THE SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Revised for the RRS 2009-2012

The Sailing Instructions (SI’S) should be designed to fit a specific event.  The SI’s define to the competitors how the race committee will run the event.  The SI’s are rules as defined in the definition of rules in the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), therefore, they are enforceable by the Protest Committee/Jury, and they are grounds for protest or request for redress.  The SI’s are too important to a good event to simply take last year’s copy and change the dates without doing a complete in-depth review.

Racing Rules of Sailing Rule #25 states that “Sailing Instructions shall be made available to each boat before a race begins”.  Again, as with the NOR, when the RRS say “shall” it means that it is mandatory.  This is generally not a problem at the normal weekend or higher classified events, however, this rule also applies to “small midweek/weekend fun” type regattas.  Every racing event should have SI’s.  Normally the SI’s are available at the registration desk prior to the start of an event.  In our electronic age many clubs are posting SI’s on their web site.  The smart sailor, however, likes to pick up the final revised copy at registration prior to the first race.

Racing Rules of Sailing Rule #90.2(a) states “The race committee shall publish written sailing instructions that conform to rule J2”.  Note that unlike the NOR which is published by the organizing authority, the SI’s are published by the race committee.  Since the SI’s and the NOR are both rules they must closely work together.  The SI’s must be carefully prepared to conform to the NOR.  There have been many events where changes to the SI’s had to be posted so that they would conform.  Typical problems involve starting times, number of races scheduled, scoring, etc. As with the NOR the SI’s should be prepared by someone who is knowledgeable about the event and the RRS.  A rough draft of the SI’s should be prepared far enough in advance to allow for a full review by lead members of the race committee and the chief judge.

Prior to starting to prepare the SI’s, the writer should review Appendix J rule J.2 and Appendix L. “Sailing Instructions Guide”.  As its name implies Appendix L contains an instruction guide that can be edited to fit your event.   US Sailing has a set of simple Sailing Instructions on the Race Management web site.   The appendix also contains seven basic principles for preparing SI’s. 
These are:

1. Should include only statements regarding the race committee’s intentions and the competitor’s obligations.
2. Should be concerned only with racing.
3. Do not change the RRS unless clearly desirable.
4. Should not repeat or restate the RRS.
5. Do not repeat themselves.
6. Be in chronological order as the competitor will use them.
7. When possible use words and phrases from the RRS.

Before using the Appendix L guide, the writer must be familiar with rule J2.  Rule J2.1 lists nine items which shall be included in the SI’s.  These are:

1. Race will be governed by the rules as defined in the RRS.
2. List any other documents that will govern.
3. Schedule of races, classes to race, and times of the warning signal for each class.
4. Courses to be sailed or list of marks, the side on which they are to be left, and how courses will be signaled.
5. Description of all marks including start, finish, and change marks.
6. Description of starting and finishing lines, class flags, and other special signals.
7. Time limits if any for finishing.
8. Handicap or rating system to be used, if any.
9. Scoring system to be used, including number of scheduled races, minimum number of races required for a regatta, and a statement concerning excluded scores if any.  (NOTE rule A2 provides for excluding one score, so you only need this statement if you want all scores to count; you are going to allow a score to be excluded only after a certain number of races, or you are going to allow more than one score to be excluded.)

RRS Rule J2.2 contains a list of 38 items which shall be included in the SI’s if they apply.  Although we will not cover this list here, the SI’s writer should do a detailed review of this list. RRS Rule 86.1(b) allows the writer to change a RRS rule by referring specifically to the rule and stating the change.  Normally the revised rule is written in the SI’s followed by the words “This changes RRS Rule xx.x.  RRS Rule 86.1(a) also states what RRS rules cannot be changed in the SI’s.  RRS Rule 86.1 (c) gives guidance on what rules may be changed by class rules and RRS Rule 87 gives guidance on how class rules may be changed in the SI’s.

RRS Rule 90.2 (c) states how the race committee may change the SI’s after they have been published.  The change shall be written and posted on the official notice board within the required time.  The “required time” is shown in the SI’s and there are generally two times shown.  The first one is for making changes to the SI’s themselves.  This time is generally established so that the competitors have the opportunity to see it prior to the first race.  The second time is for changing the racing schedule and this usually is done the evening/night before the race being changed.  The SI’s may also be changed on the water but the procedure must be stated in the SI’s and must be done before the warning signal.  Oral comments concerning the SI’s made during the competitor’s meeting do not change the SI’s unless they are put in writing and posted within the required time.

The courses are generally diagramed in the SI’s or as an attachment to the SI’s.  These need to be carefully prepared and reviewed to insure that they represent the courses that are intended.  The diagram will show the order the marks are to be rounded and the side to be left.  If the diagrams also have a written description, verify that these two agree.  Appendix L shows some examples of course diagrams.  The US Sailing Race Management web site contains several types of diagrams that can be either printed or downloaded.  (These include windward/leeward, Olympic, Gold Cup, and trapezoid.)

A properly prepared set of Sailing Instructions that have been edited to fit the event and coordinated with the Notice of Race is a major step towards a successful regatta.