OHYC SAILING RULES

OAK HOLLOW YACHT CLUB

POLICIES & RULES

PURPOSE

The purpose of the OHYC is to promote the sport of sailing and all facets thereof. The Club encourages beginners and expert sailors alike to join together to develop a better, safer sailing program. Sailboat races are naturally a major part of our program, but only a part. Friendly sports­manlike competition is our goal. Other activities include sailing classes, social outings, and sailing days. No matter the size of your yacht, even if you don't have a yacht, we have room for you.

DUES

1.   Annual dues for the Club are $30.00 per year, effective March 16, 2003, for a family or individual membership. This entitles each member of the family to be a skipper in the official races, but constitutes one vote. The student membership is $15.00 per year for full‑time college students.  For sailing class graduates, first year membership is $15.00.

2.   Dues are payable to the Club Treasurer. The Club year is from November 1 through October 31.

3.   Any new member, or any member who has been out of the Club for two years and who joins after May 1, will only have to pay $15.00 for the balance of that fiscal year.  In early spring a letter will be sent to last years sailing graduates concerning this offer.

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

1.   Sailboats will be required to carry an anchor with 50 feet of line. Board boats and multi‑hulled boats are not required to carry an anchor.

2.   Sailboats will be required to carry a separate bailing device. Boats without a cockpit are not required to carry a separate bailing device.

3.   A tow line equal to two times the length of the sailboat is required. Anchor lines may be counted as tow lines.

4.   All sailboats must carry a paddle. Daggerboard boats may count the daggerboard as a paddle.

5.   Noise‑making devices are required on each sailboat. Referee whistles will suffice.

6.   Coast Guard, Federal, State and local requirements for safety equipment must be met.

7.   When sailboats are called alongside the Committee Boat for a safety check, the skipper must display all required safety equipment to the satisfaction of the Race Committee. Any sailboat not complying with these requirements will be disqualified.

 SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

These instructions cover all races conducted by the Oak Hollow Yacht Club, but may be modified or supplemented by additional sailing instructions for a specific event. The rules of the ISAF as adopted by the USSailing will govern except as modi­fied by these sailing instructions and specific class rules.

All sailboats sailing must be registered with the Race Committee. Boats that are not registered will not be scored.

Safety ‑ Each sailboat must abide by the safety rules of its class. Each sailboat must have one approved Coast Guard lifesaving device for each person aboard. Each sailboat 16 feet and over must have one Coast Guard approved throwable lifesaving device in addition to one device for each person aboard. When racing or in pre­paration to race, and Code Flag "D" (yellow and blue horizontal bars) or life jacket is displaying and one gun is fired, each competitor is individually responsible for wearing personal buoyancy adequate for the conditions. No Ski Belt!

Time Limit ‑ A class race will be canceled if the leading sailboat of the class has not finished within two hours of her start.

One gun will be fired as each signal is displayed. The visual signal will govern.

Starting and Finishing Line ‑ The Race Committee flag on the Committee boat and the starting mark. The starting line in not an obstruction unless indicated by Race Committee during skippers' meeting.  Race Committee boat will fly blue shape when on station to take finishes.

Rounding Marks ‑ All marks are rounded as shown in the diagrams under COURSE SIGNALS.

Starting Order ‑ Will be announced at skippers' meeting.

Time of Start ‑ The Race Committee will announce at a skippers' meeting or post on the "Official Bulletin Board" prior to the start, the time of the start.

360 Rule in effect.

Sailboats Over Early ‑ The Race Committee will attempt to hail sailboats over early; however, it is the responsibility of each sailboat to make a proper start. Class which has received General Recall shall then become last class to start.

Squaring the Starting Line ‑ The Race Committee has the authority to square the starting line within one minute after the preparatory five‑minute signal if a wind shift has occurred. This may be done by letting out or taking in scope on the Committee boat anchor line.

Alcoholic Beverages ‑ There may be no public display of alcoholic beverages on City of High Point property.

Protests ‑ the protesting skipper must:

1.   Fly a flag in the rigging as soon as possible.  Boats of hull length < 6 meters need not display the flag.

2.   Notify the other sailboat as soon as possible.

3.   Notify the Race Committee upon finishing.

4.   File a written protest within 30 minutes after the Race Committee docks.

5.   Attend the hearing.

Course Signals ‑ On the Committee boat will be a display of letters and numbers that designate the course to be sailed. These symbols are as follows:

S ‑ round all marks to starboard

P ‑ round all marks to port

1 ‑ one lap race

2 ‑ two lap race

Possible Courses  

FLAG SIGNALS

Shorten Course ‑ 2 guns and code flag "S".

When code flag "S is displayed On the Committee boat and a stake boat at a  mark, that mark becomes the  Last mark of the course.

The stake boat will hail those classes involved.

