SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

1. RULES

   1. The Organizing Authority (OA) is Tred Avon Yacht Club (TAYC) in association with Shields Fleet 21 of Oxford, Maryland.

   2. Races will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2025-2028 (RRS) and the Shields Class Association Rules, as posted on the Class website, https://shieldsclass.com/bluebook/.

   3. RRS 60.4 (a) (2) is changed as follows: “if it alleges a breach of a rule of Part 2 or RRS 31 and is from a boat that was not involved in and did not see the incident.”

2. CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

   1. Changes to the Sailing Instructions (SI) made ashore will be posted on the official notice board at https://tayc.com/regatta/k0zFY9lUOZ no later than (NLT) 0800 on the day they will take effect.

   2. A change to the schedule of races will be posted NLT 2000 on the day before it will take effect.

   3. Changes to the SI on the water related to marks and courses will be announced to all competitors over VHF radio. Failure of competitors to receive or hear such announcements shall not be grounds for redress.

3. COMMUNICATIONS

   1. Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board at https://tayc.com/regatta/k0zFY9lUOZ.

   2. Each boat shall carry a VHF radio capable of receiving and transmitting on all standard marine VHF channels.

   3. On the water, the race committee (RC) intends to monitor and communicate with competitors via courtesy broadcasts over VHF channel 71. This includes announcements and confirmation of race committee signals before, during and after racing. Failure of competitors to receive or hear such announcements shall not be grounds for redress.

   4. [DP] While racing (except in an emergency), from the first warning signal of the day until the end of the last race of the day, a boat shall neither make nor receive radio communications not available to all boats. This prohibition also applies to cell phones and all other wireless devices.

   5. [DP] From one hour prior to the scheduled first warning of the day until a boat has finished racing for the day, it may not receive weather, current or navigational information except from a publicized source available at no cost to all competitors. Subscription, password protected or restricted access web pages are considered private information and may not be used for transmission or reception of specialized weather information.

   6. [DP] Weather data acquired specifically for the event that is obtained or derived from sources prohibited in SI 3.5 shall not be received while racing.

4. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE

   1. Signals made ashore will be displayed from the signal mast on TAYC’s upper deck.

   2. When flag “AP” is displayed ashore, the warning signal will be made not less than one (1) hour after flag “AP” is lowered. This changes Race Signals - Postponement Signals.

5. SCHEDULE

   1. Schedule Details

      Tuesday, September 22, 2026
      	1600 - 1900	Cash bar open
      Wednesday, September 23, 2026
      	0900 - 1500	Check-in
      	1100	Skippers meeting for practice starts & race
      	1300	First warning for practice starts & race
      	1600 - 1900	Welcome reception
      	1730	Skippers meeting
      	1800	Shields Class Annual Meeting
      Thursday, September 24, 2026
      	0730 - 0830	Complimentary coffee, juice, bagels, etc.
      	1030	First warning signal
      	1800 - 2100	Crab Feast @ Hinckley Bachelor Point (26106a Bachelors Harbor Drive Oxford, MD 21654)
      Friday, September 25, 2026
      	0730 - 0830	Complimentary coffee, juice, bagels, etc.
      	1030	First warning signal
      	1500 - 2000	Tiki Bar open
      		Dinner on your own (at TAYC or Doc’s Sunset Grill, etc.)
      Saturday, September 26, 2026
      	0730 - 0830	Complimentary coffee, juice, bagels, etc.
      	1030	First warning signal
      	1400	No warning signal after this time
      	After racing	Cash bar
      	1830	Pre-dinner cocktails at TAYC
      	1915	Dinner & Awards Ceremony at TAYC, Attire: Tailored jacket with optional neckwear.

   2. Eight races are scheduled. No more than three races per day may be run.

6. CLASS FLAG

   The class flag will be the Shields Class pennant.

7. RACING AREA

   Races will be sailed in the Choptank River, west of the Choptank River Light.

8. COURSES

   1. The numeric designators and diagrams depicting courses that may be set are detailed in SI Addendum A.

   2. No later than the warning signal for each race, the RC will announce over VHF 71 and display from the starboard side of the signal boat the course designator [see SI Addendum A], the magnetic compass bearing to the windward mark, and the approximate length in nautical miles of the windward leg. Failure of competitors to, see, receive or hear such announcements shall not be grounds for redress. This changes RRS 61.4(b)(1).

9. MARKS

   1. The original windward marks [1, 1a] will be large, orange inflatables. Note: marks 1 and 1a will be identical in color, shape and size.

   2. The change mark for mark 1 will be a large, yellow inflatable.

   3. The leeward marks [2s, 2p] will be large, yellow inflatables

   4. The starting pin, if set (see 10.2(a)), will be a large, orange inflatable cylinder.

   5. The finish pin will be a green inflatable cylinder.

10. THE START

    1. [DP] Upon arriving in the starting area each day and before the first warning signal, boats shall check in with the race committee by sailing past the stern of the RC signal boat, hailing their sail number until acknowledged by the RC.

    2. Races will be started in accordance with RRS 26.

    3. The starting line will be between the course side of a staff displaying an orange flag on the RC signal boat at the starboard end of the line and either (a) the course side of a staff displaying an orange flag on an anchored RC boat at the port end of the line or (b) the course side of a large, orange inflatable cylinder at the port end of the line.

    4. As a courtesy, the RC intends to hail over VHF 71 the sail number of each boat the RC has identified on the course side (OCS) before her starting signal. Failure to hear or receive such hails, the timeliness or order in which sail numbers are hailed, and the number of times an announcement is repeated shall not be grounds for redress. This changes RRS 61.4(b)(1).

