TUDOR SAILING CLUB - SAILING INSTRUCTIONS FOR CRUISERS
From 31st March 2008

These Sailing Instructions are applicable to Tudor S C Cruiser series races and to any Tudor v Locks Cruiser Races. Where there are any differences, these will be denoted by (TSC) or (TVL) respectively.

1 RULES
Races will be governed by the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing 2005 – 2008, the prescriptions of the Royal Yachting Association, the rules of each class concerned and by these sailing instructions.

2 ENTRIES AND DECLARATIONS
All competitors must sign on before a race; this includes Helms who are doing Race Officer duties and are claiming compensation, they must sign on with their boat details and must write ‘OOD’ in the Finish Time/DNF’ column. Competitors who fail to sign on may be protested by the Race Officer. There is no longer a requirement for all competitors to sign a declaration sheet on finishing. However, competitors who retire from the race or who wish to be recorded as 'Did Not Finish' must inform the Race Officer within 2 hours of the last boat finishing. Where necessary, signing on / declarations may be done by telephone (023 9266 2002) or by VHF Channel M1(37).

3 ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Any additions or changes to these sailing instructions will be posted with the signing on sheet (They may also be displayed earlier on the Tudor SC Cruiser Notice Board); note that many races will be subject to changes to the sailing instructions.

4 SAFETY
The safety of a yacht and her entire management including insurance shall be the sole responsibility of the owner/competitor racing the yacht who must ensure that the yacht and crew are adequate to face the conditions that may arise in the course of the race. Neither the establishment of these sailing instructions nor the inspection of the yacht under these conditions in any way limits or reduces the absolute responsibility of the owner/competitor for the crew, the yacht and the management thereof.

Skippers are responsible for both their personal safety and that of their crew; they are the sole judge of whether their experience is sufficient for the prevailing conditions. Adequate personal buoyancy must always be carried for all persons on the boat and must be worn when conditions so require.

The race organisers 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 race or races. Moreover, every owner/competitor warrants the suitability of the yacht for the race or races.

5 CLASS WARNING FLAGS
The warning flag for each race will be international code Flag 'C'.

Note: It is normal practice to fly the Class Flag (‘C’) in place of the Red Ensign during racing, removing it after the race or if you retire. This is NOT compulsory and penalties will NOT be imposed if the Class Flag is not flown.

6 COURSE
The course to be sailed will be selected from the current list of Cruiser Courses. The course letter will be broadcast on VHF Channel M1 30 minutes before the race is due to start (calls to Tudor Base may be made to request the course up until 15 minutes before the start). A letter designating the course will also be displayed on a board near the start line from 30 minutes before the race is due to start.

7 START PROCEDURE
Racing rule 26 shall apply. The following sequence shall be used:

Signal Flag Sound Minutes Before Start
Warning Class Flag Up 1 sound 5
Preparatory Flag P up 1 sound 4
One Minute Flag P down 1 long sound 1
Start Class Flag down 1 sound 0

8 START LINE
Club Line: The line is the extension of a line through the centres of two orange triangles in front of the club house. There is an outer distance mark at the Eastern end of the line. Boats must pass to the West of this mark when starting. (Note that the outer distance mark may not lie exactly on the line).

Committee Boat Line: The line will be between a mast or staff flying the club burgee on the committee boat and an outer distance mark. An inner distance mark may be laid in which case boats must pass between the outer and inner distance marks when starting.

9 RECALLS
Individual recalls will be signaled in accordance with racing rule 29.2 (Flag 'X' and one sound signal).

General recalls will be signaled in accordance with racing rule 29.3 (Flag 'First Substitute' and two sound signals; a new 5 minute signal will be made one minute after First Substitute is lowered).

Racing rule 30 (starting penalties) shall not apply.

10 FINISH LINE
Club Line: As described in 8 (Start Line). Boats must pass to the West of the outer distance mark when finishing.

Committee boat line: The line will be between the mast or staff flying the club burgee on the committee boat and the mark of the course near which the committee boat is stationed.

11 TIME LIMIT
Unless otherwise specified, the time limit for the leading boat in each race is 3 hours. If one boat finishes within the time limit, all boats that finish shall be scored according to their finishing places unless the race is abandoned. If no boat finishes within the time limit, the race officer shall abandon the race.

12 PROTESTS
Protests must be lodged with the race officer within 2 hours of the last boat finishing.

13 HANDICAP NUMBERS
Each boat will race to the yardstick declared at the beginning of the season and agreed to by the Sailing Committee. A change in handicap number due to a change in configuration can be arranged by application to the Sailing Committee.

14 SCORING
(TSC): Scoring will be in accordance with Appendix A (Low Point System). All series will be scored as 'Long Series'. Two races shall be completed to constitute a valid series. In a series, each boat / helm / handicap number combination will be treated as a separate entry for scoring. Helms claiming compensation for ‘OOD’ duty will be awarded their average points (all races to count) for the series. OOD compensation is only available for series, not for single races. The number of races to count in a series will be as follows:
Races sailed: N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 etc
No. to count: N/2 raised to next highest whole number 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 etc

(TVL): Each Race is scored according to the following scheme:
1. Determine each Club's ENTRY as follows: The ENTRY for a club is the number of boats from that club that came to the starting area. The ENTRY for each club must be at least 3 boats. If a club has fewer than 3 actual boats come to the starting area then that club shall be deemed to have extra ,virtual' boats that came to the starting area, each of which scores DNF, to make their ENTRY up to 3 boats.
2. Determine ‘N’ as the smaller of the two clubs' ENTRIES.
3. The best placed ‘N’ boats from each club score points as follows:
1st : 1 point 2 nd : 2 points 3rd : 3 points etc
Boats which came to the starting area but are not awarded a finishing place will score points equal to the finishing place one more than the number of all boats (including virtual boats) that came to the starting area.
4. If one (and only one) club enters no boats for a particular race then one of the following will apply depending on whether or not the race is actually sailed:
4.1 If the race is sailed then the above scheme (1 - 3) can be applied without modification.
4.2 If the race is not sailed then the above scheme (1 - 3) can be applied as though the race had been sailed with the boats of the club intending to sail being deemed to have 'come to the starting area', raced and finished.
The Series is scored as follows:
For each Club the scores from all races are totaled.
The Club with the lowest total score is the winner of the series.
If there is a tie on total points it will be broken in favour of the club winning the most races, scored individually. If a tie still remains then it will be broken in favour of the club with the most first places or, if a tie still remains, the most second places, or lower places if necessary.