, the timing of the hails, the order of the hails, the failure to hear the hail, or any other issues associated with the hail will not constitute grounds for redress. This modifies RRS 62.1(a).
PROTESTS
12.1 Weekend regattas: Protests shall be delivered to the Race Committee no later than one hour after the race committee boat docks. The schedule of protest hearings will be posted posted on the Leschi Notice Board shortly after the protest time limit. Protesting parties may be offered the opportunity to participate in voluntary protest mediation. Posting of the protest schedule is considered notice given as required by RRS rule 63.2 and satisfies the notice requirement of RRS rule 61.1(b). Hearings will proceed whether or not all boats are represented.
12.2 All other events and series: Protests shall be sent to the CYC office by mail with a U.S. Postal Service postmark date no later than the first weekday following the race in which the incident occurred or hand delivered before the end of office hours on that day. This changes RRS 61.3. Parties to a hearing will be notified of the date, location and time of their hearing.
12.3 A protested boat may elect to acknowledge breaking a rule and to accept the appropriate penalty. In such a case she should notify the protest committee chairman to that effect and the hearing may be waived. This changes RRS 63.1.
SCORING
13.1 The Low Point scoring system of RRS Appendix A will apply. Boats that do not finish, retire, or are disqualified will score points equal to the number of boats that finish in their class in that race plus one. Boats that do not start will score points equal to the number of boats that finish in their class in that race plus two. This changes RRS Appendix A4.2 and A9.
13.2 PHRF corrected times will be calculated using the time-on-time method.
13.3 A boat's series score is the sum of her points in all the races. However, for the Evening Series if four to six races are completed, one score will be discarded, if seven to nine races, two will be discarded, and if ten or more races, three will be discarded. For Weekend Regattas there will be no discarded scores. This changes RRS Appendix A2.
13.4 One completed race will constitute a series.
AWARDS
Corinthian sailing awards will be awarded as indicated in the specific sailing instructions. The results of each event will be posted on the CYC web site.