    5. A boat which has not started five (5) minutes after her starting signal will be scored DNS without a hearing. This changes RRS Appendices A4 and A5.

11. CHANGE OF THE NEXT LEG OF THE COURSE

    1. The RC will announce any change to a leg of the course on VHF 71, along with a description of the color and type of the new mark. Failure to receive or hear such courtesy announcements shall not be grounds for redress. This changes RRS 61.4(b)(1).

    2. The RC may, without signal, move a mark up to ten degrees or ten percent of the leg length if no boat is sailing to the mark. This changes RRS 33.

    3. When a changed windward mark is moved more than ten degrees during a race, it shall be replaced by the original mark and no offset mark will be set.

12. THE FINISH

    1. The finishing line will be between the course side of a staff displaying a blue flag on a race committee boat and the course side the finish mark.

    2. The RC may, without signal, adjust a finishing line mark while boats are on the first half of the leg to the finish.

13. TIME LIMITS

    1. The time limit for the first boat to pass the first windward mark shall be 45 minutes.

    2. The time limit for the first finisher of each race shall be 120 minutes

    3. The finishing window for subsequent finishers is 20 minutes after the first boat finishes. Boats not finishing within this finishing window will be scored TLE (Time Limit Expired) and be awarded points equal to the number of boats finishing prior to the expiration of the 20 minute window plus two. This changes RRS 35 and Appendix A10.

14. SAFETY

    [DP] A boat that retires from a race or leaves the racing area shall notify the RC over VHF 71 as soon as possible, and receive an acknowledgement.

15. SCORING

    1. RRS Appendix A4, Low Point System, will apply.

    2. RRS Appendix A5.3 will apply.

    3. Two or more completed races shall constitute a series.

    4. If five or more races are completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score. This changes RRS Appendix A2.1.

16. PENALTY SYSTEM

    1. RRS 44.2 One-Turn and Two-Turn Penalties is changed as follows to prohibit a boat from taking a penalty turn within the Zone: “After getting well clear of other boats and the Zone as soon after the incident as possible...”

    2. RRS Appendices V1 (Penalty at the Time of an Incident), V2 (Post Race Penalties), and T (Arbitration) will apply.

    3. RRS T1(b) is changed to read: “If taken before Arbitration, a Post-Race Scoring Penalty is a 20% Scoring Penalty calculated as stated in RRS 44.3(c) equal to 20% of the difference between of score for Did Not Finish (DNF) and a boat’s finishing place in the race. If taken after Arbitration, a Post-Race Scoring Penalty is a 30% Scoring Penalty calculated as stated in RRS 44.3(c) equal to 30% of the difference between of score for Did Not Finish (DNF) and a boat’s finishing place in the race.”

17. PROTESTS AND HEARING REQUESTS

    1. Protest forms for filing protests and requests for redress will be available at the protest desk in the 2nd floor lobby of the TAYC clubhouse.

    2. The protest time limit is one (1) hour after the Race Committee signal boat’s posted “docking time.” The protest time limit will be posted on the official notice board at https://tayc.com/regatta/k0zFY9lUOZ.

18. REPLACEMENT OF CREW OR EQUIPMENT

    1. Each boat shall be required to carry throughout all races, the same number of persons on board as at the start of the first race of the regatta.

    2. Crew substitutions do not require approval of the RC; however, in the event a boat plans to replace a crew member, it shall notify the RC and confirm that the replacement and resulting crew comply with Shields Class Rules, specifically the Rules governing the National Championship Regatta and the requirements specified in the NOR and SI.

    3. Replacement of damaged or lost equipment shall require approval of the National Championship Committee.

19. EQUIPMENT AND MEASUREMENT CHECKS

    Equipment may be inspected at any time for compliance with class rules and any event-relevant equipment rules.

20. [DP] SUPPORT BOATS

    1. Support boats must be registered with the Organizing Authority.

    2. All support boats shall carry on board a VHF radio and monitor the designated RC channel. Support boats agree to assist the RC if requested to do so.

    3. Support boats shall remain outside areas where boats are racing from the time of the first warning signal of the day until racing has concluded for the day, unless specifically authorized by the Principal Race Officer (PRO) to enter the area.

    4. Except for Outside Help permitted in RRS 41, no assistance shall be given nor gear transferred between a support boat and a competing boat during the time period noted in SI 20.3 without specific authorization from the PRO.

21. HAUL-OUT RESTRICTIONS

    Boats shall not be hauled out between the first and final races of the regatta without the written permission of the National Championship Committee.

22. BOTTOM CLEANING, DIVING AND PLASTIC POOLS

    1. Underwater breathing apparatus and plastic pools or their equivalent shall not be used around boats between the first warning signal for the first race and the end of the regatta.

    2. Except with permission of the National Championship Committee, boat bottoms (defined by coverage of anti-fouling paint) shall not be cleaned by any means between the first warning signal for the first race and the end of the regatta, but they may be inspected if damage is suspected.

23. PRIZES

    Prizes will be awarded as prescribed in Class Rules and the NOR.

24. RISK STATEMENT

    Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See RRS 3, Decision to Race. The Organizing Authority, The Shields One Design Class, Shields Fleet 21, and any event sponsors will accept no liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during or after the regatta. Attention is also drawn to US Sailing Safety Equipment Requirements (USSER) for Nearshore Racing requirement 1.02, Responsibility of the Person in Charge, as well as the “Waiver and Release of Liability.”

25. INSURANCE

    Each participating boat shall be insured with valid third-party liability insurance with a minimum coverage of $300,000 per incident or the equivalent.

PDF Addendum A - Course Diagram