Sunday, Oct 1. Awards after racing . No social events planned.
2023 Buccaneer North American Championship
September 27 - Oct 1, 2023
Buccaneer Class Association
Niantic Bay Yacht Club, Niantic, CT
SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Rev 3 September 25 2023
- RULES
1.1 This regatta will be governed by the current Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), the US Sailing Prescriptions, the Rules of the Buccaneer Class Association and these Sailing Instructions (SI's).
1.2 If there is a conflict between the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions, the Sailing Instructions shall prevail. This changes rule 63.7.
2. ELIGIBILITY
2.1 The regatta is open to all boats of the Buccaneer 18 Class as defined in paragraph III.A of the BCA Racing Rules. Chartered boats are eligible. One member of the sailing team must be a BCA member (full, associate, family or lifetime) as of 0900 hrs. Sept 28, 2023.
2.2 Registration forms must be received by the Regatta Committee by 0900 hrs Sept 29, 2023.
2.3 There will be two fleets, A Fleet and B Fleet as described in section 6 of the NOR. No previous winner of an A or B Fleet BNAC Championship will be permitted to compete in B Fleet.
3. MEASURING OF BOATS AND SAILS
3.1 Skippers may file a protest to request measurement of other boats after a race day if they believe a boat does not conform to the class measurement rules. Boats that fail to meet class measurements will be DSQ for the racing day. Request for measurement will conform to Protest filing rules and be filed on a Protest form. Protests must specify the measurement rule being questioned.
3.2 Sails with a BCA royalty patch and measurement initials will not be measured unless the sail has been modified. Such sails are "grandfathered" and they cannot be protested. Sails without a BCA royalty patch and measurement initials or ones that have been altered will be measured between 1200-1700 hours on Sept 27th and 0900 - 1300 hours on Sept 28 . Sail measurement may be performed at the discretion of the class measurer at other times as needed.
3.3 Hulls and spars will not be measured or weighed unless there is a protest or a boat has never been weighed at a BNAC.
4. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS
4.1 A skipper's meeting will be held at the NBYC clubhouse at 0900 hours on Friday, Sept 29, 2023.
4.2. Notices to competitors will be posted on the Official Notice Board located under the tent next to the Niantic Bay YC (NBYC) clubhouse.
5. CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
5.1 Any change in these Sailing Instructions will be posted on the Official Notice Board immediately following the Skippers’ Meeting Friday, Sept 29, and no later than 0900 hrs Saturday and Sunday.
5.2 Any change in the schedule of races will be posted on the Official Notice Board by 2000 hrs on the day before it will take effect.
5.3 Oral changes may be made by the Race Committee on the water by displaying Code Flag L and stating the change to every boat that comes within hail.
6. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE
6.1 Signals made ashore will be displayed from the NBYC flagpole.
6.2 When flag AP (postponement) is displayed ashore, the warning signal will be made not less than 45 minutes after AP is lowered. This replaces “1 minute” in the RRS Race Signals.
7. SCHEDULE
The regatta schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Sept 28, 2017:
0900 -1300 hrs. Check-in, onsite registration, sail measurement.
1400 -1600 hrs. Practice race(s).
1700 - 1900 hrs. Welcome Party at NBYC with burgers, hot dogs, snack food and drinks . Musical entertainment is scheduled during the welcome party
Friday, Sept 29:
0800 hrs Light Continental breakfast
0900 hrs. Skippers Meeting for Championship Regatta.
1030 hrs. Warning signal for first race. Target is 5 races for the day. No race shall start after 1600 hrs. There will be a break for lunch on the water, a minimum of 15 minutes from the time the last boat finishes a race to the warning signal for the next race. This break will be announced raising signal "G" from the committee boat accompanied by two sound signals.
1800 -2200 hrs. Dinner at NBYC followed by BCA Annual Meeting.
Saturday, Sept 30:
0800 hrs Light Continental Breakfast
1000 hrs. Warning signal for first race. Target is 5 races for the day. No race shall start after 1530hrs. There will be a break for lunch on the water as described for Friday.
