53rd Australian Cherub Championship

Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Brisbane, QLD 28th December 2015 to 3rd January 2016

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

The 53rd Australian Cherub Championships will be conducted on Waterloo Bay, Brisbane, Queensland from 28th December 2015 to 3rd January 2016 inclusive.

The Organising Authority will be the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Inc. (RQYS) on behalf of the Cherub Class Owners Association of Queensland.

1. RULES 1.1 The regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in: (a) The Racing Rules of (RRS), (b) The Prescriptions and Special Regulations of Australia, (c) The 53rd Australian Cherub Championships Sailing Instructions, (d) The Cherub National Council of Australia Constitution and By-laws (found on the national website www.cherub.org.au or by contacting the National Secretary).

2. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board located on the rigging lawn adjacent to the RQYS Sailing Office.

3. CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS Any changes to the Sailing Instructions will be posted not less than ninety (90) minutes before the next scheduled start, except that any change in the schedule of races will be posted by 1900 hours on the day before it will take effect.

4. ADVERTISING The Cherub class is classed as Category “A” in accordance with the ISAF Regulation 20.4.1. Competitors may be required to carry event sponsors’ stickers as set out in the Sailing Instructions and may, at the discretion of the organising authority, be required to remove any other advertising the organising authority considers to be inappropriate.

5. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE 5.1 Signals made ashore will be displayed from the flagstaff located on the main rigging lawn, adjacent to the fuel jetty. 5.2 When the Answering Pennant (“AP”) flag is displayed onshore, the warning signal will be made not less than sixty (60) minutes after the “AP” flag is lowered.

6. REGISTRATION AND MEASUREMENT 6.1 Registration will be conducted on Monday, 28th December 2015 between 1000 hours and 1530 hours. 6.2 Measurement of boats, equipment and sails should be conducted and signed off by the State Measurers prior to registration, but no earlier than Tuesday, 1st December 2015. There will be limited resources to conduct measuring on registration day.

6.3 Registration must be accompanied with a signed registration form. 6.4 A Competitor’s Briefing will be held on Tuesday, 29th December, 2015 at 1200 hours in the RQYS Auditorium. Questions relating to the Sailing Instructions must be in writing. The question and official response will be posted on the official notice board.

7. SCHEDULE OF RACES

Day / Date Event First Warning Signal

Monday 28th December 2015 Registration & Invitation Race 1355hrs

Tuesday 29th December 2015 Race Day (2 Races) 1355hrs

Wednesday 30th December 2015 Race Day (2 Race) 1355hrs

Thursday 31st December 2015 Race Day (1 Race) 1355hrs

Friday 1st January 2016 Lay Day 1355hrs

Saturday 2nd January 2016 Race Day (2 Races) 1355hrs

Sunday 3rd January 2016 Race Day (2 Races) 1355hrs

7.1 Nine (9) Championship races are scheduled. 7.2 No warning signal shall be made after 1530 hours on Sunday, 3rd January 2016 7.3 No more than three (3) races will be sailed on any one day. 7.4 The time and date of any schedule change will be determined by the Race Committee and advised by a change to Sailing Instructions. 7.5 When more than one race will be held on the same day, the warning signal for each subsequent race will be made as soon as practicable. To alert boats that another race

will begin soon, the “AP” flag will be displayed with two sound signals, before a Warning Signal is displayed.

8. CLASS FLAG The Class Flag will be a red heart on a white background.

9. RACING AREA The sailing area will be on the waters of Waterloo Bay, Brisbane, adjacent to the RQYS.

10. THE COURSE 10.1 Courses shall be sailed in accordance with the Cherub National Council of Australia Constitution, except in the instance of Short Race format where for practical reasons all finishes will be downwind. 10.2 Races will be either in Short Race or Long Race format as shown in Appendix 1. 10.3 A course board with the relevant course number will be displayed on the Race Committee Boat no later than the Warning Signal. 10.4 The Race Committee Boat may display the approximate compass bearing of the first leg no later than the Warning Signal.

11. MARKS 11.1 Marks 1, 2, and 3 will be Yellow Inflatable buoys. 11.2 A new as provided in SI 13.1 will be an Orange Inflatable buoy. 11.3 The starting and finishing marks will be an Orange teardrop.

12. THE START 12.1 Races will be started by using RRS 26. 12.2 The starting line will be between the displaying the Orange flag on the Race Committee Boat at the starboard end and the starting mark at the port end. 12.3 If code flag “U” has been displayed as the preparatory signal, no part of a boat’s , crew or equipment shall be in the triangle formed by the ends of the starting line and the first mark during the last minute before her starting signal. If a boat breaks this rule and is identified, she shall be disqualified without a hearing but not if the race is restarted or re-sailed or postponed or abandoned before the starting signal. This changes RRS 26. 12.4 A boat starting later than ten minutes after her starting signal will be scored Did Not Start. This changes RRS A4.

