HAVEN SERIES 2008 - NOTICE OF RACE

1. THE HAVEN SERIES RACES FOR 2008 will comprise the following -
•  The Haven Points Series races
•  The Mercator and Stroombank Trophy races (the "North Sea" races).
•  The Cutler Trophy races
•  The Britannia Trophy race
See the "Schedule of Races" below for details.

2. THE ORGANISING AUTHORITY – is the Haven Series Committee as defined by the Haven Series Constitution, and comprising the following members for 2008 -

3. RULES
Racing will be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing 2005-2008 (RRS), together with the RYA prescriptions, the current IRC Rules (parts 1, 2 and 3) where applicable, the Notice of Race, the Entry Forms, the Sailing Instructions and any supplementary Sailing Instructions for the particular event, and the objectives, principles and practises of the RYA Racing Charter. In case of conflict the Sailing Instructions shall prevail.

Changes to Rules shall apply as detailed below and/or in the Sailing Instructions published herewith.
•  IRC Rule 14.1 shall not apply (i.e. RRS 52 “Manual Power” shall remain in effect).
•  IRC Rule 27.4.3 shall not apply to boats individually required to hold endorsed rating certificates (see “Eligibility” below). No crew limitations will apply, though attention is drawn to the requirement to carry sufficient safety equipment for all crew members.

This Notice of Race may be amended by Sailing Instructions or by a Notice to Competitors as provided therein.

4. EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
Boats must meet the minimum standards laid out in the current ISAF Offshore Special Regulations as follows –
•  For Haven Points series and Cutler Trophy races: – “Category 4 Monohulls” plus a functional engine, adequate fuel and a marine VHF transceiver.
•  For Mercator, Britannia Trophy and Stroombank races: – “Category 3 Monohulls with Liferaft”.

The race organisers reserve the right to disqualify or impose other penalties upon any yacht which is considered un-seaworthy and/or which is not carrying the compulsory safety equipment. Random inspections of yachts may be made before and/or after any race. Such inspections whether or not performed shall not in any way relieve the boat of its absolute responsibility in regard to safety and seaworthiness.

Competitors should note the mandatory requirement to display a class flag in Points Series races (see SI 8)

5. ELIGIBILITY
Save as stated below, these races are open to any single-hulled sailing yacht having a minimum waterline length of 17 feet and (for IRC) a minimum SSS number of 10, entered by a member of a sailing club situated between Lowestoft and Bradwell and sailed by the same or another such member. For this purpose a boat is deemed to be “sailed by” the person who directly has responsibility for and control of the boat’s handling and manoeuvring and the actions of its crew while racing.

Yachts that rate higher than 1.070 (for IRC) and/or lower than 880 (for Haven Handicap) will not be accepted for the Points Series without special Committee dispensation. Any boat eligible for either class in the Points Series shall be eligible to race in the Cutler Trophy.

For the Haven Points Series, any boat which has finished in or above third place overall under IRC within the preceding three calendar years must hold an Endorsed IRC Certificate before entering again. This requirement may be waived where the Committee is satisfied that there has been a bona fide change of ownership.

6. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
For the purposes of the following the word “boat” shall where the context so admits include the owner or person in charge and all other persons concerned in the management or sailing of the boat in question in connection with the events covered by these Sailing Instructions

(i) A boat is entirely responsible for its own safety, whether afloat or ashore, and nothing, whether in the Notice of Race or Sailing Instructions or anywhere else, reduces this responsibility.

(ii) It is for the boat to decide whether it is fit to sail in the conditions in which it will find itself. By going to sea the boat confirms that it is fit for those conditions and that its crew is competent to sail and compete in them.

(iii) The boat is required to hold adequate insurance and in particular to hold insurance against third party claims in the sum of at least £2,000,000.

(iv) Nothing done by the organisers can reduce the responsibility of the boat nor make the organisers responsible for any loss, damage, death or personal injury, however it may have occurred as a result of the boat taking part in the racing. The term “organisers” encompass everyone helping to run the race and the event, and includes the organising authority, the race committee, the race officer and helpers.

(v) The boat is responsible to ensure that it is equipped and seaworthy so as to be able to face extremes of weather, that there is a crew sufficient in number, experience and fitness to withstand such weather; that the safety equipment is properly maintained, stowed and in date, and that the crew know how to use it.

