Sailing instructions

1.1 No member of the PSSA is authorised to provide on behalf of the PSSA any statement as to the suitability of the yacht or its crew to take part in any race. Responsibility for safety remains with the yacht’s owner or skipper.
1.2 Races shall be governed by the RYA Racing Rules of sailing 2009 – 2012 except as modified by these Sailing Instructions, the Notice of Race or its Addenda.
1.3 A yacht will be deemed to be taking part in the race provided its entry has been accepted and it has crossed the starting line within the allowable starting time.
1.4 Night racing will not take place envisaged unless stated in the Notice of Race.
1.5 Rule 42.1 of the Racing Rules of Sailing is hereby amended to permit the use of automatic steering devices.
1.6 No declaration form will be required to be signed after the race.
1.7 Scoring will be based on the Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix A – Scoring Section A3. Scoring is based on elapsed time corrected according to the PY number for the yacht. The PSSA PY numbers shall be used.

2.1 Notices to competitors will available from the Committee Boat before the race. The Committee Boat will display a Blue flag.
2.2 The Committee Boat will display the International Code flag L by way of indication of a change in either the Sailing Instructions or the Notice of Race. It shall be the responsibility of the skipper to obtain new instructions.
2.3 The Race Committee shall determine whether a race will be run or not, and which course (where there is a choice of courses) to use.
2.4 Where more than one course is indicated in the Notice of Race, the Committee Boat shall display information on the course to be sailed.
2.5 The Sailing Area will be shown on an addendum to the Notice of Race.

3.1 The starting procedure shall be as Rule 26 in the Racing Rules of Sailing as follows:
Warning: 1 sound five minutes before start, class flag raised.
Preparatory: 1 sound four minutes before start, black flag raised.
One-minute: 1 long sound one minute before the start, preparatory flag removed.
Starting: 1 sound, class flag removed.
There will be no class flag.
3.2 The starting line will be the mast of the Committee Boat and a buoy stated in the Notice of Race.
3.3 A yacht shall not start later than 30 minutes after the starting time.
3.4 In accordance with Rule 29.1 of the Racing Rules of Sailing, when a yacht which is on the course side of the start line before the start of the race, two short sounds and an X flag shall be displayed.
3.5 In accordance with Rule 29.2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing, general recall will be sounded comprising two short signs and a First Substitute flag displayed. The First Substitute flag shall continue to be displayed until the Warning signal for the new start is made.

4.1 The finishing line shall be the mast of the Committee Boat and a buoy identified in the Notice of Race.
4.2 A retiring yacht shall communicate its withdrawal from the race to the Committee Boat as soon as possible preferably by radio.
4.3 Flags:
International code flag L indicates a change in sailing instructions
International code flag X indicates a single recall due to one or more yachts being over the start line before the start of the race.
The first substitute flag indicates a general recall