APPENDIX E - RADIO-CONTROLLED BOAT RACING RULES

Races for radio-controlled boats shall be sailed under The Racing Rules of Sailing as changed by this appendix.

E1 CHANGES TO THE DEFINITIONS, TERMINOLOGY AND THE RULES OF PARTS 1, 2 AND 7

E1.1 Definitions
Add to the definition Conflict of Interest:
However, an observer does not have a conflict of interest solely by being a competitor.

In the definition Zone the distance is changed to four hull lengths.

Add new definition:
Disabled
A boat is disabled while she is unable to continue in the heat.

E1.2 Terminology
The Terminology paragraph of the Introduction is changed so that:
(a) ‘Boat’ means a sailboat controlled by radio signals and having no crew. However, in the rules of Part 1 and Part 5, rule E6 and the definitions Party and Protest, ‘boat’ includes the competitor controlling her.

(b) ‘Competitor’ means the person that designated to control a boat using radio signals.

(c) In the racing rules, but not in its appendices, replace the noun ‘race’ with ‘heat’. In Appendix E a race consists of one or more heats and is completed when the last heat in the race is completed.

E1.3 Rules of Parts 1, 2 and 7
(a) Rule 1.2 is deleted.
(b) In rule 20, hails and replies shall be made by the competitor controlling the boat.
(c) Rule 23 is changed to: ‘If possible, a boat shall avoid a boat that is disabled.’
(d) Rule 90.2(c) is changed to:
Changes to the sailing instructions may be communicated orally to all affected competitors before the warning signal of the relevant race or heat.

E2 ADDITIONAL RULES WHEN RACING
Rule E2 applies only while boats are racing.

E2.1 Hailing Requirements
(a) A hail shall be made so that the competitors to whom the hail is directed might reasonably be expected to hear it.

(b) The individual digits of a boat’s sail number shall be hailed; for example ‘one five’, not ‘fifteen’.

E2.2 Giving Advice
A competitor shall not give tactical or strategic advice to a competitor controlling a boat that is racing.

E2.3 Boat Out of Radio Control
A competitor who loses radio control of his boat shall promptly hail and repeat ‘(The boat’s sail number) out of control’ and the boat shall retire.

E2.4 Transmitter Aerials
If a transmitter aerial is longer than 200mm when extended, the extremity shall be adequately protected.

E2.5 Radio Interference
Transmission of radio signals that cause interference with the control of other boats is prohibited. A competitor that has broken this rule shall not race again until permitted to do so by the race committee.

E3 CONDUCT OF A RACE

E3.1 Control Area
The sailing instructions may specify a control area; if not specified, it shall be unrestricted. Competitors shall be in this area when controlling boats that are racing, except briefly to handle and then release or relaunch the boat.

E3.2 Launching Area
The sailing instructions may specify a launching area and its use; if not specified it shall be unrestricted.

E3.3 Course Board
The sailing instructions may require the course to be displayed on a board and, if so, the board shall be located in or adjacent to the control area.

E3.4 Starting and Finishing

(a) Rule 26 is changed to:
Heats shall be started using warning, preparatory and starting signals at oneminute intervals. During the minute before the starting signal, additional sound or oral signals shall be made at ten-second intervals, and during the final ten seconds
at one-second intervals. Each signal shall be timed from the beginning of its sound.(b) The starting and finishing lines shall be between the course sides of the starting and finishing marks.

E3.5 Individual Recall
Rule 29.1 is changed to:
When at a boat’s starting signal any part of the boat is on the course side of the starting line, or when she must comply with rule 30.1, the race committee shall promptly hail ‘Recall (sail numbers)’ and repeat the hail as appropriate. If rule 30.3 or 30.4 applies this rule does not.

E3.6 General Recall
Rule 29.2 is changed to:
When at the starting signal the race committee is unable to identify boats that are on the course side of the starting line or to which rule 30 applies, or there has been an error in the starting procedure, the race committee may hail and repeat as appropriate ‘General recall’ and make two loud sounds. The warning signal for a new start will normally be made shortly thereafter.

E3.7 U Flag and Black Flag Rule
When the race committee informs a boat that she has broken rule 30.3 or 30.4, the boat shall immediately leave the course area.

