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Lake Winnipesaukee Sailing Association, Inc
J80 Fleet 1  Thursday Night Series
2019

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Sailing Instructions

 

Rules:  The races in these series will be governed by the rules as defined in the current Racing Rules of Sailing, which, by definition, include the US Sailing Prescriptions, the ISAF Recognized J/80 Class Rules (available here or at J80 Rules Online), the notice of race, and these sailing instructions.

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Entries:  See the Notice of Race for full details on entrance requirements. Information on how to register is available here .     

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Notices to Competitors: Notices to competitors shall be forwarded to all competitors via the J/80 Fleet 1 email list.  To subscribe, click here   and definitely provide a cell phone number (if you encounter any difficulty, email J80 Fleet One Captain) and may be posted on the official notice board at www.lwsa.org/j-80-notices .  It is the each competitor’s responsibility to subscribe to receive notices via the J80 Fleet1 email list and to check www.lwsa.org/j-80-notices their email for notices.  Failure to check the website and/or subscribe and review emails shall not be a basis for requesting redress.

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Changes in Sailing Instructions:  Any change to these sailing instructions will be posted on the Notices page of the website at: www.lwsa.org/j-80-notices before 1200EDT on the day it will take effect.  Competitors shall be advised of all notices of change via the J/80 Fleet 1 email list. To subscribe, click here and definitely provide a cell phone number (if you encounter any difficulty, email J80 Fleet One Captain) .

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Signals Made Ashore:  In the event a regatta must be cancelled in advance, the organizing authority will post a cancellation notice on the notice board and send the notice to the J/80 Fleet 1 e-mail list before 1200EDT on the regatta day.

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In case of bad weather on a regatta day, the Fleet Captain, or his designee, may decide to cancel or delay the start no later than 1 hour before first signal. If cancelling, the Fleet Captain or his designee will email the J/80 Fleet 1 email list by 45 minutes before the first signal, and arrange for text messages to skippers who have requested the same as soon as practical.  If you want a text message, please be sure to inform the Fleet Captain at J80 Fleet One Captain . In addition, notice of the cancellation or delay will be posted on the website at www.lwsa.org/j-80-notices as soon as practical.

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Succinct email notices will also be sent to the J/80 Fleet 1 alerts mailing list. To subscribe, click here and definitely provide a cell phone number (if you encounter any difficulty, email J80 Fleet One Captain) .

Should the race committee find it necessary to postpone, abandon or use an alternate racing area on a regatta day, they will broadcast a notice to competitors on the VHF radio (Ch 72) no later than 15 minutes prior to the scheduled first warning signal.

 

Schedule:  The warning signal for the first race will be at 1800EDT on each regatta date in the Spring and Summer Series, and 1730EDT in the Fall Series.  Subsequent races in a regatta will be held as soon as possible after the end of the previous race.  No race will be started after sunset.  The regatta dates are to be found in the NOR. 

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Racing Area:  The race area will be established at either the areas east, south, or west of Welch Island or in Sanders Bay, all on Lake Winnipesaukee. 

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Course:   The courses will be windward/leeward (with the exception of the second day of the Commodore's Cup which may include island racing.)  The windward mark will be rounded to port and may include an offset mark. The default number of legs shall be four; however the race committee may designate any number of legs by hail or visual signal no later than the warning signal for the next race.  An odd number of legs will mean a windward finish.

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Marks:  Marks will be yellow inflatables, however, the race committee reserves the right to use whatever marks may be available.  A race committee boat may be used as the replacement of a missing or out of position mark. An RC boat acting as a replacement mark will display flag M and make repetitive sound signals.

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The Start: Races will be started by using rule 26 with the warning signal given five minutes before the starting signal.  A J80 Class flag or yellow flag will be used as the warning flag. The starting line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on a race committee boat and a nearby mark at the port end. The race committee boat may deploy a nearby “Keep-Away” buoy that shall be considered an integral part of that starting mark. A boat starting later than five minutes after its starting signal will be scored Did Not Start.  This changes rule A4.1.

