Abandoning Races and Changing or Shortening Course

Abandoning Races

1. The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) state that

   “Before the starting signal, the race committee may for any reason postpone … or abandon the race.

   “After the starting signal, the race committee may shorten the course or abandon the race:

   1. because of foul weather,

   2. because of insufficient wind making it unlikely that any boat will sail the course within the race time limit,

   3. because a mark is missing or out of position,

   4. or for any other reason directly affecting the safety or fairness of the competition…

   “or abandon the race because of an error in the starting procedure.”

2. If there is severe weather before or during a race, you should abandon the race.

3. This includes thunderstorms or strong winds.

4. Monitor the weather forecast to see if a thunderstorm is approaching the racing area.

5. If you hear thunder, you should abandon.

6. The race may also be abandoned if the wind dies and no one will be able to finish the race within the time limit.

7. The Sailing Instructions state, "The time limit for the first boat to finish a race shall be 75 minutes from its starting signal, or for the long-distance races, 4 hours. The race shall be abandoned if no boat in that fleet completes the race within the limit.”

8. To abandon a race, raise the “N” flag, and sound three horns.

9. You should inform the competitors over the radio.

10. During a race, the Chase Boat should also display the “N” flag and look for any boats not heading back in.

11. If a boat does not appear to be heading in, the Chase Boat should approach them and ensure they know the race is abandoned.

12. If the wind has died or there are extreme winds, the Chase Boat and the RC Boat may need to tow boats that do not have motors back to the dock.

Shortening Course

1. If the wind has died, but there is still enough wind for boats to make headway, you can shorten course at any mark instead of abandoning the race.

2. As long as there is enough wind for most boats to reach that mark, this is better than abandoning the race.

3. To shorten course, you should instruct the Chase Boat to anchor near a mark before any boat has reached it.

4. It should anchor so boats rounding the mark, as normal, will go between the mark and the Chase Boat.

5. The Chase Boat should display the “S” flag and sound 2 horns.

6. They will record the finishes as normally done on the RC Boat.

7. This is why we want to use the time of day instead of using a stopwatch.

Changing Course

1. Since we only have one Chase Boat, we cannot change course as we normally would at a mark.

2. However, if the wind has shifted more than 20° before the second race, the RC should have the Chase Boat set a new windward mark for the next race.

3. Since one fleet may be ready to start while the other fleet is still racing, we cannot move a mark they are using.

4. The RC should have the Chase Boat take the orange tetrahedron to the new windward mark location.

5. To inform competitors, the RC Boat should display the new bearing and the “C” to alert them of the change before the starting sequence.

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