(vi) The fact that the race committee may conduct inspections of a boat does not reduce the responsibilities of the boat set out in the Conditions of Entry as set out in this section. Owners of deep-draft boats should be aware of restricted depths in parts of the race area; careful attention to a current chart is recommended before deciding to enter. A boat is solely responsible for its own safe navigation, and a boat which while racing finds itself disadvantaged by its draft shall not for that reason have grounds for protest or redress.

Notwithstanding anything stated or implied elsewhere, the Committee has the right to refuse any entry.

7. RACE AREA, COURSES
Unless otherwise stated for a particular race, the race area comprises the waters around and between the sea marks listed in the Haven Series 2008 Course List (annexed hereto), remaining always to southward of the Harwich Haven Authority’s deep water shipping channel.
Courses may be set from the said course list, or may be flexi-courses using marks from that list by the procedure set out in the Sailing Instructions.

8. HANDICAPPING
Races are run under IRC and/or Haven Handicap (HH), as indicated in the Schedule of Races. IRC entrants must produce a current valid IRC certificate (endorsed if so required – see section 5 above). Haven Handicaps will be determined by the Handicapping Sub-Committee based upon information provided on the entry forms and will be subject to review and possible change during the season. Competitors entering under IRC will without separate application be assigned a Haven Handicap for the purposes of the Britannia Trophy, Cutler Trophy and North Sea races.

Changes to handicaps (IRC or HH) will apply from the stated effective date, but changes will not be accepted between races on the same weekend, and for IRC the committee reserves the right to refuse a late change (i.e. within 7 days before a race).

9. ENTRIES
– using the appropriate entry forms (annexed hereto), together with copy IRC certificate if applicable and the appropriate entry fees, should be sent to the Haven Series Secretary at the above address to arrive on or before the applicable closing date. Entrants must state the club under whose flag they will race; boats with dual or multiple club membership must select and declare a single club for this purpose.

Late entries for the Haven Points Series may be accepted at the discretion of the Committee and at additional cost (see below). No entries will be accepted for the Britannia, Mercator or Stroombank races after their respective closing dates. No competitor will be eligible to compete in any race within seven days after receipt of entry, unless by specific Committee dispensation in extenuating circumstances and subject to such additional late entry premium as the Committee may impose.

10. ENTRY FEES & CLOSING DATES

Berthing fees for first night’s stay included in entry fees for: Mercator and Stroombank (£14.00)
Britannia Trophy (£18.00)
*non-member means a boat not entered for the Haven Points Series.

11. SCHEDULE OF RACES

11.1 Haven Points Series
– will be sailed on the following five weekends, starting and finishing in or near Harwich Harbour.
May 17th/18th, June 14th/15th, July 28th/29th, September 6th/7th and September 27th/28th.
The inter-club Cutler Trophy team competition will be combined with the Sept. 27th/28th races – see 11.4 below.

Classes: – IRC (IC flag Charlie), Haven Handicap (IC flag Hotel) and Haven Handicap Sunday Series (IC flag Delta). Competitors may enter one class only.

For classes C and H there will be 10 races with discards as follows –

   Class D will sail 4 races with 3 to count, on Sundays May 18th, June 15th, June 29th and September 7th starting after classes C and H and sailing a shorter course. A boat may choose to race without spinnaker and be rated accordingly, but must declare its choice at the time of entry, to apply for the entire series. “Without spinnaker” means that all foresails must be attached to the forestay by hanks or grooved foil, and loose-luffed sails may not be used.

Start times will be as follows (all times BST) –
Class H – 10:15, Class C – 10:30 and Class D (when applicable) – 10:45

There will normally be one race per day, but a second may take place in order to re-sail an abandoned race from an earlier day, starting after all relevant boats have finished their previous race, at a time to be determined by the race officer and with the start sequence and intervals as above.

Scoring – each series will be scored according to the Low-Point Scoring System of RRS Appendix A 4.1 as amended by Appendix A 9 (Series longer than a Regatta). Ties will be broken in accordance with Appendix A 7 and A 8.

Results will be promulgated by e-mail or post, and on this Haven Series website.

Trophies and Prizes will be awarded as follows –
The Armada Cup and replica Armada plate for the overall winner in IRC Class.
The Armada Challenge Plate and replica for the overall winner in Haven Handicap Class.
– and for individual races as follows –

The Thake Trophy for the overall winner in Haven Handicap Sunday Series.

The Landamore Trophy for the best Haven Series boat at the Port of Felixstowe Regatta.

The Theadom Trophy will be presented to the boat with the most improved performance.

The Strutt and Parker Trophy is awarded at the discretion of the Committee.

Other prizes may be awarded according to the number of entries.