E3.8 Other Changes to the Rules of Part 3
(a) Rules 30.2 and 33 are deleted.
(b) All race committee signals shall be made orally or by other sounds. No visual signals are required unless specified in the sailing instructions.
(c) Courses shall not be shortened.
(d) Rule 32.1(a) is changed to: ‘because of foul weather or thunderstorms,’.

E3.9 Disabled Competitors
To enable a disabled competitor to compete on equal terms, the race committee shall make as fair an arrangement as possible.

E4 RULES OF PART 4
E4.1 Deleted Rules in Part 4
Rules 40, 43, 44.3, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52 and 54 are deleted.

E4.2 Outside Help
Rule 41 is changed to:
A boat or the competitor controlling her shall not receive help from any outside source, except

(a) help needed as a direct result of a competitor becoming ill, injured or in danger;

(b) when the boat is entangled with another boat, help from the other competitor;

(c) when the boat is entangled, or she is aground or in danger, help from a race committee vessel;

(d) help in the form of information freely available to all competitors.

(e) unsolicited information from a disinterested source. A competitor is not a disinterested source unless acting as an observer.
However, a boat that gains a significant advantage in the heat or race from help received under rule 41 may be protested and penalized; any penalty may be less than disqualification.

E4.3 Taking a Penalty
Rule 44.1 is changed to:
A boat may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2, or rule 31, in an incident while racing. However,
(a) when she may have broken a rule of Part 2 and rule 31 in the same incident she need not take the penalty for breaking rule 31;

(b) if the boat gained a significant advantage in the heat or race by her breach despite taking a penalty, her penalty shall be an additional One-Turn Penalty;

(c) if the boat caused serious damage, or as a result of breaking a rule of Part 2 she caused another boat to become disabled and retire, her penalty shall be to retire.

E4.4 Person in Charge
Rule 46 is changed to:
‘The member or organization that entered the boat shall designate the competitor.
See rule 75.’

E5 RACING WITH OBSERVERS AND UMPIRES
E5.1 Observers
(a) The race committee may appoint observers, who may be competitors.

(b) Observers shall hail the sail numbers of boats that make contact with a mark or another boat and shall repeat the hail as appropriate.

(c) At the end of a heat, observers shall report to the race committee all unresolved incidents, and any failure to sail the course as required by rule 28.

E5.2 Umpired Races
The International Radio Sailing Association Addendum Q shall apply to umpired races. Races to be umpired may be identified in the sailing instructions or orally before the warning signal.

Note: The addendum is available at the website: radiosailing.org.

E5.3 Rules for Observers and Umpires
Observers and umpires shall be located in the control area. They shall not use any aid or device that gives them a visual advantage over competitors.

E6 PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS
E6.1 Right to Protest
Rule 60.1 is changed to:
A boat may
(a) protest another boat, but not for an alleged breach of a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4 unless she was scheduled to sail in that heat; or
(b) request redress.
However, a boat or competitor may not protest for an alleged breach of rules E2 or E3.7.

E6.2 Protest for a Rule Broken by a Competitor
When a race committee or protest committee learns that a competitor may have
broken a rule, it may protest the boat controlled by that competitor.

E6.3 Informing the Protestee
Rule 61.1(a) is changed to:
A boat intending to protest shall inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity. When her protest concerns an incident in the racing area that she was involved in or saw, she shall hail twice ‘(Her own sail number) protest (the sail number of the other boat)’.

E6.4 Informing the Race Committee
A boat intending to protest or request redress about an incident in the racing area or control area shall inform the race officer as soon as reasonably possible after finishing or retiring.

E6.5 Time Limits
A protest, request for redress or request for reopening shall be delivered to the race officer no later than ten minutes after the last boat in the heat finishes or after the relevant incident, whichever is later.

E6.6 Redress
Add to rule 62.1:
(e) external radio interference acknowledged by the race committee, or

(f) becoming disabled and as a result retiring because of the action of a boat that was breaking a rule of Part 2 or of a vessel not racing that was required to keep clear.

E6.7 Right to Be Present
In rule 63.3(a) ‘the representatives of boats shall have been on board’ is changed to ‘the representative of each boat shall be the competitor designated to control her’.

E6.8 Taking Evidence and Finding Facts
Add to rule 63.6:
When the protest concerns an alleged breach of a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4, any witness shall have been in the control area at the time of the incident. If the witness is a competitor who was not acting as an observer, he shall also have been scheduled to race in the relevant heat.

