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  1. Races will be governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing, the prescriptions of the RYA, relevant Class Association rules and the following local rules.
  2. All competitors must wear personal flotation devices at all times while afloat.
  3. Races are open to all classes of members who are entitled to use Club sailing facilities.  Guests, who may be prospective members, or members of other RYA affiliated clubs, may also participate in a limited number of Club races.
  4. Notices to competitors will be posted on one of the boards in the clubhouse.
  5. Changes may be made to sailing instructions by the Committee, or the duty Race Officer, by posting on the notice board, or verbally via the rescue crew to competitors afloat.  Changes to the schedule of races may be sent by email and/or posted on Facebook.
  6. Signals made ashore will be displayed from the flagpole on the Clubhouse roof, and using the lights in the race box.  When flag AP is displayed ashore, “one minute” is replaced by “not less than 15 minutes” in the race signal AP.
  7. Helm must register a boats entry on the sheet provided before the preparatory signal of the race, by ticking the “entry paid” box next to your name/boat, or adding your name, boat class and sail number at end of list if your name/boat is not listed.  Unless you have paid the season’s race entry in advance, adults must put entry fees of £2.50 per race into the “race entry” plastic box (except for the RNLI Pennant where it is £5.00 which is given to RNLI every year.  Juniors pay no race entry fee, but must still register.
  8. For racing/sailing to take place there must be sufficient personnel to get the rescue boat back into the shed. For a race to commence there must be at least 2 boats signed on and intending to take part.  A race may continue even if only 1 boat starts the race.
  9. The schedule of races is as posted in the Club Handbook, and posted on the notice board – or as subsequently advised by the committee. For Saturday/Sunday races (except open regatta) the first gun will be 1300hrs.  For Wednesday evening races the first gun will be at 1900hrs
  10. The race area will be Largo Bay – generally in the vicinity of the fixed Club marks, except for the Raeburn Trophy when the racing area extends to Shell Bay to the east and Leven to the west.
  11. The racing marks will be any of the fixed racing marks 1to 5,  A  to D, and M as described in the handbook and on the noticeboard, plus any temporary marks laid for the race, which shall be described on the noticeboard, or by the rescue crew on the water.  The position of any of the marks may be altered prior to a race start by the race officer.
  12. The course to be sailed, including mark rounding information (port or starboard) on the whiteboard in the Clubhouse, or will be advised by the rescue crew on the water. 
  13. Race durations should be around 45 to 60mins, except the Raeburn Trophy which is up to 180mins.  The time limit is “About to finish” signal + 30 mins
  14. When races are controlled from the start box in the clubhouse, the start line (unless altered by the OOD) will be an extension of the line formed by the OOD’s box and mark S. Mark X (which may not necessarily be on the line) will mark the outer end of the start line. The finish-line (unless altered by theOOD) will be the line formed by the OOD’s box and mark X.  Start signals will be in accordance with RRS 26, except that lights will be used in place of flags, as follows – 5 mins – red light on, -4 mins, amber light on, -1 min green light on.
  15. Individual and general recalls will be signaled in accordance with RRS 29, except that lights will be used in place of flags as follows: Individual recall red and amber lights on, general recall red, amber and green  lights on.  The rescue crew may advise recalled boats, but is not required to do so.
  16. When races are controlled from the safety boat on the water, the start line and the finish line will be between marks S and X.  Boats must cross the finish line (i.e. pass between S and X) at the end of each lap.. Start signals will be in accordance with RRS 26, except that any flags may be used (e.g. flags X and first substitute may be used in place of class flag, and P.
  17. Races will be sailed using the “average lap time” method, which means that slower boats need not sail as many laps as faster boats.  Boats finish the race when they next cross the finishing line after the “about to finish” signal has been made. The about to finish signal will be made by lights on the race box (amber and green), or a flag on the safety boat.  In normal circumstances, once the “about to finish” signal has been made it will apply to all boats, however the race officer may use the safety boat to advise an individual boat either that they are about to finish even though the signal has not been made, or that they must do one more lap even though the signal has been made.
  18. In exceptional circumstances where boats which have completed at least one lap are unable to finish within the time limit, the Race Officer in consultation with the Sailing Secretary may give such boats a finishing position.  This may be based on the boat’s time for completion of the previous lap, with an adjustment as deemed fair by the Race Officer and Sailing Secretary.  The times of boats that do finish within the time limit may also be adjusted.
  19. Protests and requests for redress must be submitted to the Race Officer within 40 minutes of coming ashore after the last race of the day, unless the reason for the protest/request for redress was not known to the competitor at that time – in which case the protest/request for redress must be submitted as early as is reasonable, to either the Race Officer or the Sailing Secretary.
  20. Race series scores, including trophy races will use the Low Points Scoring System of Appendix A of the Racing Rules, with discards allowed as follows.
Races Sailed No of Discards
1 or 20
3 or 41
5 or 62
7 or 83
9 or 104
11 or 125
13 or more6
  1. The Golden Jubilee Trophy, Menzies Salver and Rollo’s Tankard will each be sailed as three-race series.
  2. The Closed Regatta will be a six race series sailed over two days.
  3. The Club Championship will be calculated from the results from all Sunday Series (early, summer and late) and Wednesday Series (early, summer and late) races, with 40% of races sailed to count (rounded up to next whole number).
  4. Personal Handicap Championship eligibility will be as posted on the sailing notice board. It will be based on the same races as the Club Championships and the same scoring system. Personal handicaps will be adjusted Portsmouth numbers, recalculated after every race, based on an average of the last 5 races sailed.
  5. A boats’ score in any race will only be attributed to a series/championship score line provided a minimum of one of the crew is one of the normal and recognised crew of the boat.
  6. Rule 4 of the Racing Rules of Sailing states “The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone.”  Sailing is by its nature an unpredictable sport and therefore involves an element of risk.  By taking part in any Club activities each member/competitor agrees and acknowledges that:
  • They are aware of the inherent element of risk and accept responsibility for the exposure of themselves, their crew, and their boat to such inherent risk whilst taking part in Club activities. They are responsible for themselves, their crew, their boat and their other property whether afloat or ashore.
  • They accept responsibility for any injury, damage or loss to the extent caused by their own actions or omissions.
  • Their boat is in good order equipped to sail in Club activities, and they are fit to participate.
  • The provision of a race management team, safety boats and other officials and volunteers does not relieve them of their own responsibilities.
  • The provision of patrol boat cover is limited to such assistance, particularly in extreme weather conditions, as can be practically provided in the circumstances
  1. Each participating boat shall carry valid third-party liability insurance with a minimum cover of £3,000,000 per event.
LBSC Sailing InstructionsDownload
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