St Helena Race 2002

1. MANAGEMENT

The Race will be under the management of False Bay Yacht Club (FBYC) in conjunction with St. Helena Yacht Club (SHYC) and the authority of South African Sailing. The Organising Committee has delegated its authority to the Race Committee to manage the race.

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 "IRC" shall mean the 2002 version of the Royal Ocean Racing Club`s IRC handicapping system.

2.2.1 "SHRS" shall mean the Cape - St. Helena Rating System. ( Measurement based as calculated by rating officer from details according to rating application.)

2.3 "Cruiser" shall mean a yacht which has a weight divided by rated sail area of more than 60.

2.4 Any reference to the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender.

2.5 Unless specified, all times will be Universal Time.

3. RULES

3.1 The Race will be sailed under the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2001- 2004, the South African Sailing prescriptions thereto, the current SA Sailing Special Regulations for Sea Going Sailing Boats Category 1, the Class Rules of any participating classes, this Notice Of Race and the Sailing Instructions.

3.2 In addition to the equipment required in terms of the special regulations each participating boat shall be equipped with a HF SSB Marine radio transmitter and receiver with minimum transmitter power of 100 watts PEP with appropriate frequencies.

3.3 In the event of a conflict between any of the above regulations and this Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions, the provisions of this Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions will prevail.

3.4 Part 2 of the RRS relating to when boats meet, shall apply for three hours after the start and for one hour prior to a yacht crossing the finish line. At all other times during the race right of way will be determined by the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea.

4. COURSE AND DATE

4.1 The Race will start in Table Bay and will finish off St. Helena Island. The details of the start and finish areas will be specified in the Sailing Instuctions.

4.2 The Race will start on Saturday the 30th November 2002 at 10:00 Universal Time. The warning signal will be at 09:50 Universal time.

4.3 Dependent on entries and speed differential a rally / classic category could be considered to start on Wednesday 27th November 2002 at 10:00 Universal Time.

5. TIME LIMIT

5.1 The race will end at 12:00 Saturday 14th December 2002, after which time all yachts which have not crossed the finish line will be considered as having retired.

5.2 The Race Committee reserves the right to extend the time limit under exceptional circumstances.

6. CALCULATION OF RESULTS

6.1 The COURSE DISTANCE shall be 1695 nautical miles.

6.2 The BASIC ELAPSED TIME of a yacht shall be the interval of time from the starting time until she crosses the finish line.

6.3 The CALCULATED ELAPSED TIME shall be the basic elapsed time amended if applicable by any penalties imposed and/or time allowances granted by the Race Committee.

6.4 The COURSE ALLOWANCE in hours will be the course distance in nautical miles (1695 nautical miles) divided by the yacht's rated speed in knots.

6.5 The HANDICAP POSITIONS will be in ascending order of the calculated elapsed time, less the course allowance.

6.6 The ACTUAL PLACINGS shall be in ascending order of calculated elapsed time.

7. ELIGIBILITY

7.1 Every owner, skipper or crew of a competing boat shall be a member of good standing of a yacht club affiliated to and in good standing with South African Sailing. In the case of foreign entered boats the onus is upon those onboard to prove to the Race Committee their good standing with their Member National Authority.

7 .2 The event will consist of a number of categories so that similar boats, where possible, will race against each other. To that end, the categories will be as follows:

7.2.1 Mono-hull overall handicap. All mono-hull yachts of not less than 9 meters length overall with valid IRC certificate

7.2.2 Mono-hull racing fleet. (according to racer / cruiser formula)

7.2.3 Mono-hull cruising fleet. (according to racer / cruiser formula)

7.2.4 Multi- hull yachts of not less than 10 meters length overall with valid SHRS certificate.

7.3 In addition, any class of yacht recognised by the Race Committee having four or more entries will be considered a class.

7.4 If there is sufficient demand, other classifications of boats will, at the Race Committee`s sole discretion, be considered.

8. RATING CERTIFICATES AND HANDICAPS

8.1 Yachts shall have current rating or handicap certificates as follows;

8.1.1 All mono-hull yachts shall have current, valid IRC certificates as referred to in clause 2.1

8.1.2 All multi-hull yachts shall have valid SHRS certificates as referred to in clause 2.2

8.2 Yachts requiring IRC measurement in South Africa are requested to apply to the South African Sailing Rating Authority as soon as possible to arrange measurement.

