Offshore - Lake Ontario 300

Page 40 Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Guide Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Guide Page 41
Yacht Racing is a
Corinthian Sport
Long distance yacht racing is one of the few competitive sports where
much of each event takes place well out of sight of any form of official
oversight and out of sight of other competitors. It is for this reason that
it is called a “Corinthian Sport”; one that relies on each competitor’s Corinthian
spirit in order to keep the racing fair and equitable.
This is an interesting topic not often discussed, but an article published in the October/November
2010 issue of GAM has resulted in bringing the subject to life.
The instigation for this article is from a new racer competing in the LO300 for
the first time admitted to running their engine when under difficult circumstances.
While The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) apply to the LO300 Challenge
Race, there are a number of important considerations that must be taken into
account with such a blanket statement.
Firstly, sailing is a self-policing sport and the Organizing Authority and Race
Committee are there to facilitate the racing, not to act as referees. However,
the Race Committee may protest situations that no competitor could have seen
using the protest process.
The basic principles of the sport of sailing as stated in the Racing Rules of
Sailing are:
Sportsmanship and the Rules:
Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that
they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of
sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly
take a penalty, which may be to retire.
Following on from this principle that the rules are always in affect and RRS 4:
Decision to Race:
The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to
continue racing is hers alone
Thus if conditions or circumstances are such that a sailboat believes that she
should not continue to race or that have caused her to break a rule, then she
should retire or take a penalty whichever is appropriate.
The Lake 300 Challenge Race is new to many participants each year; either
with sailboats with little racing or with only around the buoys experience. This
means that many of the participants may not be as familiar with the Racing
Rules of Sailing that come into play more often in long distance racing, i.e., to
know what’s permissible or not under the rules in the areas of propulsion, making
fast, leaving the vessel, anchoring, outside help, etc.
Moreover, some of the Racing Rules are amended in the Notice of Race (NOR)
and Sailing Instructions (SI’s) of the LO300 or other such races to better reflect
the conditions of these races. It’s important for racers to remember that the
NOR, SI’s and other referenced documents in them rank as rules so the Basic
Principle applies to the contents of these documents.
The LO300 Committee is continuously reviewing the NOR and SI’s to either
change them to better reflect what is needed or improve the wording for clarity,
and it is up to each competitor to make sure they know the rules and have
reviewed the events SI’s and NOR.
If racers realize, after they have finished, that they broke a rule, they can inform
the Race Committee that they wish to Retire After Finishing and receive the
score RAF. Many racers consider this score a badge of honour showing that
they uphold the Basic Principle of the sport of sailing.
ISAF documents are available for free on its web site, www.sailing.org. This includes
The Racing Rules of Sailing themselves and other information that racers
can use as reference sources.
Graham Dougall
Race Officer
LO300 Challenge Race &
LO300 Committee
Specializing in
Performance Sailing
Yachts, and offering a
large brokerage selection.
RCR Yachts Inc.
223 Lockport Street
Youngstown, NY 14174
716-745-3862
www.rcryachts.com