Notice of Race & Sailing Instructions

Dates: Sundays, Nov. 3, 2013, through April 13, 2014. The Pete Milnes Regatta is April 27, 2013. There will be no sailing on April 20, 2014 (aka Easter). The Fall Series will run from Nov. 3 through Dec. 29, 2013. The Winter Series will run from Jan. 5 through April 13, 2014.

Location: Boats launch from Sail Newport and sailing takes place in/around Newport Harbor

First Signal: 1 p.m.

Registration: Each sailor must register and complete a liability waiver. Failure to properly sign a waiver will nullify registration. Any competitor under 18 years of age must have a waiver signed by a parent/guardian.

Registration is available online at www.newportlaserfleet.org/frostbite.htm,
or on site at Sail Newport on Sunday, Nov. 3, between 11 a.m. to noon. For subsequent Sundays, competitors should complete their registration online and sign waivers between 11:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. at Sail Newport where forms will be available on the porch of the office.

The 2013-2014 Fleet 413 fee structure is as follows:

• Racing and storage: $140
• Racing only: $100
• College students receive a 50-percent discount on all fees
• High school students (or younger) race for free, storage is $20
• Daily fee for racing (no storage allowed): $10

See www.NewportLaserFleet.org/frostbite.htm for more information.

Storage: All Fleet 413 boats shall be stored in the space northeast of the old fenced-in area and east of the sail storage shed. If you have any questions, please ask a veteran member of the fleet or a Sail Newport representative. Storage starts on Nov. 3, 2013, and ends on April 27, 2014. ALL BOATS AND EQUIPMENT MUST BE REMOVED ON April 27, 2014. Any boats stored on the property before Nov. 3, 2013, or after April 27, 2014, are subject to Sail Newport transient storage fees. Contact Vinnie@SailNewport.org if you have any questions about storage outside of those dates.

Payment: Can be done online with credit card via Paypal when you register at www.NewportLaserFleet.org/frostbite.htm or by a check, made out to Laser Fleet 413. Cash is accepted onsite only by a Fleet 413 fleet captain (Stuart Streuli, Tom Whitmore or Jack McVicker) or Fleet 413 Treasurer Dave Moffet.

Eligibility: Open to registered sailors in Laser and Laser Radial rigs. Competitors are welcome to switch between Full and Radial rigs as conditions dictate. (See Sail Numbers, below, for more.)

Safety & Responsibility: Frostbiting can be hazardous. Competitors choose to sail in this series entirely at their own risk. U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets are to be worn by each competitor the entire time they are on the water. This includes sailing to the racing area and practicing, as well as racing. Buoyancy vests that do not have U.S. Coast Guard approval are not allowed (instead of USCG-approved attire) in Fleet 413. Sailors are required to wear adequate protective gear (e.g. wetsuits or drysuits, hats, neoprene gloves) to ensure their own safety and to gauge their own suitability to participate. Sailors agree to indemnify and hold harmless Sail Newport, Fleet 413 and any and all officers, employees and members of these organizations.

Race Committee Responsibility: Each competitor is required to perform Race Committee duty once during the season. If you are not comfortable leading the RC, please indicate this when signing up and you will be paired with someone who is able to lead the RC. The RC sign-up sheet will be available at registration. Sailors doing RC will be scored first for the day on the day they do RC.

Sail Newport Notice: Competitors are reminded to respect Sail Newport facilities and staff. We are dependent on this facility for the fleet’s continued success.

Parking: Parking your car inside the old Sail Newport fenced-in area IS PROHIBITED IN NOVEMBER AND APRIL. Late arrivals may have to drop off gear and park in the upper parking lot to the southwest of the Sail Newport offices or out by the Mule Barn. DO NOT PARK ON THE GRASS OR ALONG THE ROAD OR ANYWHERE ELSE THAT’S NOT A DESIGNATED PARKING SPOT. You may get a ticket from the park police; you will make the fleet look bad.

Starts: Starts will be either 2- or 3-minute dinghy starts at the discretion of the RC. The start will be between a red/orange flag on the committee boat and the pin, which is normally, but not always, a stick with two red pennants.

Finishes: Generally between the race committee and a small orange ball set on the opposite side of the committee boat from the starting line.

Courses: Marks are to be left to port unless instructed by the race committee:

• W – Windward – Leeward with start/finish in the middle.
• T – Windward – Reach Mark – Leeward with start/finish in the middle. If there is a leeward gate set, round the leeward mark on same side of the gate as the reach mark, leaving it to the same side as the windward and reach marks were left. (i.e., for a triangle with marks left to port, round the mark on the left side—looking upwind—of the gate, leaving it to port).
• H – Windward – Reach Mark – RC Boat (to starboard) – Leeward – Finish
• M – Windward – Leeward – Finish Line (as a gate) – Leeward – Finish
• (Sideways T) – Mid-course mark (to starboard) ­– Leeward – Windward – Mid-course mark (to starboard) – Finish
• When the M is the second letter in a course designation it adds to the course the following: Finish Line (as a windward gate) ­– Leeward – Finish

The RC has discretion to combine courses (i.e. HW), make courses with multiple laps (i.e. W2), and finish races at any mark. In addition the RC may announce course modifications or courses other than those outlined herein. The RC’s decision on courses is entirely at their discretion.
The RC has the option to use gates for leeward or windward marks and offsets at windward marks. The RC may choose to use the I Flag (one-minute, round-the-ends rule), the Z flag (20-percent penalty rule) or Black Flag (automatic DSQ for any boat OCS during the last minute before the starting gun).

Sail Numbers: Sailors are required to have UNIQUE sail numbers. If someone has already registered with your sail number, you will be asked to choose a new one. Please use your full sail number to ensure that it is the only one in the fleet. The RC and fleet leadership WILL NOT listen to any complaints about scoring issues arising due to duplicate sail numbers. Sailors may switch between full and radial rigs as desired, however their sail number SHOULD be consistent across rigs. Any sail number discrepancies MUST be reported to the race committee before racing.

Protests: Any boat that thinks it has broken a rule in Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing may make a 360-degree penalty turn (as opposed to the normal Two Turns Penalty described in Rule 44). Any skipper wishing to hear a protest must organize the protest committee after sailing. The race committee chairman for the day is empowered to point out potential rules infractions with a whistle and the hail of the offending sail number. Any disqualifications will require a protest hearing, during which the race committee is able to act as a witness.

“If in winning the race you have lost the respect of your fellow competitors then you have not won at all.” – 4-time Olympic gold medalist Paul Elvström

Unsportsmanlike Behavior: Will not be tolerated in Fleet 413. Foul language, intimidation, and/or a general lack of respect for fellow competitors may result in a suspension from Fleet 413 activities. Don’t be that guy (or girl)!

Scoring: Individual days will be scored using low point scoring with no throw out races. Series scoring will be low point with one throw out day for each three days of sailing. For the series scoring, a DNC for any day will be equal to one more than the maximum number of boats that participate in any single day during the 2013-’14 season. This applies for the fall, winter, and overall series.

Festivities: Begin promptly at the IYAC on Thames Street immediately after sailing

Fleet Contacts: General fleet questions should be sent to the fleet email, laserfleet413@gmail.com.

Fleet captains: Stuart Streuli (401-864-0511, stuartstreuli@gmail.com), Dave Reed (401-835-4435, dave.reed@sailingworld.com), Jack McVicker (jack@jackmcv.com) or Tom Whitmore (whit@whit.nu). Fleet announcements may also be made via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laser-Fleet-413/253717478008428).