APPENDIX E - RADIO SAILING RACING RULES

Radio sailing races shall be sailed under The Racing Rules of Sailing as changed by this appendix.

Note: A Test Rule for Umpired Radio Sailing is available at the World Sailing website..

E1 CHANGES TO THE DEFINITIONS, TERMINOLOGY AND THE RULES OF PARTS 1, 2 AND 7

E1.1 Definitions

Add to the definition Conflict of Interest:

However, an observer does not have a conflict of interest solely by being a competitor.

In the definition Zone the distance is changed to four hull lengths.

Add new definition:

Disabled A boat is disabled while she is unable to continue in the heat.

E1.2 Terminology

The Terminology paragraph of the Introduction is changed so that:

(a) ‘Boat’ means a sailboat controlled by radio signals and having no crew. However, in the rules of Part 1 and Part 5, rule E6 and the definitions Party and Protest, ‘boat’ includes the competitor controlling her.

(b) ‘Competitor’ means the person designated to control a boat using radio signals.

(c) In the racing rules, but not in its appendices, replace the noun ‘race’ with ‘heat’. In Appendix E a race consists of one or more heats and is completed when the last heat in the race is completed.

E1.3 Rules of Parts 1, 2 and 7

(a) Rule 1.2 is deleted.

(b) Hails under rules 20.1 and 20.3 shall include the words ‘room’ and ‘tack' and the sail number of the hailing boat, in any order.

(d) Rule 90.2(c) is changed to:

Changes to the sailing instructions may be communicated orally to all affected competitors before the warning signal of the relevant race or heat. When appropriate, changes shall be confirmed in writing.

E2 ADDITIONAL RULES WHEN RACING

Rule E2 applies only while boats are racing.

E2.1 Hailing Requirements

(a) A hail shall be made and repeated as appropriate so that the competitors to whom the hail is directed might reasonably be expected to hear it.

(b) When a rule requires a boat to hail or respond, the hail shall be made by the competitor controlling the boat.

E2.2 Giving Advice

A competitor shall not give tactical or strategic advice to a competitor controlling a boat that is racing.

E2.3 Boat Out of Radio Control

A competitor who loses radio control of his boat shall promptly hail ‘(The boat’s sail number) out of control’ and the boat shall retire.

E2.4 Transmitter Aerials

If a transmitter aerial is longer than 200mm when extended, the extremity shall be adequately protected.

E2.5 Radio Interference

Transmission of radio signals that cause interference with the control of other boats is prohibited. A competitor that has broken this rule shall not race again until permitted to do so by the race committee.

E3 CONDUCT OF A RACE

E3.1 Control Area

Unless the sailing instructions specify a control area, it shall be unrestricted. Competitors shall be in this area when controlling boats that are racing, except briefly to handle and then release or relaunch the boat.

E3.2 Launching Area

Unless the sailing instructions specify a launching area and its use, it shall be unrestricted.

E3.3 Course Board

When the sailing instructions require a course board to be displayed, it shall be located in or adjacent to the control area.

E3.4 Starting and Finishing

(a) Rule 26 is changed to:

Heats shall be started using warning, preparatory and starting signals at one-minute intervals. During the minute before the starting signal, additional sound or oral signals shall be made at ten-second intervals, and during the final ten seconds at onesecond intervals. Each signal shall be timed from the beginning of its sound.

(b) The starting and finishing lines shall be between the course sides of the starting and finishing marks.

E3.5 Individual Recall

Rule 29.1 is changed to:

When at a boat’s starting signal any part of her hull is on the course side of the starting line or when she must comply with rule 30.1, the race committee shall promptly hail ‘Recall (sail numbers)’. If rule 30.3 or 30.4 applies this rule does not.

E3.6 General Recall

Rule 29.2 is changed to:

When at the starting signal the race committee is unable to identify boats that are on the course side of the starting line or to which rule 30 applies, or there has been an error in the starting procedure, the race committee may hail ‘General recall’ and make two loud sounds. The warning signal for a new start will normally be made shortly thereafter.

E3.7 U Flag and Black Flag Rules

When the race committee informs a boat that she has broken rule 30.3 or 30.4, the boat shall immediately leave the course area.