13. CHANGE TO THE NEXT LEG OF THE COURSE 13.1 To change the next leg of the course, the Race Committee will lay a new mark (or move the finish line) and remove the original mark as soon as practicable. When in a subsequent change, a new mark is replaced, it will be replaced by an original mark. 13.2 Boats shall pass between the Race Committee Boat, signaling the change of the next leg and the nearby mark, leaving the mark to port and the Race Committee Boat to starboard. This changes RRS 28.1.

14. THE FINISH The finishing line will be between the mast displaying a blue flag on the Race Committee Boat and the finishing mark.

15. PENALTY SYSTEM RRS 44.1 and 44.2 are changed so that only one turn, including one tack and one gybe, is required, except the two (2) turns penalty will apply within three (3) boat lengths of a rounding mark. A boat that has taken a penalty or retired under RRS 44.1 shall complete an infringement acknowledgment form within the protest time limit.

16. TIME LIMITS 16.1 Short Race Format (a) Target time for each race is forty (40) minutes. (b) The first boat must finish within seventy five (75) minutes of the start of the race, failure to do so will result in the race being abandoned. (c) Only boats finishing within thirty (30) minutes of the first boat finishing will be scored as finishers. All other boats will be scored Did Not Finish. This changes RRS 35. (d) If no boat has rounded mark number one (1) in a thirty (30) minute period after the start, the race will be abandoned. 16.2 Long Race Format (e) Target time for each race is ninety (90) minutes. (f) The first boat must finish within one hundred and twenty (120) minutes of the start of the race, failure to do so will result in the race being abandoned. (g) Only boats finishing within forty five (45) minutes of the first boat finishing will be scored as finishers. All other boats will be scored Did Not Finish. This changes RRS 35. (h) If no boat has rounded mark number one (1) in a thirty (30) minute period after the start, the race will be abandoned.

17. PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS 17.1 Protest forms are available from the RQYS Sailing Office. 17.2 Protests shall be delivered to the RQYS Sailing Office, within ninety (90) minutes after the last boat has finished the last race of the day. 17.3 Notices shall be posted on the official notice board within thirty (30) minutes of the Protest Time Limit to inform competitors of hearings in which they are parties and the location of the hearing. 17.4 Notices of protests by the Race Committee or Protest Committee will be posted to inform boats under RRS 61.1(b). 17.5 Breaches of SI 20, 21, 22 and 26 will not be grounds for protest by a boat. This changes RRS 60.1(a). Penalties for these breaches may be less than disqualification if the Protest Committee so decides. 17.6 On the last day of the regatta a request for reopening a hearing shall be delivered no later than thirty (30) minutes after the party requesting the reopening was informed of the decision on that day, or within the protest time limit, if the party requesting reopening was informed of the decision on the previous day. This changes RRS 66.

18. ARBITRATION 18.1 At the discretion of the Protest Committee an arbitration hearing may be heard prior to a protest hearing involving an alleged breach of a rule of RRS Part 2. After the written protest form is properly lodged, one representative from each boat will meet with the arbitrator, no witnesses will be permitted. Protests not resolved by arbitration will be lodged with the Protest Committee. 18.2 Boats that accept fault at an arbitration hearing will be penalised by having her race score increased by 25% of the difference between the boats finishing score and the score for DSQ in her division or class, rounded up to the next whole number. The scores of all other boats will be adjusted accordingly, and may result with some boats having the same score .This alters RRS 44.3 (c). Once accepted, this decision is not subject to reopening and the protest will be withdrawn. This alters RRS 63, 64.1(a), 66 and Appendix A. 18.3 The arbitrator may be a member of any subsequent Jury or Protest Committee

19. SCORING 19.1 The low point scoring system of RRS Appendix A will apply. 19.2 Five (5) races are required to be completed to constitute a series. (a) When five (5) to six (6) races have been completed, a boats series score will be the total of her race scores. (b) When seven (7) to eight (8) races have been completed, a boats series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score. (c) When nine (9) races have been completed, a boats series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her two worst scores. 19.3 The scoring abbreviation for a discretionary penalty imposed under SI 16.5 will be DPI.

19.4 A boats handicap for the handicap series will be determined by an administrator appointed by the Cherub Class Owners Association of Queensland and will be adjusted as deemed fit by that administrator. Failure to agree with the administrator will not be grounds for redress.