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Change of the Position of the Next Mark:  To change the position of the next mark, the race committee will move the original mark (or the finishing line) to a new position.  The change will be signaled before the leading boat has begun the leg, although the mark may not yet be in the new position.  Any mark to be rounded after rounding the moved mark may be relocated without further signaling to maintain course configuration.

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The Finish:  The downwind finishing line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on a race committee boat and a nearby mark. Note: For a downwind finish, this is the start line.

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An upwind finishing line will be between the windward mark and a staff displaying an orange flag on a nearby race committee boat.

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In the absence of the race committee, a boat shall take its own finish by noting the boat that finishes previous and subsequent to it as well as the time and report to the race committee as soon as possible.  If there is no longer an established finishing line, a boat shall finish as close to the remaining mark as practicable on a line extending from the required side at a 90 degree angle to the last leg. 

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Penalty System:  Rule 44.2 is changed so that the Two-Turn Penalty is replaced by a One-Turn Penalty, which must include one tack and one jibe in the same direction.

 

All skippers and crew members are expected to act in a Corinthian manner while on the water.  Rule 69 shall be strictly enforced. Pursuant to Rule 69 the Principle Race Officer may protest any vessel that is acting in a non-Corinthian manner.  A Rule 69 protest shall be given priority and heard by the protest committee on the first date available to all parties. Any grounds for protest, redress or appeal shall be governed pursuant to Rule 70.

 

Time Limit: If the first boat does not reach the first leeward mark rounding (or finish for a “once around” designated course) within forty-five (45) minutes of the start or the first boat to finish does not finish within ninety (90) minutes of the start, the race shall be abandoned. Boats failing to finish within fifteen (15) minutes after the first boat sails the course and finishes will be scored Time Limit Exceeded (TLX) and will be scored one more point than the last finishing boat. This changes RRS A4.2. The race committee may hail the boat(s) on the radio.  A boat so hailed will be given five minutes to get to the starting area before the warning signal for its next race.  Use of the motor to return to the starting area is encouraged in the interest of expediency and may be used up until one (1) minute before the start as long as the returning boat remains on the course side of the start line.  A protest cannot be made alleging a breach of rule 42 when an engine is used as described above. This changes rule 60.

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Navigation Lights:  Class rules require a battery and working navigation lights.  Any boats in or near the racing area after sunset must illuminate their navigation lights.  Boats not so illuminating their navigation lights are subject to protest.  Reference rule 48.

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Motors:  All boats must carry the class-required outboard motor mounted to the transom at all times.

 

Boat and Equipment Substitution: Any registered boat that cannot sail on any given race date because the registered boat has damage rendering it unsafe to sail, is undergoing repair “on the hard”, or is “off lake” attending a Class regatta can race with a substitute boat under the following conditions.

 

Conditions for boat substitution

 

The registered boat shall notify the Race Committee’s designee no less than 24 hours prior to the first warning signal of their intent to race with a substitute boat. The notification shall include: a) the reason for the substitution and b) a declaration from the registered boat attesting that the substituted boat meets all requirements of the series other than the requirements of having a valid Class Association Sticker affixed to its transom, and having been registered for the series.

 

A substituted boat may be a boat that has been registered for the Series. The registered boat that is used as a substituted boat shall, for herself, receive a DNC or bye per the Scoring paragraph.

 

A substituted boat must race with sails from the registered boat’s inventory, except as provided below.

 

Conditions for sail(s) substitution

 

Any registered boat can use any Class legal sails that it owns during the Series and can exchange them on a day to day basis if desired. Per Class rules, sails cannot be exchanged on any single day of racing.

 
Any registered boat not having any usable sail(s) in its inventory may use a loaned sail (a full set or just one) on any day or multiple days of a Series after notification to the Race Committee’s designee and certification that such sail(s) are Class legal.

 

Any registered boat may use a demo sail (a full set or just one) on any one day of a Series after notification to the Race Committee’s designee and certification that such sail(s) are Class legal.

