Winter Vashon Island Race, Tacoma Yacht Club, December 1, 2007
Duwamish Head Race, Three Tree Point Yacht Club, January 5, 2008
Toliva Shoal Race, South Sound Sailing Society & Olympia Yacht Club, February 16, 2008
Islands Race, Gig Harbor Yacht Club, March 15, 2008
PLEASE NOTE: The sailing instructions were modified following the Winter Vashon Race. These sailing instructions are for use after December 1, 2007.
Contents The Southern Sound Series is an annual series of four sailboat races, each of which is
conducted by a separate club.
Each club has sole responsibility for the management of its race, while coordination
of the series is accomplished through the Southern Sound Series Council.
The Council is comprised of representatives from each sponsoring yacht club.
Questions regarding the Series may be directed to the Council Chairman or to the local
Representatives listed.
Dave Knowlton, Chairperson SSSS (253) 584-6684, tolivarep@ssssclub.com
Mark LindemanTYC (253) 851-4497, tycsail@gmail.com
Tom Davis TTPYC (206) 999-5115, tdavisconst@hotmail.com
Don Waterhouse SSSS (360) 754-7088, tolivarc@ssssclub.com
Tom Mitchell GHYC (253) 225-1846, wildflower@harbornet.com
Kelly Coon, Cruising Class Coordinator (360) 352-4583 rkellycoon@cs.com
Rules
All Southern Sound Series races shall be governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2005-8, US Sailing prescriptions, PHRF and/or class rules, except as amended herein, and these Sailing Instructions. In the event of any discrepancy between a printed version and an on-line version of these instructions, the on-line version will prevail. The on-line version will NOT be changed within one week of each race. Individual race sponsors may publish additional sailing instructions pertaining to one race only, and those instructions shall rank as rules.
Eligibility and Identification
All participants must be current members of a PIYA-affiliated yacht club and PHRF Northwest or a SSSC accepted one-design class.
All boats must, as minimum, meet PIYA Category III specifications.
All boats must have valid USSA(PIYA) sail numbers or such class numbers as approved by PIYA.
Any waiver of this requirement must be made in advance by each race sponsor.
Borrowed sails showing numbers other than those assigned to the boat must be declared on
entry. In no event may these sails show numbers assigned to another boat participating in the
same race.
Boats participating in the Cruising Classes are exempt from PHRF membership and the sail number restrictions of this section. See the Cruising Class Rules.
PIYA (360) 299-1189
PHRF NW (253) 857-8858
Registration and Entry Fee
Each Race requires a separate registration form and entry fee. Entries received after the
deadline indicated for that race are subject to Race Committee acceptance and late entry fees. Following each race, registration forms for the next race in the Series will be mailed to all boats registered for any previous race in the Series.
Classes
Class breaks for the series were set prior to the Winter Vashon Race. The Southern Sound Series Council determines the series class breaks and the decisions are final. Classes are formed with regard to individual boat sailing characteristics, including (but not limited to) sail area, displacement, age, and similar boat historical performance as determined by the Council. Each entrant is responsible for ascertaining their assigned class and class starting time.
In the event of a handicap change during the series which would result in a boat’s assignment to a different, new, class, the boat will remain in the class to which she was originally assigned, in which case the boat will be eligible for series awards. If her skipper wishes to transfer to the new class, the skipper must obtain approval from the registrar for the next Series race of this change, prior to the registration deadline for that race. Such a change may make the boat ineligible for series awards as her scores/times in the races already sailed will not be transferred to her new class, but stand unchanged.
The basic class structure is as follows:
A Multihulls B PHRF less than 25 seconds per mile C Sport Boats PHRF 25 to 57 and Cheetah 30 D PHRF 57 to 72 and J-46 E PHRF 73 F PHRF 74 to 105 and J-92 G PHRF 106 to 131 and Beneteau 35 H PHRF 132 to 160 and Cal 36 I PHRF more than 160
A Cruising Classes will be offered at each race venue. This classes will be scored independently and will not be eligible for series overall or team awards. See the Cruising Class Rules.
Communications
In fairness to all competitors, the Race Committee will not answer hails or radio calls from contestants other than for emergencies or withdrawals. The Race Committee will monitor VHF channel 72 during all races. At the discretion of the Race Committee, shortened course announcements may be hailed on VHF channel 72 and then repeated at the top of any hour of the race.
