Star Fleet
SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

August 2010

1. RULES
The races will be governed by the 2009-12 Racing Rules of Sailing, the prescriptions of USSA; the class rules in the Fleet By -laws, except as any of these are altered by the Sailing Instructions; and by these Sailing Instructions.

2. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS & CHANGES IN SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
2.1 Notices to competitors will be posted on the SSSS web site. Race results will be posted here too.
2.2 Additions or amendments to these instructions will be posted on the SSSS web. Any change in the sailing instructions will be posted two days prior to race day.

3. ENTRIES
3.1 Boats must register with the BISF and get a bow number. To do so, boats must meet the definition of a Budd Inlet Star and the Requirements, found in the Fleet Charter. This replaces the ISCYRA rules as our class rules.
3.2 Skippers must register with the BISF and get an identifying number; for owners it will be the bow number of their boat.
3.3 A skipper racing a borrowed boat needs to so inform the day’s RC, telling them the skipper’s ID number and the bow number of the borrowed boat.

4. SAFETY
4.1 All boats shall meet the equipment requirements found in the Fleet Charter.
4.2 This MINIMUM list is NOT everything all boats may want or need in all conditions. Every skipper shall determine that the boat is adequately prepared before racing. The safety of a boat is the responsibility of the skipper.
4.3 Any yacht not reporting their withdrawal from a race to the Race Committee may be score DNS.

5. DIVISIONS
5.1 A competitor will be scored in the Wood Division if they are sailing in a wood Star. If attendance warrants, the Wood Division may be started separately using a Green Class Flag. When sailing as a combined fleet the overall finishing place will be used in the scoring for both Divisions.
5.2 A race on any night may be designated as a Crew Race where the crew will race as skipper. The Crew Race will be signaled with a yellow flag flown before and during the starting sequence. The crew race will not be included in the night or season scoring for a boat and will be scored under the name of the crew. The crew races for the season will be scored as the Season Championship Series is scored. If the crew of a boat is not participating in the designated Crew Race they will notify the RC, keep clear of those participating and will not be scored in the race.

6. SCHEDULE OF RACES
6.1 Races will be held on the dates shown on the Star Race Schedules.
6.2 The first race will start: 1830 hrs. on Thursdays and Mondays, and on noon on Saturdays, or shortly there after. Other races will follow as soon as possible after each previous race.

8. COURSES
8.1 See Appendix A for the BISF standard race courses. The course will be indicated by the number displayed from the RC boat.
8.2 The race may be shortened at any turning mark of the course. RC Boat will raise the S flag with two sound signals. Finish between the S flag on the RC boat and that mark. The S flag may be displayed by the committee before the start to shorten the course to 1 lap. This modifies RRS 32 Shortening or Abandoning after the Start.

9. RECALLS
9.1 Individual Recall - The Committee Boat will TRY to hail premature starters. The Committee Boat will display Code Flag X, in accordance with RRS Rule 29.1, Individual Recall. The onus of starting correctly shall be the responsibility of the competitors.
9.2 General Recall - In the event of a general recall, the RC boat will make additional two sound signals. The Committee Boat will display the first substitute in accordance with rule 29.2, General Recall. The preparatory signal will be made one minute after the attention signal is sounded. That class shall re-commence a 3 minute start sequence until started.

10. PENALTIES
The Two-Turns Penalty will be in effect for infringement of a rule of Part 2 of the RRS. This is in accordance with RRS 44.2, One Turn and Two Turns Penalty.

11.4.a Arbitration hearings may be held prior to the protest hearing for all protests involving violations of Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing. The arbitration hearing shall occur after the night's racing at Westbay Marina. An arbitration panel shall consist of from 1 to 3 members.
11.4.b After arbitration requests are turned in, one representative (conforming to RRS 63.3(a)) of each boat may appear before an arbitration panel. No witnesses are permitted.
11.4.c After hearing the testimony of each representative, the arbitration panel shall reach one of the following conclusions:
1) There was no breach of a rule. If the representatives agree, the protest is withdrawn and cannot be reopened. If any representative disagrees, the matter goes to the jury for a hearing.
2) There was a breach of a rule by one or more of the boats involved. The representative(s) of the offending boat(s) have the option of accepting a 30% alternative penalty (calculated as in RRS 44.3(c)) or submitting the matter to the jury for a hearing. If the penalty is accepted, the matter cannot be reopened or made the subject of a redress request.
3) The matter should go to the jury for a hearing.

12. TIME LIMIT
12.1. The first yacht in each class must finish in 60 minutes.
12.2. The time limit will expire 90 minutes after the start. The race is then over. Boats starting and not finished by then will be scored DNF. This amends RRS 35, Time Limit.
12.3. The Race Committee may ask the last boat in a class to sail directly to the start/finish line prior to finishing in which case they will be scored as a finisher. Amends the definition of "finishing".

13. SCORING SYSTEM
13.1 Places will be awarded by finishing order.
13.2 A set number of races are not scheduled. All the races on a given day constitute a regatta and will be scored as such. Each boat’s total score will be the sum of ALL races.
13.3 The Low Point Scoring System, Appendix A of the RRS, will apply. Ties will be broken in accordance with rule A8, Series Ties. The number of boats entered for a regatta shall be the total number of boats from all divisions that come to the starting area to race for that regatta.

14 SERIES SCORING
14.1 The races will be divided into series as per the schedule.
14.2 The Series will be scored as the regattas are scored, except that:
  14.2.a each regatta, each day, will be scored as if it were one race
  14.2.b only your best three will be counted, except to break ties in accordance with rule A8.2.
  14.2.c a skipper serving as on the Race Committe shall be scored in the series for the regatta he was RC, but only for one regatta’s service per series. The score for the regatta served will be the average of his scores from the other regattas in the series.
  14.2.d RRS rule A9 shall apply.
  14.2.e The number of boats entered in a series shall be the total number of boats from all divisions that come to the starting area to race for the regattas in that series.

15 SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
The Season Championship shall consist of the scores from the Black Star Regatta and the other BISF regattas per the schedule. To qualify for inclusion in the Season Championship an individual shall compete in (i.e., come to the starting line for at least one race during a regatta) at least 50% of the regattas sailed during the season in a given Division.
Each individual finishing a race and not thereafter retiring or being disqualified will be scored by their overall finishing place as follows for the race: First place 1 point, Second place 2, Third place 3, Fourth place 4 and so on.
All others that compete in that race, including any that finish and thereafter retire or are disqualified, will receive the score for the finishing place one more than the number finishing that race. Those that do not compete in a race, DNC, will not be scored. The individual's score will be the sum of their race scores divided by the number of races for which they are scored. The qualified individual with the lowest series score is the winner. Awards go to the best three scores in the fleet. Series ties will be broken using rule A8.

16 STAR WORLDS REPRESENTATIVE
Our representative(s) to the Star Worlds will chosen based on their placing in the Season Championship Series in the Yellow Division.

Appendix A Courses

Marks are orange or yellow inflatable buoys set by the RC

Course 1

W = Windward Mark; L = Leeward Mark/ Limit Mark; P = Pin; S = Signal Boat, L will be located just aft of S

START between S and P; the Line is between the orange flag on S and mark P leaving L to starboard.
FINISH between the S and P; or between S and a mark if the course is shortened.
Leave all turning marks to Port

The course is Windward Leeward twice around. The committee may shorten the course at W or P.