Preparation
When the duty lists are issued check to see if you are able to meet the commitment. If not contact the Rear Commodore Sailing otherwise but it in your diary.
One week before contact all other rostered crew to remind them of their duty. Agree a time you expect them to be at the club. If any member is unable to do their duty that individual is responsible for ensuring that a suitable replacement is found and that the Race Officer is informed.
All duty crew are expected to remain until the Race Officer has declared sailing over for the day.
Check that the radios are charged and are working.
Try and check the weather forecast in advance to help you choose the best sailing course. Keep an eye on visibility and fog conditions, as well as any strong wind warnings or extreme heat or cold.
Spend some time prior to the day to read the sailing instructions so you know what is expected and familiarise yourself with the flags.
The sailing instructions can be found here
Drinks
All duty crew are entitled to free hot drinks during the day from the bar. However we ask the Race Officer to organise someone to bring some fresh milk and if they are feeling generous some biscuits to share.
At the start of the day
Ascertain if the weather is suitable for sailing to take place
At the start of the day check the weather forecast again, including visibility levels and wind strength. You are able to abandon or cancel the race if you think it is dangerous, if wind is too strong , poor visibility, electrical storms in the area , insufficient crew for safety cover or Safety Boat problems. Take advise from experienced sailors but the final decision is with the Race Officer.
If the race is cancelled it expected that the Duty Team will stay and practice their power boat skills together.
If there is insufficient wind, postpone the race 30 minutes prior to he published start time and fly the AP flag with 2 blasts of a sound signal. Provide crews with an estimated new start time and keep everyone briefed until you decide to end the postponement or cancel sailing for the day. To end a postponement: drop the AP flag with 1 sound signal one minute before starting the race start sequence.
Race Officer is responsible for all of the duty team on the day. You need to delegate duties noting that all the duty team have a shared responsibility for the days sailing and its success. The Race Officer must ensure that the duty crew are aware of their roles and responsibilities. If necessary, rearrange the crew duties to fit individual skills and abilities to create the best team.
Anyone handling the Safety Boat must have satisfied the Rear Commodore Sailing that they are capable of handling the boat safely and preferably hold a Powerboat level 2 certificate.
Get all the crew together and agree communication channels. Practice using the radios available from the clubhouse. Ensure everyone knows what is expected of them.
Ensure that all crewmembers are adequately dressed for the conditions (it is always colder on the water than ashore) and that at least one member of the safety crew is prepared to enter the water if an emergency does arise.
Decide on which of the boats should be launched. This may depend upon the weather conditions.
Ensure you have sufficient people around to help launch the boats without risk of injury.
Preparing for the race
A signing on sheet shall be placed in the foyer of the clubhouse, where the course board is. There are different sheets and a committee member should be able to help if there is any confusion.
Ensure all the flags required are attached to the yardarm and that their use is understood.
Collect and check that the start box from the clubhouse is working. Also, pick up the hand-held horn or whistle from the start box in case of a malfunction.
Ensure safety crews know how many boats and people are on the water.
The race
A minimum of two entrants is required for a start to take place.
Course
You can use the weather forecast together with local effects such as water ripples, tree movement etc. to ascertain the wind direction. A better method would be to take a burgee out in a powerboat and visit different areas around the lake. Ensure the boat is stationary and use the burgee to ascertain wind direction and strength.
Set a course to provide a first leg beat preferably as long as possible and to provide all points of sailing, beat, reach and run.
The course shall be indicated in pictorial form on the course board in the club house foyer on the white board.
With handicap racing it is important to have the start and finish at the same point and we encourage sitting in the committee boat for the duration of the race to record the times. (please make sure you are dressed appropriately). This enables a good beat for the first leg.
All boats are sent through the start line, or gate each lap. It does give a more accurate result. This allows slow boats such as Toppers to be finished at a time similar to fast boats such the Phantom.
During the racing keep a constant lookout over the race area and signal the Safety Boat if a craft capsizes or appears to be in difficulty. If for any reason radio contact cannot be made fly flag Q to signal to the Safety Boat. Keep the flag flying until the Safety Boat responds or the boat is righted or out of difficulties.
The start of the race shall not take place prior to the published time and on days when a large number of boats are participating it is acceptable to take a short delay to ensure everyone can launch their boat safely.
A five, four, one minute and start signal sequence shall be used. If two or more starts are planned to be sequential then they shall be separated by five minute intervals.
If one or more boats are over the line at the start a recall or general recall should be used. Use appropriate flag and sound a signal.
If a general recall is used then the recalled start will start after all other scheduled starts.
Times shall be recorded at the end of each lap using minutes and seconds recorded on the signing in sheet.
Time all boats including any DNS (did not sail) of DSQ (Disqualified) boats but clearly indicate on the time sheet the status of the boat.
Ensure the race sheet is in a tidy condition to allow the Results Officer to read and calculate corrected times.
Normal minimum time for a race shall be one hour for the first boat although if winds are light, and therefore lap times long, the race should be shortened at the Race Officers discretion.
A signal shall be sounded when the first boat rounds the last buoy prior to the finish to allow the boats to sail the best course to the finish.
Times shall be recorded in minutes and seconds.
The Safety Boat crew should ensure that all boats are off the water or moored before they come off the water themselves.
Protests
Any protests must be delivered to the Race Officer within 30 minutes of the last boat completing the last race of the day.
The Race Officer shall convene a Protest Committee of at least 3 experienced sailors who have no interest in the outcome of the protest. The Committee shall hear the protest prior to the end of the days sailing and post the outcome on the notice board. The race sheet shall be marked up as necessitated by the outcome of the protest.
At the end of the day
The results photographed and sent to rcsailing@attenboroughsc.org.uk for the Results Officer to publish and the paper version should be left in the Clubhouse in a conspicuous place.
If you wanted to calculate the results for people on the day, you can use this formula.
Time converted to seconds, divide by the number of laps and then divide by the handicap figure and times by 1000.
The lowest number wins.
All used boats shall be either locked in the appropriate container or equipment removed and taken ashore.
If any equipment is missing this should be reported to the Boson or Committee Member.
The clubhouse should be left clean and tidy for the next event, with all equipment put away in good condition. This means sweeping the clubhouse and changing rooms to remove any mud, emptying the fridge of any leftover food at the end of the day or evening, and taking home both the rubbish and recycling. And don’t forget to replace the bin bag.
Liaise with a member of the committee about locking up all the facilities.
Last updated 28.01.2026