8.3 Multi-hull yachts shall complete a SHRS Rating application form, which shall be submitted to the Race Secretary as soon as possible to arrange calculation.

8.4 All IRC rating certificates and SHRS handicap applications are to be submitted to the Race Secretary by 15.00 on Friday 15th November 2002. No alteration to a yachts TCC will be permitted after this date, except as aresult of a rating protest or to correct Rating Office errors.

8.5 Submission of incorrect information will render a yacht liable to a rating penalty.

8.6 A list of handicaps and time allowances will be published on the Race Notice board at least 48 hours prior to the boat`s starting time.

8.7 The allocation of competitors to a particular fleet shall be determined by the yacht`s corrected time over the course, calculated on a time on distance basis, after any applicable allowances or penalties, as follows:

8.7.1 Handicaps for the IRC fleet will be applied in accordance with the relevant time allowance in seconds per mile as calculated and published by the Race Committee.

8.7.2 Handicaps for the SHRS fleet will be in accordance with the relevant time allowance in seconds per mile appearing on each yacht`s SHRS Certificate.

8.8 Changes may, on showing good cause and with the prior written approval of the Race Committee, be made to a boat`s rating certificate up to three days prior to the boat`s start date.

8.9 The Race Committee reserves the right to correct measurement and calculation mistakes relating to any yachts IRC or SHRS Ratings if notified by the Rating Officer.

9. SAFETEY REQUIREMENTS AND SCRUTINY

9.1 Each yacht shall be crewed by at least three persons (including the skipper). The skipper must satisfy the Race Committee, by 15.00 on Friday 22nd November 2002 that at least two of those people are sufficiently qualified to navigate the yacht safely between Cape Town and St. Helena Island.

9.2 The Race committee will be satisfied of a crew member's competence if:

9.2.1 he holds a SA Sailing Yachtmaster Ocean certificate, or

9.2.2 he holds a SA Sailing Yachtmaster Offshore certificate and is able to navigate by celestial observation, or the yacht on which he will sail has electronic navigation equipment which complies with paragraph 13 of the SA Sailing Special Regulations for Sea Going Sailing Yachts 1995, or

9.2.3 he holds a SA Sailing Coastal Skipper's certificate and is able to navigate by celestial observation, or the yacht on which he will sail has electronic navigation equipment which complies with paragraph 13 of the SA Sailing Special Regulations for Sea Going Sailing Yachts 1995, and he has completed as skipper, or navigator a passage of at least 500 nautical miles, or

9.2.4 he presents appropriate evidence of other experience or qualifications that may be acceptable to the Race Committee.

9.3 The Race Committee may grant permission for a nominated person to be on board a yacht for a short period after the start of the race for promotional purposes. In this case written permission from the Race Committee must be obtained at least five hours prior to the yacht's start. The Notice of Race clause 8.8 regarding crew list requirements and RRS 47.2 will not apply to that person.

9.4 Each yacht must by 15.00 on 22nd November 2002 have sailed at total of at least 250 nautical miles and the onus shall be on the owner to satisfy the Race Committee thereof

9.5 All yachts shall be scrutinised by the Race Committee to ensure compliance with the safety requirements. The skipper is obliged to ensure that he and at least one other member of the crew are present at the time of scrutiny.

9.6 A yacht that has not passed scrutiny may not start the race and the onus shall be on the skipper to ensure that his yacht is scrutinised timeously.

9.7 Notwithstanding anything contained herein, the safety of a yacht and her crew shall at all times remain the sole responsibility of the skipper who shall satisfy himself that the yacht is fully sound, thoroughly seaworthy and manned by an experienced crew who are capable of handling the yacht in all weather. The skipper shall ensure that all safety equipment is properly maintained and stowed and that the crew knows where it is kept and how it is to be used. It is the sole and exclusive responsibility of each yachts' skipper to decide whether or not to start or to continue the Race and all those taking part in the Race do so at their own risk.

