Forum: The Racing Rules of Sailing

Applicability of Equipment Rules of Sailing (ERS)

P
Christopher Walmsley
Nationality: Canada
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
  • National Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
This question may be somewhat specific to the Sail Canada Prescriptions.

  • Sail Canada Prescription 2017-2020:  Includes "64.3:  Sail Canada prescribes that unless otherwise provided in its class rules, the Equipment Rules of Sailing shall apply to all classes racing in Canada. "
  • Sail Canada Prescriptions 2021-2024: No longer include anything related to ERS.
  • Notice of Race Guide 2017-2020 and 2021-2024:  suggests including the "The Equipment Rules of Sailing, to the extent that they apply will apply"

Question:
  • Does anyone know why Sail Canada removed the 64.3 prescription?
    • Was it just to bring Sail Canada prescriptions into alighment to most other countries (US Sailing for example) that didn't include references to 64.3?
  • I wonder how many SI/NORs put forward since 2021 may have failed to add their own requirement for use of the ERSs.   These documents are often edited year over rear and could have relied on the older Sail Canada prescription to bring the ERSs into force.

Chris


Created: 22-Feb-21 12:04

Comments

Rick Hatch
Nationality: Canada
Certifications:
  • International Judge
  • National Umpire
0
Hello Chris:  I am chairperson of the Sail Canada Racing Rules Committee (SC RRC). In March 2020 the SC RRC reviewed its then current prescriptions to the Racing Rules of Sailing, including RRS 64.3.  We concluded that a prescription to RRS 64.3 was no longer necessary.  Accordingly, Sail Canada's national prescriptions no longer contain any prescription to RRS 64.3.

OAs in Canada that prepare a Notice of Race for an event are advised and urged to first check the World Sailing website for World Sailing's most recently published NoR and SI templates prior to finalizing and posting or publishing such race documents.

Cheers,
Rick Hatch, IJ/NU (CAN)
Created: 22-Feb-21 17:39
Philip Hubbell
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
  • Judge In Training
0
To save everyone some time:
.
 Applicability
The ERS are rules only if they are invoked by: 
(a) Class Rules. 
(b) Adoption in the notice of race and sailing instructions. 
(c) Prescriptions of an MNA for races under its jurisdiction. 
(d) World Sailing Regulations, or 
(e) Other documents that govern an event. 
Created: 22-Feb-21 18:16
P
Christopher Walmsley
Nationality: Canada
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
  • National Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
Hi Rick,
(you will see this same question sent to your committee, you can ignore that if you wish)

This is mostly just a discussion on consistency of applicaton and recomendations.

A follow-up:
  • The Guides only use the inclusion of the ERS as an "example", not as a recomendation.
  • What, for example, would be normal/recomended for inclusion in a PHRF event?  (PHRF-LO, for example,
    informally refers to the definitions in the ERS, but does not "invoke" them beyond that)

Phillip, thanks for highlighting that:
  • Putting the question another way: "Should it be left up the to class rules to invoke the ERSs?"
  • I would think leaving it to the class rules would be best and would lead to better consistency.

In my small sampling of reviews of various class rules, I found one referencing/invoking the ERSs and most other having no references.

Chris

Created: 22-Feb-21 18:58
Philip Hubbell
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
  • Judge In Training
0
I am amused by the bureaucracy:
The ERS may be rules if a Regulation says they are.
Good luck finding out in the 260 pages of mind-numbing, redundant Regulations.
Created: 22-Feb-22 21:09
P
Christopher Walmsley
Nationality: Canada
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
  • National Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
See: https://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/WorldSailingClassEntryGuidelines2019-[24647].pdf

I did find the following in the above docume t for WS classes:

"It is necessary to submit the class rules to World Sailing. The class rules are required to be in the World Sailing Standard Class Rules format and adopting the Equipment Rules of Sailing (ERS). The class rules are scrutinised as part of the application process."

So ... 
  • these are "guidelines" ....
  • but these "guidelines"  "require" the ERSs of Class Rules ...

I haven't yet found anything that designates these guidelines as having the "status of rules" .... so while the intent is clear,  I can't yet draw a line from the applicability of the ERSs and being an official rule or regulation (unless mentioned explicitly by class rules or NOR/SIs).

Chris


Created: 22-Feb-22 21:42
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
Chris, think of the ERS as a dictionary/encyclopedia for the nuts, bolts and procedures in measuring boats and equipment.  Class Rules and handicap systems will refer to the ERS, picking out what is important.  The ERS is so expansive that simply referencing it in total would be too burdensome. 

For instance, below is an example of how the J/105 CR’s leverage the ERS … using the sail measurement process as well as using the defined terms shown in bold. 

Created: 22-Feb-22 23:23
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