E6.9 Decisions on Redress
Add to rule 64.2:
If a boat is given redress because she was damaged, her redress shall include reasonable time, but not more than 30 minutes, to make repairs before her next heat.

E7 PENALTIES
When a protest committee decides that a boat that is a party to a protest hearing has broken a rule other than a rule of Part 2, 3 or 4, it shall either

(a) disqualify her or add any number of points (including zero and fractions of points) to her score. The penalty shall be applied, if possible, to the heat or race in which the rule was broken; otherwise it shall be applied to the next heat or race for that boat. When points are added, the scores of other boats shall not be changed; or

(b) require her to take one or more One-Turn Penalties that shall be taken as soon as possible after the starting signal of her next heat that is started and not subsequently recalled or abandoned.

However, if the boat has broken a rule in Appendix G or rule E8, the protest committee shall act in accordance with rule G4.

E8 CHANGES TO APPENDIX G, IDENTIFICATION ON SAILS
Rule G1, except the table of National Sail Letters, is changed to:

G1 WORLD SAILING AND IRSA CLASS BOATS
This rule applies to every boat of a class administered or recognised by World Sailing or by the International Radio Sailing Association (IRSA).

G1.1 Identification
(a) A boat of a World Sailing or IRSA Class shall display her class insignia, national letters and sail number as specified in rule G1, unless her class rules state otherwise.

(b) At world and continental championships, sails shall comply with these rules. At other events they shall comply with these rules or the rules applicable at the time of their initial certification.

G1.2 National Letters
At all international events, a boat shall display national letters in accordance with the table of National Sail Letters denoting:

(a) when entered under rule 75.1(a), the national authority of the nationality, place of residence, or affiliation of the owner or the member.

(b) when entered under rule 75.1(b), the national authority of the organisation which entered her.

For the purposes of this rule, international events are world and continental championships and events described as international events in their notices of race and sailing instructions.

Note: An up-to-date version of the National Sail Letters table is available on the World Sailing website.

G1.3 Sail numbers
(a) The sail number shall be the last two digits of the boat‘s registration number or the competitor’s or owner’s personal number, allotted by the relevant issuing authority.

(b) When there is conflict between sail numbers, or when a sail number may be misread, the race committee shall require that the sail numbers of one or more boats be changed to numeric alternatives.

G1.4 Specifications
(a) National letters and sail numbers shall be in capital letters and Arabic numerals, clearly legible and of the same colour. Commercially available typefaces giving the same or better legibility than Helvetica are acceptable.

(b) The height and spacing of letters and numbers shall be as follows:

Dimension | Minimum | Maximum
Height of sail numbers Spacing of adjacent sail numbers Height of national letters Spacing of adjacent national letters | 100 mm 20 mm 60 mm 13 mm | 110 mm 30 mm 70 mm 23mm

G1.5 Positioning
(a) Class insignia, sail numbers and national letters shall be positioned
(1) on both sides of the sail;
(2) with those on the starboard side uppermost;
(3) approximately horizontally;
(4) with no less than 40 mm vertical spacing between numbers and letters on opposite sides of the sail;
(5) with no less than 20 mm vertical spacing between class insignia on opposite sides of the sail.
However, symmetrical or reversed class insignia may be positioned back to back.

(b) On a mainsail, sail numbers shall be positioned
(1) below class insignia;
(2) above the line perpendicular to the luff through the quarter leech point;
(3) above national letters;
(4) with sufficient space in front of the sail number for a prefix ‘1’.

G1.6 Exceptions
(a) Where the size of the sail prevents compliance with rule G1.2, National
Letters, then exceptions to rules G1.2, G1.4, and G1.5 shall be made in the
following order of precedence. National letters shall
(1) be spaced vertically below sail numbers by less an 30 mm, but no less than 20 mm;
(2) be spaced on opposite sides of the sail by less than 30 mm, but no less than 20 mm;
(3) be reduced in height to less than 45 mm, but no less than 40 mm;
(4) be omitted.

(b) Where the size of the sail prevents compliance with rule G1.3, Sail Numbers, then exceptions to rules G1.4 and G1.5 shall be made in the following order of precedence. Sail numbers shall
(1) extend below the specified line;
(2) be spaced on opposite sides of the sail by less than 30 mm, but no less than 20 mm apart;
(3) be reduced in height to less than 90 mm, but no less than 80 mm;
(4) be omitted on all except the largest sail;
(5) be reduced in height until they do fit on the largest sail.