Each year the racing program is revised in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the members who race. Please check the Club web-site (www.pbyc.com.au) for any updates to dates/timing/courses.
We would recommend that, prior to participating in club racing, you contact one of the committee members to gain an understanding of the PBYC racing process, or you may wish to crew on one of the boats that regularly races to gain this knowledge.
Please note that there is an alternative course (Yellow Flag) set within Pittwater if the weather is bad or the seas too rough on any occasion when a race outside Pittwater is programmed.
Based on our Risk Management Policy this will happen for races outside Pittwater if the wind is forecast to exceed 25 knots offshore or seas exceed 3 meters. For inshore races a wind forecast exceeding 30 knots will cause the race to be abandoned or postponed.
EXTRAS – refers to spinnakers, gennikers, bloopers, assymetrics or other “fore-sails” that are not attached to the forestay. They can be used in a number of Sunday races, but they are not permitted in the Twilight Series.
There are different race series run on Weekends and Friday Twilights:
WEEKEND RACES
• Sprint Series: each consisting of 3 short races on a single day, with all races to count.
• Estuary Series consists of 7 races run over summer with 2 drops allowed.
• Winter Series consists of 6 races over winter with 1 drop allowed.
FRIDAY TWILIGHT RACES (During Daylight Saving)
• Divisional Twilight – consists of 11 fortnightly races run on alternate Fridays during Daylight Saving with 3 drops allowed.
• Handicap Pursuit Twilight – consists of 11 Handicap Start Races run on the intervening Fridays with 3 drops allowed.
If you intend to race:
• Ensure that your boat has a valid safety certificate issued by either PBYC or another YA affiliated yacht club
• Ensure that your boat has valid racing insurance and that a copy is given to PBYC along with your Safety Audit and Entry Form/Fees.
• Let the Race Co-ordinator know the details about your boat and any changes to your boat.
• Make sure that you will be identified on the course either by your sail number or your special race number.
• Please ensure you have a club burgee to fly when racing to indicate that you are a racing yacht.
Penalties
• If the starter has judged that one or more yachts have broken the start, two short sound signals will be given after the starting signal. It is the responsibility of skippers to decide if they have infringed and, if so, either return and start again or accept a time penalty.
• Touching a rounding mark incurs a single turn penalty.
• For all other infringements during a race a two turn penalty is sufficient to exonerate the infringing yacht.
• A 10 min penalty (in Sunday races) or a 5 min penalty (in Twilight races) will be applied by the Race Committee where an infringement is clear and no voluntary penalty has been taken, especially where the safety of other yachts has been put at risk.
• When Twilight racing in two divisions, yachts in the faster division MUST keep clear of the starting area in the 5-minute period before the start of the other division OR RISK A PENALTY.
These penalties must be taken as soon as possible after the incident
Dispute Resolution Policy
We would prefer not to have protests and believe that many situations where protests occur can be avoided if members maintain our Club values of friendship and sportsmanship.
The Club expects all competitors to abide by the Racing Rules of Sailing to regulate the conduct of each race.
The PBYC does not accept protests under the procedures set out in the RRS.
• The Race Director or his / her designate is empowered to penalise or disqualify any yacht which, in his / her opinion, is in breach of the AYF Rules or is not sailing within the spirit of the PBYC’s Racing Policy.
• Should any member have a dispute with a fellow club member, they are encouraged to discuss the matter directly with the individual(s) involved.
• Should any member have a dispute with the Race Director or if members are unable to resolve a matter themselves, they should write to the Race Committee within 2 weeks.
• Having received a letter in these circumstances, the Race Committee will consider it at the next appropriate meeting. The Race Committee may ask both parties to attend or provide written reports. The Race Committee is not obliged to make any ruling but may do so on any basis that it sees fit and not necessarily in line with the strict interpretation of the AYF Rules.
The Race Committee’s primary guideline to making any decision will be the encouragement of PBYC’s Racing Policy
