Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013

Organised by the RHKYC, the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race is a 656 mile biennial(‘downhill’) fast passage to Nha Trang, on the south eastern coast of Vietnam. 2013 will
mark the sixth edition of this, the longest Category One Offshore race in Asia, which was
first run in 1996 and then regularly since 2004. The current race record of 42h 45m 41s isheld by Grant Wharington’s “Skandia Wild Thing”, at an approximate average speed of
15.45 knots. A popular tourist destination in its own right, Nha Trang also offers a great
revictualling point for boats intending to continue on to other seasonal sailing events in
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.

ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB : HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013

HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013

Starts Thursday 17th October
The Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 is organised and conducted by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club withthe support of Saigon Tourist in Vietnam.

NOTICE OF RACE
1.
1.1

RULES
The Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rulesof Sailing 2013-2016 (RRS) including:
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the Prescriptions of the Hong Kong Sailing Federation (HKSF);
the IRC Rules, Parts A, B and C;
the HKPN Performance Increased Penalty Scheme (PIPS);
the ISAF Category One Offshore Special Regulations 2013;
this Notice of Race; andthe Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 Sailing Instructions.

1.2

IRC rule 21.6.1 (number of spinnakers onboard) is changed by the national authority’s prescription to
RRS rule 88 as authorised by, and in accordance with, IRC rule 21.5.1 (a).

1.3This Notice of Race may be modified by the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 Sailing Instructions.

1.4

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (IRPCAS), (Steering and Racing
Rules) will apply between sunset and sunrise (as defined in the Hong Kong to Vietnam 2013 Sailing
Instructions) and will replace the rules of RRS Part 2.

2.

ADVERTISING CATEGORY
In accordance with ISAF Regulation 20 (Advertising Code), the Race Committee may require allboats to display the event organiser’s advertising on their bows and/or advertising on backstay
pennants.

3.
3.1

ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY
Eligible boats will be entered by completing the Entry Form and returning this with the entry fee tothe RHKYC Sailing Office on or before Monday 9th September 2013.

3.2

The Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 will have the following classes:
3.2.1

IRC Racer Class: Keelboats with a Hull Factor (HF) of 7.5 and above or a
Displacement/Length Ratio (DLR) of less than 150. The class will be divided into divisions
based on suitable rating bands, at the discretion of the Race Committee, in the interests offair racing. Subject to clause 3.3, the rating bands shall initially be:
0 : IRC 1.200 and above
1 : IRC 1.080 to 1.199
2 : IRC 1.079 and below

3.2.2

IRC Premier Class: Keelboats with a HF of 7.4 or less or a DLR equal to or greater than
150 and an LOA equal to or greater than 14.98m.

3.2.3

IRC Cruiser Class: Keelboats with a HF of 7.4 or less or a DLR equal to or greater than
150.

3.2.4

HKPN Class: Keelboats which satisfy safety and stability requirements as defined under the
ISO Design Category A.

3.2.5

HKPN Multihull Class: Multi – hulls which satisfy the ISAF Category One Offshore Multi –hull regulations and satisfy all safety and stability requirements as outlined there in.

ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB : HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013

3.3

Boats shall enter one class only. Subject to the number of entries, the classes and rating bands in
IRC Racer Class may be altered at the discretion of the Race Committee (e.g. Maxi & TP52 Class).
In addition, the Race Committee may waive the above guidelines or not accept an entry for a class if
it considers that competition would be better served by that boat being in another class or division ofa class.

3.4

All boats entering the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 shall submit a copy of their current Race
Special Regulations Checklist and Safety Declaration, crew experience form, EPIRB & MMSI
number(s) plus copies of Life raft Certificate(s) either with the entry form or no later than Monday 9th
September.

3.5

All boats shall be not less than 10m overall (LOA) excluding bowsprit and/or bumpkin.

3.6

Boats racing in IRC Racer Class 0 need not comply with the crew numbers listed on their endorsed
IRC certificate. This amends IRC rule 22.4.1. The Race Committee, however, reserves the right torefuse an entry to the race if there is insufficient experienced crew racing on the boat.

3.7

All boats shall submit the crew experience form to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Race
Committee that they have undertaken training as outlined in Section 6 of the Special Regulations
2013. Section 6.01 is amended to require that at least 50% of the crew including theskipper/person in charge have had offshore experience and have undertaken the required training,see NoR: 8. Documented proof of overseas’ Appendix G training qualifications will be acceptedsubject to inspection by the Race Committee.

