Rule 78: COMPLIANCE WITH CLASS RULES; CERTIFICATES

COMPLIANCE WITH CLASS RULES; CERTIFICATES

78.1:

While a boat is racing, her owner and any other person in charge shall ensure that the boat is maintained to comply with her class rules and that her measurement or rating certificate, if any, remains valid. In addition, the boat shall also comply at other times specified in the class rules, the notice of race or the sailing instructions. When a rule provides that the penalty for a breach of a class rule may be less than disqualification, the same penalty will apply to a breach of this rule.

78.2:

When a rule requires a valid certificate to be produced or its existence verified before a boat races, and this cannot be done, the boat may race provided that the appropriate committee receives a statement signed by the person in charge that a valid certificate exists. The boat shall produce the certificate or arrange for its existence to be verified by the appropriate committee before the start of the last day of the event, or of the first series, whichever is earlier. The penalty for breaking this rule is disqualification without a hearing from all races of the event.

Definitions in Context

Committee

The protest committee, the race committee or the technical committee.

Racing

A boat is racing from her preparatory signal until she finishes and clears the finishing line and marks or retires, or until the race committee signals a general recall, postponement or abandonment.

Rule

(a) The rules in this book, including the Definitions, Race Signals, Introduction, preambles and the rules of relevant appendices, but not the Basic Principles or titles;
(b) World Sailing Regulations that have been designated by World Sailing as having the status of a rule and are published on the World Sailing website;
(c) the prescriptions of the national authority, unless they are changed by the notice of race or sailing instructions in compliance with the national authority’s prescription, if any, to rule 88.2;
(d) the class rules (for a boat racing under a handicap or rating system, the rules of that system are ‘class rules’);
(e) the notice of race;
(f) the sailing instructions; and
(g) any other documents that govern the event.

Start

A boat starts when, her hull having been entirely on the pre-start side of the starting line at or after her starting signal, and having complied with rule 30.1 if it applies, any part of her hull crosses the starting line from the pre-start side to the course side.

Related Cases

Case 57

When a current, properly authenticated certificate has been presented in good faith by an owner who has complied with the requirements of rule 78.1, the final results of a race or series must stand, even though the certificate is later withdrawn.