11.2 Mercator Trophy and Stroombank Trophy Races
– will be sailed as follows, in each case starting at 07:30 BST in Harwich Harbour.
 

A “non-member” means a boat not entered for the Points Series.

Rules are as stated at (3) above, save as follows –
A boat that is on the course side at the start and fails to return and start correctly shall not be scored OCS, but shall have one hour added to her corrected time (changes RRS Appendix A 4.2).

Between sunset and sunrise each night the Steering and Sailing Rules of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea shall apply and shall replace the rules of RRS part 2.

Declarations are required – see Sailing Instructions and the declaration form annexed hereto.

Handicap – single class under Haven Handicap plus IRC division.

Trophies and Prizes will be awarded as follows –

Mercator Race – the Mercator Trophy and Royal North Sea Yacht Club Picture.

Stroombank Race – the Stroombank Trophy.

Best aggregate result (excluding the winners of both races) – the Highlander Trophy.

Best aggregate result of the Mercator, Stroombank and Britannia Trophy races - the Demijon Traveller Trophy.

Best aggregate result in IRC Division of Mercator, Stroombank and Britannia Trophy races – the Tsunami Trophy.

Other prizes may be awarded according to the number of entries

11.3 Britannia Trophy Race
– will be sailed on 12th July, starting at 10:30 BST in or near Harwich Harbour or the southern part of Felixstowe Bay, and finishing at Lowestoft (see Supplementary Sailing Instructions for details).

Closing dates for entries will be 28th June (5th July for Haven Points Series entrants).

Rules are as stated at (3) above, save as follows –
A boat that is on the course side at the start and fails to return and start correctly shall not be scored OCS, but shall have one hour added to her corrected time (changes RRS Appendix A 4.2).

Between sunset and sunrise each night the Steering and Sailing Rules of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea shall apply and shall replace the rules of RRS part 2.

Declarations are required – see Sailing Instructions and the declaration form annexed hereto.

Handicap – single class under Haven Handicap plus IRC division.

Trophies and Prizes will be awarded as follows –

The Britannia Trophy (retained at the Royal Harwich Yacht Club) and Britannia Plate.

The Demijon Traveller Trophy and the Tsunami Trophy (see 11.2 above).

There will be a sweepstake comprising one half of the total entry fees, to be distributed according to the number of entries.
Other prizes may be awarded according to the number of entries.

11.4 Cutler Trophy
This Trophy is presented by the Wilkinson Sword Company for annual inter-club team competition, to be held for one year by the winning club (or in the case of a combined team, as the clubs concerned shall agree). The Trophy will be awarded for 2008 on the basis of the two races on September 27th/28th as follows –

Rules – Are as stated at (3) above. The “Team Racing” rules of RRS Appendix D shall not apply.

Eligibility – The competition is open only to boats competing in the 2008 Haven Points Series (IRC or Haven Handicap, but not the Sunday Series).

Teams – Each club may enter one team comprising three boats, plus a substitute to be used if one of the boats in the team becomes un-seaworthy, all of which shall be nominated in writing to the Haven Series Secretary by the club by 09:00 on Saturday 20th September. Two or more clubs may jointly enter a combined team provided
that none of them enters a separate team in its own name, and that all other eligibility criteria are met.

Race organisation – Races 9 and 10, incorporating the Cutler Trophy, shall be run in the normal manner, with IRC and Haven Handicap classes starting at their usual times but both sailing the same course (so that times can fairly be combined). Points Series’ results for races 9 and 10 will be calculated in the normal manner for each fleet using its own handicapping system.

Cutler Trophy scoring – The elapsed and corrected times of boats entered for the Cutler Trophy will be separately calculated using Haven Handicap for each race using the Low-Point Scoring system as set out in RRS Appendix A 4.1, A 4.2 and A 9. Ties will be scored in accordance with Appendix A 7.

The Cutler Trophy will be awarded to the team with the lowest number of points over the two races. In the event of only one race being sailed the Cutler Trophy will be awarded to the team with the lowest score for that race.
If neither race is sailed the Cutler Trophy will not be awarded.
Ties – RRS Appendix A8 shall not apply. If two or more teams’ scores are equal, the scores of individual boats in individual races shall be considered, and the tie broken in favour of the team having the most first places overall, or if the tie remains the most second places and so on for lower places if necessary. If a tie still remains, it shall be broken in favour of the team having the best-placed boat in the final race, or if both teams’ best boats were tied in that race, the best placed second boat and so on.