3.8

The Race Committee reserves the right to refuse an entry of any yacht or competitor or crew to therace at its discretion.

3.9

Crew must be a minimum of 18 years of age in order to race. Crew aged 16-18 years will be
accepted by the Race Committee as long as a parent or legal guardian is present onboard during
the race and a signed Youth Consent form is submitted to the RHKYC Sailing Office.

3.10

The registration form giving immigration and next-of-kin details of the skipper and crew shall be
submitted to the RHKYC Sailing Office on or before 1000hrs on Thursday 10th October 2013.

4.
4.1

STABILITY
All boats shall demonstrate achievement of Design Category A under ISO 12217-2 using thefollowing methods:(a) Having a minimum STIX number of 32 or above and AVS minimum 130 - 0.002 X M.
(b) Declaration from the manufacturer.
(c) For IRC boats with a series date before 1995, a SSSN of 34 or above.

5.
5.1

FEES
The entry fee will be HK$4,000 per boat for the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013, which includes
skipper and crew entry tickets for all three race parties; for the China Coast Race Week Welcome
Party at RHKYC, finish location prize giving in Nha Trang, Vietnam and the China Coast Race Week
2013 prize giving at RHKYC on return to Hong Kong. Entry fees will not be refundable after Monday
16th September 2013.

5.2

Late entries may be accepted until 1800hrs on Monday 16th September 2013 upon application to theRace Committee and only upon payment of an additional fee of 50% of the entry fee and satisfactorycompletion of scrutineering and immigration requirements.

6.

RACE SCHEDULE
The schedule for the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 is based on:
Thursday 10th October
China Coast Race Week Welcome Drinks
RHKYC Kellett Island (KI) Lawn

1930hrs

Wednesday 16th October

Immigration (Departure) Formalities – KI Lawn 1600 to 1900hrs
Skippers’ Briefing – KI Chart Room1830 to 1900hrs

Thursday 17th OctoberStart of Race – KI Club line, Victoria Harbour(or delayed start off Lamma Island)

Warning Signal 1220hrs

ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB : HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013

Sunday 20th OctoberPrizegiving in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
“The Altitude Bar”, Sheraton Nha Trang

Thursday 31st October

China Coast Race Week Prizegiving at RHKYC 1930hrs

1800 to 2000hrs

7.
7.1

MEASUREMENTAll Boats shall submit a copy of their current IRC rating certificate either with the entry form or nolater than 1800hrs on Thursday 10th October 2013. No alteration in a boat’s TCC will be permitted
after this date except as a result of a rating protest, or to correct rating errors. Any alteration within
the stated parameters must be put in writing to the Race Committee with written supporting
evidence.

7.2

All Boats who wish to enter the IRC Racer Class 0 must have an endorsed IRC certificate.

7.3

All boats entered in the IRC Racer Class may be asked to have the measurements of LL and LP of
the largest headsail and the SLU, SLE, SF, SHW and SPA of the largest spinnaker as stated on the
IRC certificate verified by an authority acceptable to the Race Committee.

7.4

Arrangements may be made by the Race Committee for sail measurements and boat weight to bechecked prior to the race as a check against compliance with the IRC certificate data.

7.5

Boats entering the HKPN Class shall submit a completed HKPN PIPS declaration form to the Sailing
Office no later than 1800hrs on Thursday 10th October 2013.

8.
8.1

SAFETY
It is intended that the ISAF Category One Offshore Special Regulations 2013, shall apply to theHong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 with the following modifications:yClause 3.21. - Drinking Water: Boats without water makers shall start with no less than 5 litresof water per crewmember. Boats with water maker installations shall start with no less than 4litres of fresh water per crew member.

yClause 3.21.3 - Emergency Water: Emergency drinking water of at least 4 litres per crew
member shall be carried in dedicated and sealed container(s).

yClause 3.28.(A - E) – Engines, Generators, Fuel: Boats shall carry sufficient fuel to enable theboat to motor at least 250 miles, in addition to any fuel required for charging batteries, runninggenerators, or other such installations.

yClause 3.29.1(E & F) - Marine Radio: All boats are required to carry an HF marine SSB
transceiver (GMDSS/DSC preferred) capable of operation on 2182 kHz, 4125 kHz, 4060 kHz,6215 kHz and 6230 kHz. All boats are required to carry a hand held marine water proof VHF
radio with Channel 72 capability. A VHF radio in a waterproof case is sufficient but there must
be a separate radio and batteries in each emergency grab bag, if more than one life raft iscarried onboard.