Sailboats shall proceed from that mark directly to the finish line.                                                                      

General Recall ‑ 2 guns and "lst Repeater". Repeater will be lowered 30

seconds before displaying the start signal.                                                                                                    

Postponement ‑ 2 guns and "Answering Pennant. All races not started are

postponed. Upon lowering of the Answering Pennant, one gun will be fired.

The warning signal or other signal will be displayed one minute after

lowering the Answering Pennant.                                                                                                                 

Abandonment "A" ‑ 3 guns and Code Flag "N". All races including White,

those in progress are abandoned and will be resailed at a later time.

Abandonment "B" ‑ 3 guns and Code Flags "N" over "X". All races including

those in progress are abandoned and will shortly be resailed. Watch for fresh

starting signals.

Abandonment "C" ‑ 3 guns and Code Flags "N" over "lst Repeater". All races

including those in progress are canceled and will not be resailed.

RACING RULES

The OHYC races will be sailed in accordance with the current rules of the United States Sailboat Racing Union, except as modified by these instructions or subsequent race bulletins or oral instructions by the Race Committee. Some of the general and specific racing rules are as follows:

1.   When on opposite tacks: The port tack boat shall keep clear. The starboard tack has right‑of‑way.

2.   When on the same tack: The boat to windward must keep clear of the boat to leeward. This applies when on a beat, reach or run.

3.   When rounding marks, if boats overlap, the outside boat must give the inside boat room to round or pass the mark.

4.   When tacking or jibbing: A boat must keep clear of other boats when coming about or jibbing.

5.   Avoid collisions: A right‑of‑way sailboat which fails to make a reason­able attempt to avoid collision resulting in serious damage may be disqualified as well as the other sailboat.

6.   360 Rule: A sailboat which realizes she has infringed a racing rule may withdraw or immediately perform one complete revolution (360) beginning and ending on the same tack. A sailboat performing a 360 must keep clear of all other sailboats and has no right‑of‑way rights.

7.      All skippers are encouraged to become quite familiar with the US SAILING Association sailboat racing rules, which are contained in an informative booklet.

 OHYC SCORING POLICY

SCORING: 

FORMULA USED: Elapsed Time(dec.min.) X 100 / Handicap = Corrected Time   * = Handicap corrected (x .97) for no crew

1.             All boats, including guests that are registered with the Race Committee, are used to tabulate points for each race. The points will be kept until the end of that series, at which time the race results will be calculated excluding the guest skipper's points unless the guest has become a member.  A guest skipper shall be limited to one weekend of racing before applying for membership.

2.         Each series, i.e., Summer and Frostbite, will be a continuous series with each race counting individually and equally. There will be a maximum of five races per weekend for scoring purposes.

                 3.         Individual races will be scored using a high‑point scoring system: 5 for first place; 4 for second; 3 for third; 2 for fourth; 1 for fifth and all other finishing places and DNF.  DNS receives no points. 

4.         A skipper's score for the series will be his cumulative score for all the races held in that series.  The final score for a series is rounded up (0.5 or more) or down (less than 0.5) to the nearest whole number.

5.         Final placement in the series will be determined by cumulative score; First place to highest score, etc.

RACE COMMITTEE SCORE

It is the duty of OHYC members to serve on the Race Committee when they are scheduled. When members serve on the Race Committee, they are compensated by receiving Race Committee points to be used in their season's adjusted point score.  An individual's Race Committee points are calculated as follows :( number of races at which individual officiated) times (individual's total score for series / number of races raced by that individual).  A participant may use no more Race Committee scores than the number of races he has actually sailed during a particular series. Race Committee scores may be used only during the series that the participant worked on the Race Committee.

A skipper scheduled for the Race Committee may substitute with someone scheduled to serve on another date if necessary. Substituting in order to sail in the races at Oak Hollow instead of working on the Race Committee is not permitted. The skipper and his regular crew should serve as a group on the Race Committee when scheduled.

If the race committee cancels all the races for an entire weekend after racing has begun, then "race committee points" (the average score for the series) will be awarded to all participants who have rigged their boats and begun to race.

TROPHIES

Trophies are awarded at the annual banquet by fleet for each series based on the average number of starts per fleet. The following formula is used to determine the number of trophies by fleet. Race Committee scores count as starts per class.A

Average Starts Per Class                  Trophies

1.2 ‑ 2.22                                      2

2.3 ‑ 3.42                                      2

3.5 ‑ 4.43                                      3

 4.5 ‑ 6.44                                      4

6.5 ‑ 9.55                                      5

9.5 ‑ Up                                        6

REQUIREMENTS FOR FORMING A FLEET

Any class of boats that is recognized by their class association as an active fleet, or any class of boats that starts three or more craft for a race on any two race weekends in a series will be recognized by the OHYC as a Fleet, and will be scored separately for the duration of that series.