TCYC Dinghy Sailing Instructions 2026

Teign Corinthian Yacht Club

TCYC Dinghy Racing - Sailing Instructions

Updated - October 2026

1 RULES

1.1 The regattas and series races will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing in force at the time of the race.

1.2 Racing rule(s) 26, 33, 35, A4 and A5 will be changed.

1.3 Appendix P will not apply.

2* NOTICES TO COMPETITORS

Notices to competitors will be posted on the club web site

3 CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Any change to the sailing instructions will be posted no later than 2000 on the day before it will take effect.

4 SIGNALS MADE ASHORE

4.1 Signals made ashore will be displayed at the Race Officer window or the Club's flagpole.

5 SCHEDULE OF RACES

5.1 Dates of racing:

Will be published on the club website.

5.2 The number of races to be sailed each day will be briefed by the Race Officer

6 CLASS FLAGS

Class flags will be:

Class Flag

Handicap Fleet - Flag H

Solo Fleet - No. 1 Pennant

7 RACING AREAS

Are in the river Teign in the vicinity of the Coombe Cellars club house.

8 THE COURSES

8.1* The Course to be used will be announced at the Race officers briefing on the day of the race.

8.2 Legs of the course will not be changed after the preparatory signal. This changes RRS 33.

9 MARKS

9.1* Will be described at the Race Officers briefing

9.2 Line starts. The default start line is between the centreline of the Race Officer window and the designated outer distance mark (as briefed at the RO briefing).

If the race is started using flags on land then the start line is the centre of the flagpole and the outer distance mark.

Water based start lines are denoted by the location of the orange flag on the committee boat and the outer distance mark.

9.3 The finish line will be described in the RO briefing and will be between:

the centreline of the Race Officers window and the outer distance mark

or

the flagpole at the club site and the outer distance mark

or

the mast of a committee boat displaying a blue flag and the outer distance mark

the mast of a committee boat displaying a blue flag and the mast of an assistant committee boat also displaying a blue flag,

10 AREAS THAT ARE OBSTRUCTIONS

Obstruction in the Race Area (if any) will be included in the Race Officer briefing.

11 THE START

11.1 Committee boat starts and starts from a flag pole ashore will be in accordance with RRS 26

Races started from the club house will use a light system as described in Addendum A, This changes RRS 26.

11.2 Boats whose warning signal has not been made shall avoid the starting area during the starting sequence for other races. [DP]

11.3 A boat that does not start within 5 minutes after her starting signal will be scored Did Not Start without a hearing. This changes RRS A4 and A5.

11.4 A minimum of two boats in a fleet are required to be in the starting area when their Preparatory signal is made for a race to be started.

12 CHANGE OF THE NEXT LEG OF THE COURSE

12.1 Changes to the briefed course will not be made during a race.

13 THE FINISH

13.1 The finishing line described at the RO briefing will be the centreline of the Race Officers window and a designated buoy

or

the flagpole at the club site and a designated buoy

or

a transit line specified at the briefing,

or

the mast of a committee boat displaying a blue flag and the mast of an assistant committee boat also displaying a blue flag,

or;

the mast of the committee boat a designated marker buoy

13.2 Exceptionally for a one design fleet boats may be allocated a finish based on their position on the course at a specific time.

14 TIME LIMITS AND TARGET TIMES

14.1 The time limit for each race will be 75 minutes.

14.2 Boats failing to finish within 15 minutes after the first boat sails the course and finishes will be scored Did Not Finish without a hearing. This changes RRS 35, A4 and A5.

14.3 A race will be abandoned of no boats have reached the first mark after 30 minutes.

15 PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS

15.1* Protest forms are available at the office. Protests and requests for redress or reopening shall be delivered there within the appropriate time limit.

15.2 For each class, the protest time limit is 30 minutes after the last boat has finished the last race of the day or the race committee signals no more racing today, whichever is later.

15.3 Notices will be posted no later than 30 minutes after the protest time limit to inform competitors of hearings in which they are parties or named as witnesses. Hearings will be held in the protest room, located

15.4 Notices of protests by the race committee, technical committee or protest committee will be posted to inform boats under RRS 61.1(b).

15.5 Measurement protests, lodged after the end of any race, will be refused if they are based on facts reasonably available before the start time.

16 SCORING

16.1 Races will be scored in accordance with RRS 90.3, i.e. races will only be scored if one or more boat completes the course.

16.2 An Entrant is created in the results for a Dinghy Regatta or Series for each specific combination of helm and boat.

16.3 Where a boat has different sized rigs available (Laser, Aero etc.) then all races in the series for that competitor will be scored using the PY number of the largest rig used by that competitor in that series.

16.4 Races to Count in a Dinghy Regatta or Series– The number of races to count will be 50% of scored races, plus one, rounded up to a whole number. The discard profile will therefore be as follows:

The discards will be applied as the Series progresses. Consequently, the published results will always be the final results if no more races are completed in the series.

16.5 Duties - A competitor undertaking an official Race Duty will be awarded Average Points (AVGX in Club Sailing Manager) for each scored race in their fleet on the day. This shall apply to the maximum of 3 races within a Regatta or Series.

17 SAFETY REGULATIONS

17.1 A yacht is deemed as intending to race only when a competitor has 'signed on' to the relevant TCYC Race Record Form before leaving shore to commence racing. [DP]

17.2 A boat that retires from a race shall notify the race committee as soon as possible. [DP]

18 REPLACEMENT OF CREW OR EQUIPMENT

18.1 No substitution of helmsman shall be allowed.

19 PRIZES

Details of prizes will be published on the schedule of races

20 DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See RRS 4,

Decision to Race. The organizing authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta.

21 INSURANCE

Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third- party liability insurance with a minimum cover of £3,000,000 per incident or the equivalent.

ADDENDUM A

When races are started from the Race Officer desk in the clubhouse the lights shown below will be used to signal to the racing yachts.

Sequences for races

The lights will have the following meanings and will be accompanied by the appropriate number of horn sounds.

1. Before the Start

Yellow with single horn (equivalent to AP), wait for start sequence or further instruction.

Red - (equivalent to November) racing postponed.

Yellow and Red - Racing abandoned for the day (AP over N) - return to slipway.

2. Start sequences

These will be three minutes (3-2-1-0) in duration.

-3 minutes - Class signal, Class light on.

-2 minutes - Preparatory Blue light on (equivalent to Blue Peter up)

-1 minute - Preparatory Blue light off (equivalent to Blue Peter down)

0 minute - Start signal - Class light off

If second or third fleet, then sequence repeats using the next class light etc.

Individual Recall -Yellow light and single horn, Yellow light on until boats re-cross start else off at next fleets preparatory light when boat(s) will be marked OCS for race.

General Recall - Red light on with two additional horns. This fleet restarts after last fleet has started. Fleets restarting after General Recall will start under Flag U rules. The flag will not be flown, this is an automatic requirement.

3. During the Races

3.1 Shorten course - Yellow light together with relevant class light(s) and two horns.

If this applies to a given fleet only then the Class light for that fleet will be switched on as well. Any subsequent fleets approaching the line will have two more horns and their class light illuminated when the shorten applies to them.

3.2 Abandon racing - Yellow and Red lights on together with relevant class light(s) with at least three horns. Return immediately to slipway.

3.3 New Information - Yellow and blue lights together with two horns.

Each boat to sail past the safety boat to get new instructions.

Last updated 14:44 on 13 October 2026