yClause 4.02.1(b) and 4.02.3 - Hull Marking: Competitors attention is drawn to ISAF Offshore
Special Regulation 4.02 relating to high visibility hull and deck markings.

yClause 4.21.3 Grab bag Mandatory - Contents – one per life raft: 2 red parachute and 2 red
hand flares and cyalume type chemical light sticks, water tight hand held EPFS GPS in at least
one of the grab bags carried by each yacht, SART, EPIRB, emergency water or hand operated
desalinator, watertight flash light with spare batteries and bulb, thermal protective aids orsurvival bags, spare sea anchor, safety tin openers x 2, a re-useable Marine first aid kit withwaterproof dressings, emergency food, signal mirror, all crew passports, money, spareprescription drugs shall also be carried in a separate waterproof bag within one of theboat grab bags.

yClause 6.01 (amendment): Sea Survival Training - 50% of the crew, including theskipper/person in charge, must hold a current Sea Survival certificate from anaccredited training facility.

ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB : HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013yClause 6.04.1 (ii) – Medical Training: OSR 6.04.1 shall apply or alternatively 30% of the crew
holding a valid First Aid/CPR certificate will be acceptable.

yThere have been changes to the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations; competitors are therefore
advised to study the full text of the current version and to complete the Race Special
Regulations Checklist with reference to the full text of Category 1.

8.2

For emergency safety communication purposes all boats are required to carry a satellite telephone,e.g. the marine Iridium satellite based system. When the yacht’s system is fully installed and nottransportable, it is recommended that a portable sat phone with spare batteries is also carried. Land
based mobile telephones are not acceptable.

8.3

All entrants shall submit the Race Special Regulations Checklist and Safety Declaration to the
RHKYC Sailing Office no later than Monday 9th September 2013 declaring compliance with therequirements of this Notice of Race, the Sailing Instructions and the ISAF Category One Offshore
Special Regulations 2013. Boats entering from outside Hong Kong may be granted dispensation by
the Race Committee if the boat is still in transit.

8.4

A late fee of $2,000 HKD may be charged to boats which fail to comply with the deadline forsubmission of scrutineering documents. Boats that require multiple visits from the official scrutineer
may be charged an additional fee for the scrutineer’s time at the discretion of the Race Committee.
Failure to properly comply with scrutineering requirements may be grounds for exclusion of a yacht
from the race at the discretion of the Race Committee.
8.4.1 For clarification and for the purposes of scrutineering the following documents are required tobe submitted prior to the deadline:
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Safety declaration.
Initial scruitineering checklist (noted that boats are not required to fully pass all elementsof scruitineering at this time).
Stability declaration (required if STIX or AVS not applicable).
Liferaft Certificate.
Sat phone details.
Crew experience form.
First Aid and CPR certificates.
Sea Survival Certificates.

8.5

All boats will be provided with a working Yellowbrick tracking unit which will be tested for correct
installation and use before the start of the race. The unit must remain operational and switchedon throughout the entire race. Boats which fail to comply shall be subject to a protest by the Race
Committee, unless reasonable written and or photographic evidence is provided.

8.6

All boats must carry an AIS unit as outlined in the ISAF Category One Offshore Special Regulations
2013 The unit must remain operational and switched on and all times. Boats which fail tocomply shall be subject to a protest by the Race Committee, unless reasonable written and/or
photographic evidence is provided.

8.7

All boats must comply with the HF/SSB daily radio schedule which will be outlined in the Hong Kong
to Vietnam Race 2013 Sailing Instructions. Failure to report a position by either radio relay (VHF)
or other means of communication (Sat Com Phone) within 10 minutes after a sked to theradio control boat shall result in a protest by the Race Committee. Boats are requested, if
feasible, to leave hard wired VHF radios and Satellite phones on at all times for safety purposes.

9.

SAILING INSTRUCTIONSThe Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 Sailing Instructions will be available from the beginning of
October 2013.

10.

THE COURSE
The course to be sailed will be outlined in the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 Sailing Instructions.

11.

PENALTY SYSTEM
A Protest Committee may be appointed in accordance with RRS Appendix N.

ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB : HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013

12.
12.1

SCORING
The scoring system to be used in the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 for all IRC classes will be
the IRC Handicap Rating system. The Time Corrector (TCC) as printed on a boat’s current valid IRC
certificate will be applied to its elapsed time, as follows:
Corrected Time = Elapsed Time x TCC

12.2

For HKPN Class, the boat’s HKPN number will be applied to its elapsed time as follows;
Corrected Time = Elapsed Time x 1000/HKPN

13.