Dinner on your own as a group offsite TBD
Sunday, Oct 1:
1000 hrs. Warning signal for first race. Target 3 races. No race shall start after 1300 hrs.
1300-1500 hrs. Pack up boats for the road.
1500 hrs. Awards ceremony on site at NBYC.
Note, "target" races for each day is simply that, a goal, not a requirement. The number of races held each day shall be determined by the PRO in consultation with the BCA Race Chairman and be based on weather, wind, and sea conditions. If all or a portion of a scheduled days racing is lost due to these conditions, the PRO and Race Chairman may decide to increase the target number of races for following days to compensate for "lost" races.
8. CLASS FLAG
The Class flag will be the Buccaneer 18 Class flag. If there is a separate start for
the B Fleet, a skull and crossbones flag will serve as the B Fleet class flag.
9. RACING AREA
The racing area is Niantic Bay and the adjoining waters of Long Island
Sound.
10. COURSES
10.1 The following courses may be used during the regatta: W1, W2, O. See the attached course sheet for diagrams of the courses. All courses include an optional leeward gate indicated by mark G which will be in proximity to the leeward mark. Whether an optional gate will used shall be determined by the Principal Race Officer
10.2 No later than the warning signal, the Race Committee Signal Boat will display the course to be sailed. A compass bearing to the first mark may also be displayed, if the mark is not easily visible.
10.3 For windward-leeward courses an Offset Mark may be used
10.4 All inflatable marks are to be left to port with the exception of the optional gate mark. If a gate is used boats must pass between the leeward mark and the gate mark before rounding either and may leave the gate mark to starboard.
10.5 Course changes , if made , shall follow RRS 33 using +/- for course length and red/green placards for changes to port and starboard respectively.
10.6 The start/finish line is considered “open” and boats may pass through it when not starting or finishing
11. MARKS
11.1 Windward and leeward marks of the course will be yellow cylindrical inflatable buoys unless a course change is made during a race, in which case change mark(s)s will be orange tetrahedron(s)
11.2 The windward offset mark, if used, will be a red inflatable ball and is considered part of the Windward Mark.
12. THE START
12.1 The decision as to whether both fleets will race together, but with separate scoring, or race as individual fleets will be made prior to the Skipper's Meeting by the Regatta Chair and the Principal Race Officer (PRO). If both fleets race together each boat will display an indication of the fleet it is racing in. These indicators will be described in the Sailing Instructions (later) and handed out to each skipper at regatta check-in or at the Skipper's Meeting. The decision to race both fleets together or separately may be changed during the regatta by the PRO.
12.2 The starting line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on the Race Committee Signal Boat and the course side of a red inflatable cylinder located to port of the RC Signal boat.
12.3 The time and signal sequence for the start will follow rule 26 of the RRS.
12.4 Prior to the warning signal for each race, a series of short sound signals will be made in order to alert the fleet. If A Fleet and B Fleet are starting separately, the sound signals will not be repeated before the B Fleet starting sequence begins. The B Fleet warning signal will occur no sooner than 1 minute after the A Fleet starting signal.
12.5 A boat starting later than 15 minutes after her starting signal shall be scored Did Not Start (DNS) without a hearing. This changes rule A4.
13. THE FINISH
13.1 The finish line will be between a staff displaying an orange flag on the Race Committee Signal Boat and the course side ofa red inflatable cylinder located to port of the RC Signal Boat. Note: the finish line may be shorter than the starting line.
13.2 Code flag A displayed with no sound while boats are finishing means “No
more races today”.
14. ABANDONMENT
In the event the PRO determines that dangerous weather conditions are occurring
or likely to occur soon, the race committee may immediately cancel a race by
hoisting the N flag over the H flag and giving three sound signals. All boats are to
return to the NBYC docks promptly. Further instructions will be given ashore.
15. TIME LIMIT
15.1 The time limit for the first boat to finish each race is 90 minutes.
15.2 If no boat has properly rounded the first mark of the course within 30 minutes after the start, the race shall be abandoned.
