The Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-12
Fundamental Rules
1. Help those in danger
2. Fair sailing, sportsmanship and fair play
3. Acceptance of the rules and penalties
4. The decision to participate or continue to race is the boats alone.
5. Anti Doping Code
Start Sequence
• 5 Minute: Warning Signal (class flag raised)
• 4 Minute: Preparatory Flag raised (normally P Flag)
(Penalties apply, No outside assistance)
• 1 Minute: Preparatory Flag lowered
• Start: Class flag is lowered
The P flag can be substituted for either I, Z or Black Flag
Penalties
• From the Preparatory signal until you have finished, penalties apply. For hitting a mark, a penalty of one tack and one gybe must be taken. For boats meeting, 2 tacks and 2 gybes must be taken.
If you have broken a rule on the water, you an still absolve yourself by taking the penalty but away from other racing boats and as soon a possible after the incident.
Starting Penalties
There is a sequence of flags with increasing penalties that Race Officers can use.
• P Flag: No penalty. Right up to the start you can be OCS (on course side), but at the start signal you must be behind the line. If any part of your hull is over, you can duck back behind the line (full boat) and restart.
• I Flag: (yellow with black circle) Return around the ends rule.
• Goes up at 4 minutes and down at 1 minute (in place of P flag).
• At 1 minute if any part of your boat is OCS you must return to the prestart side by rounding one end of the starting line.
• To minimize the penalty it is good to be starting near the ends.
• Z Flag (Yellow black blue and red Triangles),(again instead of the P flag). As previous if OCS with one minute to go 20 % of the boats taking part in the fleet will be added to your score, even if general recall the 20% is applied and you have to round an end.
• Black Flag: Disqualification. If OCS in the final minute you are disqualified. Unless the race is abandoned or postponed in the last minute. If there is a general recall you must not attempt the next start.
Protesting
• This should not be seen as an unpleasant. This is the only method of policing, the sport has.
• When a competitor knows he has broken a rule, he takes a penalty (or retires) whether
or not the other sailor hails ‘Protest’.
• When a competitor thinks another competitor has broken a rule and the other competitor does not take a penalty or retire, he protests.
Protesting on the Water
• You need to hail the word ‘Protest’ at the first opportunity
• If your hull length is 6 meters or more, you also need to display a RED protest flag.
Again, this has to be done ‘at the first reasonable opportunity’ (if the boat is under
control you are looking at 10-20 seconds, so have it ready). This is displayed until the end of the race.
Mark Room
Under the old rules, when a right of way boat was required to ‘give room’ at a mark, the amount of room was ‘the space a boat needs in the existing conditions while manoeuvring promptly in a seamanlike manner’.
The position at which the outside boat had to start giving room was a little vague. Now, as soon as one of the boats is in the zone (3 hull lengths) then the outside boat must give sufficient room to the inside boat to ‘sail to the mark’ in a seamanlike manner. Then, at that moment, the outside boat must give room for the inside boat to sail her proper course around the mark.
Normally the obligation starts when either boat has reached the zone. But there is an important exception. If boats are overlapped, and the outside boat will need to change course before the zone in order to give room, she must do so. She cannot wait till the zone and then claim 3 boat lengths was not long enough distance to change course to give room. May apply to keel boats or even dinghies in light winds when there is a strong tidal stream pushing them towards the mark.
Another important change is that the mark rounding rules do not apply between a boat that is leaving a mark and one that is approaching it. Normal right of way rules apply between them.
Leeward Mark
• 3 Boat length Zone applies to the length of the boat closest to the mark.
• When in the 3 Boat length Zone port/starboard does not apply.
• If there is dispute of an overlap at 3 boat lengths, the situation at 5 boat lengths will be looked at.
• This is a good guide for you to look at, rather than get involved in a Protest
Finish
• When any part of your hull, equipment or crew, in its normal position, first reaches the line, you have finished provided you have completed any penalties for infringements prior to finishing.
• When you have finished and cleared the line you are still subject to racing rules (but you cannot be penalized, so no need to take a penalty when boats meet) unless you interfere with a boat that is still racing. If you crossed the line in the wrong direction you can unwind yourself and finish properly.