SUPPORT BOATS
Support boats such as the committee boat and mark laying boats may be marked with the event orsponsors branding.

14.

BERTHING
Boats shall be kept in their assigned places both in Hong Kong prior to the start and in the Nha
Trang, Vietnam anchorage after the finish. Boats must carry suitable anchors and ground tackle.

15.
15.1

RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
Except in an emergency, a boat shall neither make radio transmissions while racing nor receive
radio communications not available to all boats.

15.2

This restriction also applies to satellite and/or mobile phones, except to inform the finish line staff in
Nha Trang, Vietnam that a boat is approaching the finish line or to inform the radio control boat ofyour current position if a boats HF/SSB suffers a problem.

15.3

In accordance with RRS 86.1(b), Rule 41 (c) is amended as follows: A boat shall not receive help
from any outside source, except(c) help in the form of information which is freely available to all boats, which shall include
navigational, weather, tide or current information from any source which is available to all boats
whether or not by payment of a fee or subscription, but shall not include any information gathered or
the subject of interpretation by, or any advice received from, any source not onboard the boat andwhich is specific to the boat and her situation.

16.
16.1

PRIZES
Subject to entries, prizes will be awarded for line honours, first, second and third places overall ineach class, or division of a class. An overall Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 prize will be awarded
to the first boat under IRC handicap.

16.2

Other prizes may be awarded at the discretion of the Race Committee.

17.
17.1

DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
Yacht racing can be dangerous. The attention of the person-in-charge, owner and skipper is drawn
to RRS Fundamental rule 4: "The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or tocontinue racing is hers alone" and to Special Regulation 1.02 (first point) which begins "The safety ofa yacht and her crew is the sole and inescapable responsibility of the Person-in-charge...”17.2

The Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 Race Committee, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club,
Sponsor(s), their respective staff, members, volunteers or persons working for or on behalf of
the above will not accept any responsibility for any loss of life or injury to members of crew or otherparties, or for the loss of, or damage to a vessel sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, orafter the event.

17.3

Persons-in-charge, owners and skippers are invited to co-operate closely with the Organising
Authorities, Race Committee and RHKYC Sailing Office in completing the formalities of their boat
entries by submission of all required information, certificates, forms, etc. within the deadline dates
quoted throughout this Notice of Race. It is the sole responsibility of the persons-in-charge
and/or skippers to comply with the deadline dates and failure to do so in respect of any
aspect will be treated as a failure to enter the offshore race, in which case, boats will not be
eligible to compete unless evidence of genuine extenuating circumstances for the lateness is
accepted by the Race Committee.

ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB : HONG KONG TO VIETNAM RACE 2013

18.

INSURANCEAll boats shall be insured with valid third-party liability insurance of the minimum cover required byGovernment (HKSAR) regulations.

19.
19.1

MEDIA & IMAGE RIGHTS WAIVER:
By entering this race, each boat owner (or charterer) and crew on the competing boats grant to theOrganising Authority and the Sponsor and affiliated companies at no cost the absolute right andpermission to use their names, voices, images, likenesses and biographical material, as well as
representations of their boats in any media (including television, print and internet).

19.2

Owners (charterers) and crew members shall acknowledge and accept the granting of media rights
referred to in this Clause 18 by signing the Entry Form and in respect of responsibilities anddisclaimers referred to in Clause 18 hereafter, by signing the Disclaimer and Acknowledgement ofRights Form provided by the Organising Authority.

20.
20.1

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Yachts entering from overseas, please contact: Roger Eastham, RHKYC Marine Services
Manager at: roger.eastham@rhkyc.org.hk Tel: +852 2239 0308, Fax: +852 2572 5399, Mobile: +852
9750 2251 for all details regarding facilities, berthing and commissioning prior to the race and/or
regatta.

20.2

For Race Management please contact: Alex Johnston, RHKYC Sailing Manager at:
alex.johnston@rhkyc.org.hk Tel: +852 2239 0362, Fax: +852 2239 0364.

20.3

For Race Promotion please contact Lindsay Lyons, RHKYC Race & Regatta Promotion at:
lindsay.lyons@rhkyc.org.hk Tel: +852 2239 0391, Fax: +852 2239 0364.

20.4

All other details and requirements will be set out in the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race 2013 Sailing
Instructions which will be issued separately, as well as published on the Hong Kong to Vietnam
Race 2013 website, www.hkvietnamrace.com. These will be available from the beginning of October
2013 at the RHKYC Sailing Office.