20. SAFETY REGULATIONS AND DECLARATIONS 20.1 Competitors shall sign on as an entrant prior to leaving the shore and sign off on returning to shore on each race day. All sign offs must be completed by the end of protest time for the day. 20.2 A boat that retires from a race shall, if possible, notify an official boat of her decision and sign the retirement form as soon as possible after returning to shore. 20.3 Any boat does not comply with SI 20.1 and 20.2 will be penalised by the addition of two points to her race score for each race sailed in that race session. 20.4 Sign On; Sign Off, Infringement Acknowledgement and Retirement sheets are available from the RQYS Sailing Office.

21. REPLACEMENT OF CREW OR EQUIPMENT 21.1 Substitution of competitors will not be allowed without the prior written approval of the Race Committee. 21.2 Requests for substitution of equipment shall be made in writing to the Race Committee, at the first reasonable opportunity. If damage occurs on the water, equipment may be substituted before the following race and written permission shall be requested before the end of protest time on the same day. The written application for substitution and the decision of the Race Committee will be displayed on the official notice board.

22. EQUIPMENT AND MEASUREMENT CHECKS 22.1 A boat or equipment may be inspected at any time for compliance with the Class Rules and Sailing Instructions. A boat shall comply with a request by the Measurer to proceed to a designated area for inspection. 22.2 A boat that fails to comply with this official request for inspection will be subject to protest by the Race Committee.

23. LIMITATIONS OF EQUIPMENT Only one set of equipment shall be used by a boat during the regatta, except as approved under SI 21. The one set of sails that are to used shall be presented and signed as approved during the measurement process.

24. PRIZES 24.1 Trophies will be awarded to first overall in Open, Junior and , Female Skipper, Female Crew, Veteran, Overall Handicap and Best Presented Boat. 24.2 No boat shall win more than one set of prizes during the regatta for 1st on handicap or place in each heat.

24.3 Further prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the Cherub Owners Association of Queensland.

25. OFFICIAL BOATS Official boats will be marked by displaying a white flag with black letters “RC”.

26. SUPPORT BOATS 26.1 Except when participating in rescue operations as requested by the Race Officer; team leaders, coaches parents and other support personnel shall stay outside areas where boats are racing from the time of the preparatory signal and until all boats have finished the course, or the race committee signals a postponement, general recall or abandonment. The areas the boats are racing is defined as the area inside the course and within fifty (50) metres of any mark, lay line, starting area, finishing line or any area where any boat that is racing, is sailing, or may sail. 26.2 There shall be no communication between support vessels and boats from the time of the preparatory signal until the competitor has completed the race. 26.3 The Race Committee may protest any competing boat whose support boat is in breach of SI 26.1 and 26.2 and penalties imposed as a result in a penalty being imposed on the boat(s) supported by the support boat.

27. RADIO COMMUNICATION Except in an emergency, a boat shall neither make radio transmissions while racing nor receive radio communications not available to all boats. This restriction also applies to mobile telephones, WI-FI and internet based technologies.

28. MEDIA AND TELEVISION POLICY In participating in this regatta, all competitors automatically grant to the Organising Authority, Cherub Class Owners Association of Queensland, its agents and sponsors of the regatta, the right in perpetuity, to make, use and show, from time to time, and at their discretion, any motion pictures, still pictures and live, taped or filmed television and other reproductions of him/her recorded during the period of the completion for the regatta in which the competitor participates and in all material related to the regatta without compensation.

29. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. Refer RRS 4, “Decision to Race” Neither the Organising Authority nor the Cherub Class Owners of Queensland will accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with, or prior to, during, or after the regatta.

30. INSURANCE All competing boats shall have third party insurance cover of not less than AUD$10,000,000.00 for any one incident. By signing the Entry Form, entrants are deemed to have a declaration that they have such cover for the period of the regatta duration.

31. FURTHER INFORMATION RQYS Sailing Manager – Richard Matterson Email – [email protected] Phone – 07 3396 8666

APPENDIX 1

SHORT RACE FORMAT (Course No. 1)

Start – 1P – 2P – 3P – 1P – 3P – 1P – Finish Downwind

(P) – Port hand mark rounding.

LONG RACE FORMAT (Course No. 2)

Start – 1P – 2P – 3P – 1P – 3P – 1P – 2P - 3P – 1P – 3P – Finish Upwind

(P) – Port hand mark rounding.

Note: The course diagrams are guides only. Starboard mark rounding would be a image of the above course diagrams.

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