NSA SEARS CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinal Eliminations for the Chubb US Junior
Triplehanded Championship for the Sears Cup
July 11 (12) 2011
Organizing Authority: Northeast Sailing Association
Hosts: Castine Yacht Club & Maine Maritime Academy, ME
NOTICE OF RACE
Issued May 18, 2011
1. RULES
1.1. The regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing.
1.2. The following documents shall apply:
1.2.1. US Sailing Regulation 10.
1.2.2. The Conditions for the United States Junior Sailing Championships.
1.3. Racing rules will be changed as follows:
1.3.1. RRS 29.1 and RRS 30.1 are changed to permit the hailing of recall numbers. The failure of any boat to hear the hail of OCS boats, an untimely hail of OCS boats, failure to hail any boats, and the order of the boats in the hail shall not be grounds for granting redress.
1.3.2. RRS 40 is changed so that the competitors shall wear a US Coast Guard (USCG) approved Type III or V Personal Floatation Device (PFD), inherently buoyant (i.e. not inflatable) while on the water, except for brief periods while changing clothing.
1.3.3. RRS 60.3 is changed to permit the protest committee to protest a boat when, from its own observation or a report received from any source, it believes a competitor may have committed a breach of good manners, of sportsmanship, or may have brought the sport or the event into disrepute. A protest may call representatives from the Organizing Authority and/or Regatta Committee as witnesses.
1.3.4. RRS 61.1(a) is changed to add that “A boat intending to protest about an incident that occurs in the racing area shall notify the race committee finish boat of her intention as soon as possible after finishing, including the boat identification number of the boat(s) being protested.”
1.3.5. RRS 64.1 is changed to allow penalties imposed by the protest committee, for hearings held under RRS 60.3, as changed, which may range from a reprimand to a dismissal from the regatta.
1.3.6. RRS 77 is changed such that a boat is not required to display class insignias, sail numbers or national letters.
1.3.7. Appendix D5.1 is changed to substitute a yellow flag for signaling a breakdown on the boat.
These changes will appear in full in the sailing instructions. The sailing instructions may also change other racing rules.
2. ELIGIBILITY AND CREW
2.1. A crew of three, including the helm will be used.
2.2. Competitors must have reached their 13th birthday but not their 19th birthday during the calendar year in which the event is held.
2.3. Competitors must be individual or family members of US SAILING at the time of their respective first qualification event.
2.4. The helm must be a member of a Local Sailing Organization (LSO)* that is a member of its Regional Sailing Association (RSA) and US Sailing.
2.5. The crew members must be members of a LSO within the same RSA as the helm.
2.6. All of the members of a crew shall reside in or regularly compete in the same RSA where the LSO is geographically located.
2.7. An alternate is named on the entry form at the first level of competition, and may not be changed in the competitive year.
2.8. An individual who competes in this event may not also compete in the Area A Doublehanded Elimination (Bemis) or the Area A Singlehanded Elimination (Smythe).
* An LSO is defined to include a yacht club, sailing club, community sailing program or other sailing organization.
3. ENTRY AND REGISTRATION
3.1. LSOs sending a team to this event must notify the Event Chair of their intent to compete no later than Sunday, July 3rd. Failure to do so may result in the team not being allowed to race. There will be two spots reserved per NSA region (8 total) until Monday, July 4, after which teams will be allowed in based on the order in which they have indicated their intent to compete, regardless of region. It is our intent to allow in 8 teams, if demand exists.
3.2. The US Sailing official entry form (found at www.northeastsailing.org) shall be used.
3.3. Teams may register in advance by completing the entry and medical forms (also found at www.northeastsailing.org) and mailing or e-mailing them to the Event Chairman. Alternatively, teams may register on July 11 between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Failure to provide a complete entry form signed by a flag officer of the LSO together with completely filled out medical forms will result in a team’s not being allowed to compete.
3.4. The entry fee of $35 per team for this 2011 NSA Sears Championship will be paid by the sponsoring LSO. NSA will bill each LSO directly following the event. Entry fees will also be assessed at the Area A and National level events.
3.5. By entering this event, teams commit to participate in the semifinal and final events, if they qualify.
4. BOATS AND FORMAT
4.1 Mercury Class sailboats will be provided for all competitors, who shall not modify them or cause them to be modified
in any way except that wind indicators, including yarn or thread, may be tied or taped anywhere on the boat; all fittings or equipment designed to be adjusted may be adjusted. Standing rigging, including mast blocks and shrouds, shall not be adjusted; all equipment provided with the boat for sailing purposes shall be in the boat while afloat.
4.2 The regatta will be sailed in a round-robin format.
4.3 Each skipper will be supplied with a yellow breakdown flag.
5. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Monday, July 11
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Registration at MMA waterfront at Payson Hall
9:00 a.m. – Skippers' Meeting followed by short practice period before first race begins. No warning signal will be sounded after 1500 or thereafter.
Weather permitting, racing will be completed on Monday.
Tuesday, July 12
Reserve day if regatta is not completed on Monday.
6. HOUSING
Housing will be provided Sunday night for teams traveling a long distance and also Monday night if the regatta is not completed on Monday. Housing must be requested no later than Wednesday, July 6th.
7. SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Sailing Instructions will be posted at Castine Yacht Club and Maine Maritime Academy on July 11 by 8:00 am. with copies available at the Skippers Meeting.
8. DECISIONS OF THE PROTEST COMMITTEE
8.1. Under rule 70.5(a), there shall be no appeal of the decision of a protest or request for redress. However, a decision following a hearing under rule 69.1(a) may be appealed.
E-mail and phone contact information for each boat entered and for the chairman of the protest committee and the race committee shall be posted on the official notice board at all times during the event.
Rule 65.2 is changed as follows:
65.2 A party to the hearing is entitled to receive the above information in writing, provided he/ she asks for it in writing and hand delivers the request to a member of the protest committee no later than the protest time limit on the last day of racing or one hour after being informed of the decision, whichever is later. The committee shall then, within two hours, hand-deliver the information to the party, including when relevant, a diagram of the incident prepared or endorsed by the committee.
Rule 66 is changed as follows:
66 Reopening a Hearing
66.1 A hearing may be reopened when the protest committee decides that it may have made a significant error, or when significant new evidence becomes available within a reasonable time.
66.2 The protest committee may reopen the hearing. A party to the hearing may ask for a reopening no later than one hour after being informed of the decision. When a hearing is reopened under rule 66.2, a majority of the members of the protest committee shall, if possible, be members of the original protest committee.
66.3 Area Elimination Reopening
(a) A party to a hearing of a protest or request for redress may request an Area Elimination Reopening. The request shall be in writing and include the significant error that the party believes the protest committee made or the nature of the significant new evidence that is available. The request shall be made no later than 24 hours after the hearing or 24 hours after the protest time limit on the last day of racing, whichever is later. The request, along with copies of the original protest or request for redress, the facts found, the decision of the protest committee, any new evidence that cannot be presented verbally, and e-mail and phone contact information for all parties to the hearing as well as the chairman of the protest committee, shall be sent by e-mail to the US SAILING Championships Director, LizWalker@USSAILING.org, and the US SAILING Junior Championships Chairman, Vicki Sodaro (Hoodsails@aol.com).
(b) The protest committee for an Area Elimination Reopening shall consist of the chairman of the original protest committee plus four certified judges appointed by US SAILING. A majority of the committee’s members shall be Senior or International Judges. US SAILING will appoint its chairman.
(c) An Area Elimination Reopening will be conducted by telephone conference call. The time and date for the conference call shall be established by the chairman as soon as practicably possible and no later than seven days after the request for reopening is e-mailed. The chairman will e-mail to the parties to the hearing the request for reopening, the facts found, the decision of the protest committee, the time and date of the hearing, the process for joining the call and any other relevant documents.
9. SAFETY
9.1. Competitors shall wear a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approved personal floatation device (PFD) while on the water, other than for brief periods while adding or removing clothing. The PFD shall either be a Type III or a Type V device that depends 100% on foam flotation.
9.2. A boat retiring from a race shall notify a Race Committee vessel before leaving the course, or when that is impossible, the Event Chair immediately after arrival ashore.
10. CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINE
10.1. All competitors are expected to maintain the highest level of conduct throughout the entire event. Enforcement of discipline and conduct shall be conducted as per the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS 69.1) and the policies and procedures of US SAILING (Regulation 15.01).
10.2. The curfew for competitors shall be 2200 hours.
10.3. No participant or competitor shall use, either on or off the water: marijuana or any other controlled substance (as defined in 21 U.S. Code 802) the possession of which is unlawful under 21 U.S. Code 841, or alcoholic beverages (distilled spirits, wine and beer, each as defined in chapter 51 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and intended for beverage use).
10.4. An alleged breach of 10.03 shall not be grounds for a protest. However, when the protest committee believes that a competitor may have breached one of these regulations, it shall follow the process described in racing rule 69.1, and a competitor found to have breached one of these regulations shall be excluded from the remaining races of the series and, where practicable, sent home. The competitor’s boat shall be disqualified from all races of the series.
11. PRIZES
Trophies will be awarded to the skippers and crews finishing in the top two positions.
12. QUALIFICATION FOR AREA A EVENT
12.1 The teams finishing in the top two positions will qualify for the Area A US Junior National Triplehanded Championship, “Ted King Trophy” (semifinal event) to be held July 20-21 at Piers Park, East Boston, MA.
12.2 If a qualifying team is unable to continue on to the Area A event, it must notify the Event Chair (Debbie Rogers) no later than fifteen minutes after the awards ceremony. In such case, the team(s) placing in the next position(s) will qualify for the Area A event.
13. DIRECTIONS TO CASTINE
Follow the directions to Maine Maritime Academy posted on their web site at the link below (http://www.mainemaritime.edu/thecollege/Wcf55e2912d20f.htm)
Coming into Castine, please take the first left on to Main Street (where MMA sign faces) and go all the way to the end -- the Town dock area. The MMA waterfront is to the right. To reach the Castine YC, turn left just before the dock onto Water Street and go the two blocks to the CYC.
14. FURTHER INFORMATION
Contact the Event Chair, Debbie Rogers at rogsmu@netsense.net or (207) 326-4521.