Starting —
The races will be started using the system described in the Racing Rules of Sailing: Rule 26, Starting Races.
Class Sequence Cruising 30 Minutes before A Class A (Multihulls) Racing Class First Start B and C Racing Class Second Start D and E Racing Class Third Sart F and G Racing Class Fourth Start H and I Racing Class Fifth StartTimes shall be taken from visible signals. The absence of a sound signal shall be disregarded.
Individual Recalls
Code flag “X” will be displayed with one sound signal per RRS 29.2, Individual Recall. The Race Committee will attempt to make individual recalls by sail number and individual hails of clear but it is the boat's responsibility to start properly.
General Recalls
The “First Substitute” code flag will be displayed with two sound signals per RRS 29.3 to indicate a class general recall. The recalled class will begin a new sequence and the warning signal will be given one minute after the lowering of the "First Substitute" flag (one sound), and the starts for any succeeding classes shall follow the new (recalled) start.
Commercial Traffic Avoidance
Competitors’ attention is brought to COLREG Rule 10(J) “ ... a sailing vessel shall not impede the safe passage of a power driven vessel following the traffic lane.” Traffic lanes are shown on NOAA charts for Puget Sound. Boats failing to comply with COLREG Rule 10or failing to yield to ferry traffic are subject to disqualification.
Protest
Written or e-mail protests must be submitted and postmarked within 48 hours of the last boat finishing for any given race OR the expiration of the time limit for that race. The Race Committee will make every effort to hear the protests Thursday following the event.
Series Request for Redress
In the event a request for redress is lodged pertaining to the Series, as opposed to an individual race, a redress committee consisting of one member each from TYC, TTPYC, SSSS/OYC and GHYC will be appointed to hear the request. The time limit for receipt of a series request for redress is two weeks from the date of the last series race.
Distances and Time Limits
| Race | Distance | Time Limit |
| Winter Vashon | 30.7 n.m. | 13 hours after each start |
| Duwamish Head | 30.8 n.m. | 13 hours after each start |
| Toliva Shoal | 36.8 n.m. | 18 hours after each start |
| Islands | 29.5 n.m | 12 hours after each start |
No boat shall finish after the time limit. This amends RRS 35, Time Limit.
Withdrawals
Boats withdrawing from a race must notify the Race Committee in person, via phone, or VHF channel 72.
Shorten Course
Races may be shortened at any mark of the course at the discretion of the Race Committee.
Series Scoring
The following provisions apply for race and series tabulation within a class, for overall series placement, and for team scoring:
RRS Appendix A4 is amended as follows: A low point system for scoring shall be used.
All handicaps will be checked before finalizing the race results. Any boat that has competed in a PHRF class and is found not to have a current PHRF handicap will NOT be scored. Final results will be posted approximately two weeks after each race date.
A boat that does not start or rank as a starter will be scored two more points than the number of boats starting that race. A boat that started but thereafter failed to finish within the time limit, retired, or was disqualified, will be scored one point more than the number of boats that finished that race.
A boat shall be scored based on its best three of four races. Ties shall be broken as follows: 1) by including the throw-out; 2) if still tied, by favoring the boat which has the greatest number of firsts, or seconds or thirds, etc.; and 3) if still tied, the tie(s) shall stand.
The Series Overall Perpetual Trophy shall be awarded to the boat with the fewest points as such points are awarded in each classes, as prescribed above.
The Series Team Perpetual Trophy will be awarded to the yacht club or sailing society with the lowest overall team corrected position scorings, all races scored, no throwouts. To qualify, teams must be registered with the Race Committee prior to the starting signal of the first race, and consist of three, 3, boats in separate classes, the owners of which are members of the same yacht club or sailing society, and, each boat shall represent that yacht club or sailing society. Each boat must be racing in a PHRF Class.
NEW SERIES AWARD: In addition to the Series Overall Perpetual Trophy (see above), the Southern Sound Series will also award the Best Fleet Performance Trophy for the PHRF boat with the lowest cumulative overall score (all boats, not counting multihulls or cruising classes). There will be no throwout race applied to this score regardless of the number of races completed. Be the first boat to have its name inscribed on this new award!