E3.8 Other Changes to the Rules of Part 3

(a) Rules 30.2 and 33 are deleted.

(b) All race committee signals shall be made orally or by other sounds. No visual signals are required unless specified in the sailing instructions.

(d) Rule 32.1(a) is changed to: ‘because of foul weather or thunderstorms,’.

E3.9 Disabled Competitors

The race committee may make or permit reasonable arrangements to assist disabled competitors to compete on as equal terms as possible. A boat or the competitor controlling her that receives any such assistance, including help from a support person, does not break rule 41.

E4 RULES OF PART 4

E4.1 Deleted Rules in Part 4

Rules 40, 44.3, 45, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 55 and 56 are deleted.

E4.2 Outside Help

Rule 41 is changed to:

A boat or the competitor controlling her shall not receive help from any outside source, except

(a) help needed as a direct result of a competitor becoming ill, injured or in danger;

(b) when the boat is entangled with another boat, help from the other competitor;

(d) help in the form of information freely available to all competitors;

(e) unsolicited information from a disinterested source. A competitor is not a disinterested source unless acting as an observer.

E4.3 Taking a Penalty

Rule 44.1 is changed to:

A boat may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2, or rule 31, in an incident while racing. However,

(a) when she may have broken a rule of Part 2 and rule 31 in the same incident she need not take the penalty for breaking rule 31;

(b) if the boat gained an advantage in the heat or race by her breach despite taking a penalty, her penalty shall be additional One- Turn Penalties until her advantage is lost;

(c) if the boat caused serious damage, or as a result of breaking a rule of Part 2 she caused another boat to become disabled and retire, her penalty shall be to retire.

E4.4 Person in Charge

Rule 46 is changed to: ‘The member or organization that entered the boat shall designate the competitor. See rule 75.’

E5 RACING WITH OBSERVERS AND UMPIRES

E5.1 Observers

(a) The race committee may appoint observers, who may be competitors.

(b) Observers shall hail the sail numbers of boats that make contact with a mark or another boat.

(c) At the end of a heat, observers shall report to the race committee all unresolved incidents, and any failure to sail the course.

E5.2 Rules for Observers and Umpires

Observers and umpires shall be located in the control area. They shall not use any aid or device that gives them a visual advantage over competitors.

E6 PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS

E6.1 Right to Protest

Rule 60.1 is changed to:

A boat may

(a) protest another boat, but not for an alleged breach of a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4 unless she was scheduled to sail in that heat; or

(b) request redress.

However, a boat or competitor may not protest for an alleged breach of rules E2 or E3.7.

E6.2 Protest for a Rule Broken by a Competitor

When a race committee, protest committee or technical committee learns that a competitor may have broken a rule, it may protest the boat controlled by that competitor.

E6.3 Informing the Protestee

Rule 61.1(a) is changed to:

The protesting boat shall inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity. When her protest concerns an incident in the racing area, she shall hail ‘(Her own sail number) protest (the sail number of the other boat)’.

E6.4 Informing the Race Committee

The boat protesting or requesting redress about an incident while racing shall inform the race committee as soon as reasonably possible after finishing or retiring.

E6.5 Time Limits

A protest, request for redress or request for reopening shall be delivered to the race committee no later than ten minutes after the last boat in the heat finishes or after the relevant incident, whichever is later.

E6.6 Redress

Add to rule 62.1:

(e) external radio interference acknowledged by the race committee, or

(f) becoming disabled because of the action of a boat that was breaking a rule of Part 2 or of a vessel not racing that was required to keep clear.

E6.7 Right to Be Present

In rule 63.3(a) ‘the representatives of boats shall have been on board’ is changed to ‘the representative of each boat shall be the competitor designated to control her’.

E6.8 Taking Evidence and Finding Facts

Add new rule 63.6(e):

(e) When the protest concerns an alleged breach of a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4, any witness shall have been in the control area at the time of the incident. If the witness is a competitor who was not acting as an observer, he shall also have been scheduled to race in the relevant heat.

E6.9 Decisions on Redress

Add to rule 64.3:

If a boat is given redress because she was damaged, her redress shall include reasonable time, but not more than 30 minutes, to make repairs before her next heat.

