Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions

Laser Fleet 413
Frostbite Series
Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions
2008-2009 Series

Click here to register

Dates: Sundays 11/2/08 through 4/19/09. Pete Milnes Regatta is 4/26/09

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

First Race: 1:00 pm

Registration: Sailors must register and complete waivers prior to their first day of sailing for the year. Competitors under 18 years of age must have a waiver signed by a parent/guardian. Registration may be available on-line at www.NewportLaserFleet.org and will be available in person 11:00-12:15 on 11/2.
Waivers must be signed before sailing – failing to properly sign a waiver will nullify registration. Participants under 18 must have a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.
For Sunday’s after 11/2 competitors should complete their registration on-line and sign waivers between 11:45 and 12:15 at Sail Newport where forms will be available on the porch of the office.

Dues: Season dues are $100. Daily dues are $10. Students are half price.
Storage for the season at Sail Newport costs $40. ALL BOATS AND EQUIPMENT MUST BE REMOVED BY 4/26/09. Any equipment left after this date will be subject to the normal Sail Newport storage fees plus penalties if not registered with Sail Newport.

Payment: May be paid by check to Laser Fleet 413, or by cash.

Eligibility: Open to registered sailors in Laser and Laser Radial rigs. Competitors are welcome to switch between Full and Radial rigs as conditions dictate, however sail numbers MUST be the same regardless of the rig used. Sailors using multiple sail numbers create an incredible burden for the scorer

Safety & Responsibility: Frostbiting can be dangerous. Competitors choose to sail in this series entirely at their own risk. Sailors are required to wear adequate protective gear 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.

Starts: Starts will be either 2 or 3 minute dinghy starts at the discretion of the RC.

Courses: Courses will generally include:
                 • W – Windward / Leeward with start/finish in the middle.
                 • T – Triangle with start/finish in the middle
                 • H – Windward – Reach Mark – RC Boat (to starboard) – 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 of using gates for leeward marks and offsets at windward marks. The RC may choose to use the one-minute (around the ends) rule or institute a 20% penalty for premature starters who start prematurely but return to start correctly.

Sail Numbers: Sailors are required to have UNIQUE sail numbers. Please use your full sail number to ensure that it is the only one in the fleet. The RC and organizers WILL NOT listen to any complaints about sail numbers that are duplicates. It takes 20 minutes to put the full sail number on your sail. It can take hours for the organizers to sort out who is who if there are duplicates. Sailors may switch between full and radial rigs as desired, however their sail number must be consistent across rigs.

Protests: 360 turns are required of boats that foul. If you wish to protest you must organize the protest committee yourself. If you foul and don’t do your penalty turns you have cheated everyone else and yourself. Remember “If in winning the race you have lost the respect of your fellow competitors then you have not won at all.” – Paul Elvstrom

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.

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