15.3 Boats finishing more than 30 minutes after the first boat in her class finishes, and not thereafter retiring, being disqualified, or given redress, will be scored TLE (Time Limit Expired). The score for TLE boats will be two more than the number of boats that properly finished that race in that fleet (A or B fleet).. This changes RRS 35 and A4.1, A4.2, A5, and A11.
16. RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
. The Race Committee
intends to use VHF radio channel 1001 (01A) for all communications with the fleet. Failure on the part of a competitor hear or understand such communications shall not be considered grounds for a request for redress The use of handheld VHF radios by competitors shall be restricted to Race committee communications and emergency communications
17 DIGITAL DEVICES
Devices that provide real time or near real time boat speed, location, distance, wind
speed, wind direction or water current information are prohibited.
18. SCORING
18.1 A minimum of three completed races is required for the regatta to be
official.
18.2 When less than 5 races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores.
18.3 When 5 to 9 races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score.
18.4 When 10 or more races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her two worst scores.
19. PROTESTS
19.1 Protest forms will be available at the Official Notice Board. Protests must be delivered to the PRO within the protest time limit.
19.2 The protest time limit is 60 minutes after the Race Committee Signal Boat docks and raises signal flag “B” with one sound signal.
19.3 Hearings will be held as soon as possible after racing each day.
19.4 Appendix T, T1, T4, Arbitration, shall apply.
19.6 The Scoring Penalty shall be 5 places in A Fleet and 2 places in B Fleet. This changes rule 44.3(c) and T1(b).
20. TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
20.1 The Technical Committee (RRS rule 92) shall provide recommendations to the Protest Committee for protests pertaining to boat measurement issues.
20.2 The Technical Committee shall consist of the BCA National Committee members attending the regatta plus the BCA Class Measurer.
20.3 A member of the Technical Committee shall recuse themself if there is a conflict.
20.4 Decisions by the Technical Committee shall be by majority vote. If there is a tie vote, the recommendation of the Technical Committee to the Protest Committee shall be that the measurement rule was not broken.
21. SUBSTITUTION OF PERSONNEL ON A BOAT
21.1 If a sailing team requires substitution for any member of the team, a written request should be submitted to the PRO or the BCA Race Chairman prior to the substitution. The request should include the reason for the substitution and the height, weight, age and experience level of the people involved.
21.2 The Race Committee shall determine if the request is granted or denied. In general, a request for substitution will not be granted if the substitution would provide the sailing team with a significant advantage.
21.3 In the event that a team change is made prior to approval by the Race Committee, the Race Committee will review the application as soon as practical. If the Race Committee votes against the team change, all races sailed with the new team shall be scored DSQ or, at the Race Committee's discretion, a scoring penalty may be applied.
22. SAIL SUBSTITUTION
Switching one or more sails from the sails used during the first race is prohibited unless approved by the Race Committee. See clauses IV.D.5-6 of the BCA Racing Rules for more details.
23. SAFETY REGULATIONS
23.1 Check-in is required prior to a boat’s first start of the day. A competitor shall sail past the stern of the Race Committee signal boat and hail its sail number until acknowledged by the Race Committee.
23.2 A boat that retires from a race shall notify the Race Committee as soon as practical.
23.3 The Race Committee, for reasons of safety or to avoid unreasonable delays in racing, may direct that capsized boat(s) be rescued and scored 1 place more than the number of finishers. This changes rule A4.1.
24. PRIZES
Trophies will be awarded per the Notice of Race.
25. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See rule 4, Decision
to Race. The organizing authority will not accept any liability for the material
damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during,
or after the regatta.
BNAC Courses
Note Diagrams cannot be attached here. Diagrams will be available on printed copies of SI's
W1 windward leeward once around with optional windward offset mark and optional leeward gate
W2 windward leeward twice around with optional windward offset mark and optional leeward gate
O Modified Olympic Triangle followed by windward leeward with optional leeward gate