9.8 A crew list on the prescribed form shall be submitted to the Race Secretary not later than Friday, 22nd November 2002. Contingency corrections to this crew list may be made up to three hours before the start of the Race.

9.9 Scrutiny is to be completed by 15.00 on Tuesday 26th November 2002.

10. WATER

10.1 A minimum of 1.5 litres of fresh water per day per crew member for the expected duration of the race and for two days longer than the expected duration of the race shall be carried.

10.2 Notwithstanding the use of water makers, all yachts shall carry a minimum of 1.5 hires of water per day per crew member in at least two separate, firmly secured containers.

10.3 Any yacht taking on fresh water from another vessel or the shore during the race shall be liable to disqualification. Misjudgment of requirements or pollution of supplies will not be considered good reasons for taking on fresh water.

11. ELECTRONIC AIDS AND INFORMATION

Yachts shall not use weather or navigational information or electronic aids that are not available to all competitors. No outside advice on routing shall be received during the race

12. SELF-STEERING DEVICES

Yachts in the Rally / Classic fleet may use any type of self steering device which has been approved by the Race Committee. In this case the number of crew as noted in clause 9.1 in this Notice of Race may be reduced to two, including skipper. This amends RRS 52.

13. CHARTS

In terms of paragraph 13.4 of the SA Sailing Special Regulations for Sea Going Sailing Yachts 1995 the following conventional charts, or their equivalent if acceptable to the Race Committee, shall be carried on board:

13.1 SAN 1013 Approaches to Table Bay

13.2 SAN 118 Table Bay to Cape Columbine

13.3 SAN 5 Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro

13.4 BA 1771 Island of St. Helena

14. ENTRIES

14.1 An entry on the prescribed entry form must be submitted together with the entry fee of R500, to the Governor`s Cup Race Secretary, PO Box 45, Simons Town, 7995, by not later than 15.00 on Friday, 15th November 2002. Late Entries will be accepted up to 15.00 on Friday 22nd November 2002, subject to payment of an increased entry fee of R700.

14.2 The Race Committee reserves the right to refuse any entry or to exclude any yacht from the Race at its sole discretion without the need to provide an explanation.

15. ADVERTISING AND REFERENCE TO RACE

15.1 Advertising will be permitted in accordance with RRS Appendix 1 Regulation 20. The race will be classified as a Category " C " event.

16. SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Sailing instructions will be issued to all entrants prior to the start of the race.

17. PENALTIES

In terms of RRS 64.1(a) the protest committee may apply a penalty in lieu of disqualification as in its sole discretion it deems fit:

(a) by having the boats basic elapsed time increased by an appropriate amount or
(b) by awarding a place penalty of one or more places;
(c) provided that the rule that is broken is not considered a gross infringement by the protest committee.

18. TROPHIES AND PRIZES

18.1 Prize-giving will take place in Jamestown on St Helena Island at a time and on a date to be advised.

18.2 Trophies and Prizes will be awarded to winners of individual categories in accordance with the number of entries in each category and will be advised at a later date.

19. INDEMNITY

The owner and the skipper of each yacht entered shall be deemed on acceptance of the entry by the Race Committee, on behalf of themselves, their crew and their dependents to have indemnified the organisers, the sponsors, if any, and all those involved in the running of the Race against all claims of any kind arising from any injury to person or property incurred during or in connection with the Race, or from any other cause arising whatsoever.

20. JURISDICTION

The event, being organised from Cape Town, South Africa, is subject to the laws of South Africa and accordingly this Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions will be construed in accordance with such laws. The official language of the race shall be English. All participants, owners, skippers and crews shall be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa, Cape Town, which alone shall have jurisdiction in regard to any legal disputes which may arise in connection with or arising from the event and a participant's participation therein. Owners and skippers of yachts participating in the event will be responsible for ensuring that the provisions of this Notice of Race are understood and agreed by all individuals concerned and hereby indemnify the organisers, the sponsors and all those involved in the running of the event against all claims.

ADDENDUM

Insert under 3. RULES

3.4 The carrying of an Emergency indicator beacon (EPIRB) transmitting on 406 MHz is recommended only, and is not mandatory.

This alters clause 14.7.4 of the Special Regulations for Sea-going Sailing Boats and has been done in consultation with the Safety at Sea Committee