E7 PENALTIES

When a protest committee decides that a boat that is a party to a protest hearing has broken a rule other than a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4, it shall either

(a) disqualify her or add any number of points (including zero and fractions of points) to her score. The penalty shall be applied, if possible, to the heat or race in which the rule was broken; otherwise it shall be applied to the next heat or race for that boat. When points are added, the scores of other boats shall not be changed; or

(b) require her to take one or more One-Turn Penalties that shall be taken as soon as possible after the starting signal of her next heat that is started and not subsequently recalled or abandoned.

However, if the boat has broken a rule in Appendix G or rule E8, the protest committee shall act in accordance with rule G4.

E8 CHANGES TO APPENDIX G, IDENTIFICATION ON SAILS

Rule G1, except the table of National Sail Letters, is changed to:

G1 WORLD SAILING AND IRSA CLASS BOATS

This rule applies to every boat of a class administered or recognised by World Sailing or by the International Radio Sailing Association (IRSA).

G1.1 Identification

(a) A boat of a World Sailing or IRSA Class shall display her class insignia, national letters and sail number as specified in rule G1, unless her class rules state otherwise.

(b) At world and continental championships, sails shall comply with these rules. At other events they shall comply with these rules or the rules applicable at the time of their initial certification.

G1.2 National Letters

At all international events, a boat shall display national letters in accordance with the table of National Sail Letters denoting:

(a) when entered under rule 75(a), the national authority of the nationality, place of residence, or affiliation of the owner or the member.

(b) when entered under rule 75(b), the national authority of the organisation which entered her.

For the purposes of this rule, international events are world and continental championships and events described as international events in their notices of race and sailing instructions.

Note: An up-to-date version of the National Sail Letters table is available on the World Sailing website.

G1.3 Sail numbers

(a) The sail number shall be the last two digits of the boat's registration number or the competitor’s or owner’s personal number, allotted by the relevant issuing authority.

(b) When there is conflict between sail numbers, or when a sail number may be misread, the race committee shall require that the sail numbers of one or more boats be changed to numeric alternatives.

G1.4 Specifications

(a) National letters and sail numbers shall be in capital letters and Arabic numerals, clearly legible and of the same colour. Commercially available typefaces giving the same or better legibility than Helvetica are acceptable.

(b) The height and spacing of letters and numbers shall be as follows:

Dimension	Minimum	Maximum
Height of sail numbers	100 mm	110 mm
Spacing of adjacent sail numbers	20 mm	30 mm
Height of national letters	60 mm	70 mm
Spacing of adjacent national letters	13 mm	23 mm

G1.5 Positioning

(a) Class insignia, sail numbers and national letters shall be positioned

(1) on both sides of the sail;

(2) with those on the starboard side uppermost;

(3) approximately horizontally;

(4) with no less than 40 mm vertical spacing between numbers and letters on opposite sides of the sail;

(5) with no less than 20 mm vertical spacing between class insignia on opposite sides of the sail.

However, symmetrical or reversed class insignia may be positioned back to back.

(b) On a mainsail, sail numbers shall be positioned

(1) below class insignia;

(2) above the line perpendicular to the luff through the quarter leech point;

(3) above national letters;

(4) with sufficient space in front of the sail number for a prefix ‘1’.

G1.6 Exceptions

(a) Where the size of the sail prevents compliance with rule G1.2, National Letters, then exceptions to rules G1.2, G1.4, and G1.5 shall be made in the following order of precedence. National letters shall

(1) be spaced vertically below sail numbers by less than 30 mm, but no less than 20 mm;

(2) be spaced on opposite sides of the sail by less than 30 mm, but no less than 20 mm;

(3) be reduced in height to less than 45 mm, but no less than 40 mm;

(4) be omitted.

(b) Where the size of the sail prevents compliance with rule G1.3, Sail Numbers, then exceptions to rules G1.4 and G1.5 shall be made in the following order of precedence. Sail numbers shall

(1) extend below the specified line;

(2) be spaced on opposite sides of the sail by less than 30 mm, but no less than 20 mm apart;

(3) be reduced in height to less than 90 mm, but no less than 80 mm;

(4) be omitted on all except the largest sail;

(5) be reduced in height until they do fit on the largest sail.