 

Protests:  The purpose of the One-Turn penalty provision is to reduce or eliminate off-the-water protests.  Adjudication of protests is difficult and inconvenient for all parties, including those disinterested parties who need to assemble to hear the protest.  The following protest protocol will be used:

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All protests must be properly initiated.  This includes immediate hail and display of the protest flag, display of the flag at the finish and prompt notification of the race committee prior to the start of the next race.

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Protests must be written on official protest forms available from US Sailing. (available at US Sailing Protest Form Online) Protests must be mailed to the Fleet Captain postmarked no later than the day after the incident.  Alternatively, a .pdf file of the completed protest form may be emailed to the Fleet Captain at J80fleet1captain @lwsa.org no later than 1800EDT hours the day after the incident.  A copy of the protest must also be sent to the protested party(s) on the day after the incident using either of the same aforementioned methods and timings.

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Protest hearings will be held at the earliest convenience of all parties involved after the protest filing. The protest committee shall arrange a time and place.

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The parties may agree to an alternate penalty at any time after the race. The penalty will be a scoring penalty equal to one third of the number of the boats competing in the race rounded up to the next whole number. Both parties must sign a letter to the fleet captain informing him of the agreement.

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Scoring:  The Low Point Scoring System in Appendix A of the racing rules will be used.

A minimum of six races shall constitute a series. 

The first three races of each day or night will be scored.

Each boat’s series score will be the total of all its scores, discarding the worst score if more than six races are held in the series.  The maximum number of discards allowed in a series will be one. This changes rule A2.

 

September 20-22 (North Americans): For scoring purposes each yacht’s best 3 races on each day for a maximum for 6 total races shall be scored, excluding non-fall series competitors.  If for any reason the race committee is unable to run 3 or more races on either or both days then the total number of races shall be scored for that day.  In cases where the North Americans Notice of Race (NOR) and Sailing Instructions (SI) conflict with the Thursday Night Series Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions the North Americans NOR and SI shall prevail.

 

September 7-8 (Commodore's Cup): For scoring purposes on Day 1 of Commodore's Cup, each yacht’s best 3 races on that and the single race on the second day, for a maximum of 4 total races shall be scored, excluding non-fall series competitors.  If for any reason the race committee is unable to run 3 or more races on the first day then the total number of races shall be scored for that day.  In cases where the Commodore's Cup Notice of Race (NOR) and Sailing Instructions (SI) conflict with the Thursday Night Series Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions the Commodore's Cup NOR and SI shall prevail.

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A boat that did not come to the starting area, did not start, did not finish, retired after finishing, or was disqualified shall be scored for the finishing place one more than the total number of boats that started or were OCS. This changes rule A4.2 and A.9.

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Abandoned races will not be rescheduled unless they are essential to meet the six race minimum requirement for a series.

For a race to count in a series, a minimum of three registered boats intending to race must be in the vicinity of the starting area during one of the regatta’s starting sequences.

 

Byes: Each boat will be entitled to receive her average score (after 1 discard as described above) for all races of one regatta (night) in which she was scored DNC. Should a boat receive DNC scores in more than one regatta (night), byes will be assigned to the qualifying races of the regatta (night) that will yield the most favorable result for the boat’s series score.  Note: There will be two byes for the Fall Series.

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Boats that have not paid the fee as stated in the Notice of Race or fulfilled all of the other requirements for registration will not be scored.

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The owner/driver and crew of participating boats may be required to act as race committee as directed by the Fleet Captain. A participating boat may provide other sufficient able persons to act as race committee in lieu of the owner/driver and crew of the participating boat. Failure to comply will result in the boat being scored DSQ in that evening’s races.  A boat may choose to use its byes on their evening to fulfill this duty. Switching nights with other participating boats will be allowed, but it is the responsibility of the owner/driver to make these arrangements. If necessary a schedule shall be created by the Fleet Captain. 

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Support Boats: Friends and relatives in non-competing boats should be instructed to keep clear of the racing area and avoid verbal or physical contact with the competitors. 

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Communication: The race committee will monitor and use VHF channel 72 to communicate with competitors. Note that class rules require a working VHF radio on all boats. For safety and organizational reasons, cell phones are allowed on board but must be off while racing.

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