Jolly Harbour Yacht Club
Antigua and Barbuda W.I.
Winter Series 2026/27 - Sailing Instructions
CSA and Club Class
The Series headquarters will be located at the Sea Dream Restaurant & Bar
Times are Antigua Standard Time (UTC minus 4 hours).
The Organising Authority is Jolly Harbour Yacht Club under the auspices of the Antigua Barbuda Sailing Association in association with the Caribbean Sailing Association.
1. RULES:
Racing will be governed by the Rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing.
The series will also be governed by the CSA Rating Rule.
The Rules will be changed as follows:
(a)Rule 52, Manual Power, will not apply; and
(b)Rule 77, Identification on Sails, will not apply.
(c) Rule A5.3 Boat Scores, will apply.
2. NOTICES TO COMPETITORS:
All notices to competitors will be posted on the JHYC website, www.jhycantigua.com and via the JHYC Saturday Sailing WhatsApp group. To join the group, contact any skipper on the group, or committee member and request to be included.
3. CHANGES TO SAILING INSTRUCTIONS:
Any change to these Sailing Instructions will be posted on the WhatsApp group before 10.00 on the day it will take effect. Any change to the schedule of races will be posted by 10.00 on the day it will take effect.
4. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE:
Starting signals shall be made by sound and VHF Channel 12
5. SCHEDULE OF RACES:
Eight races are scheduled for the Winter Series, seven races shall count, one discard will be permitted except that a DSQ following a protest shall not be discarded.
6. MARKS:
All marks of the course will be buoys or inflatable buoys in the approx. positions stated on the Website. See Addendum B
A mark boat flying flag ‘M’ may replace any of the course marks.
7. CLASSES:
Club CSA ratings to be carried forward from last race of previous season. New entrants will commence on their official CSA rating
Boats will be divided into DIVISIONS by type of boat and/or CSA Rating at the discretion of the Committee.
Boats must declare their intended sail configuration and CSA rating to the Committee via the WhatsApp group before their first start in the series which cannot be changed thereafter for the duration of the series.
Boats seeking to enter the cruising class should be equipped with normal cruising equipment, at minimum:
Bunks and cushions
Functional heads
Functional galley
All boats will also be assigned a Club handicap, which may be varied from race to race on the following basis.
The winner of the club class will have 10 points added to her rating
The boat in second place will have 5 points added to her rating
The last boat will have her rating reduced by 10 points
The second to last boat will have her rating reduced by 5 points.
Additional arbitrary changes may be made to a boats Club rating at the sole discretion of the Committee.
8. Entry Fee:
A fee of ECD $20 is payable per race.
Entry fees must be paid at the bar prior to the prize giving to the Treasurer or other Committee Member in cash only.
9. THE START:
Races will be started in accordance with rule 26.
The time will be based on Digicel’s reported network time.
The starting line will be between a staff on the “island” and a pile opposite marked JHYC.
No spinnakers are allowed at the start or before the channel buoys 9 & 10 outside of Jolly Harbour.
Aggressive boat manoeuvring inside Jolly harbour is not permitted.
A boat starting later than ten (10) minutes after her starting signal may be scored Did Not
Start (DNS) without a hearing
10. COURSES:
The Course Sheets describes the marks to be passed, their order and the side on which each mark is to be left. Careful navigation is required and is the responsibility of the skipper of each boat. Reefs and shallow areas are within the boundaries of some of the racecourses
11. THE FINISH:
The finishing line will be between the Red Channel Mark No2 (left to port) and White Club Mark (pole). Please note, no boats are to cross the finish line unless actually finishing. A one turn penalty can be taken or a 20%-time penalty will be applied.
When no race officer is available to record the finish times, boats must report their finish time via the WhatsApp group as soon as possible after finishing. Please use your phones network reported time including seconds. Your report should also indicate the boats finishing immediately before and after you.
Boats that fail to report their finish time within 20 minutes of the last boat finishing will be scored DNF without hearing.
12.TIME LIMITS:
The time limit for all yachts shall be forty (40) minutes after the finish time of the first yacht in her division to finish.
13. PENALTY SYSTEM:
13.1 Except for breaches of Parts 1 and 2 of the Rules, the Protest Committee may apply any penalty that it deems equitable.
13.2 A boat that does not take a penalty in accordance with rule 44.1 may accept a thirty per cent (30%) scoring penalty calculated per rule 44.3(c), except that the minimum penalty is three places and she shall be scored worse than the number of boats that came to the starting area. However, if the boat caused injury or serious damage or, despite taking a penalty, gained a significant advantage in the race or series by her breach, her penalty shall be to retire before any protest hearing, at the discretion of the Protest Committee.
14: PROTESTS AND REQUESTS FOR REDRESS:
A boat that intends to protest shall fly a protest flag as soon as practical after the incident and notify the Committee after finishing on JHYC Saturday Sailing WhatsApp. Protest forms will be available at the Jolly Harbour location at Sea Dream Restaurant & bar, upon the receipt of 2 bottles of minimum 5-year-old rum. The protest time limit will be 30 minutes after the last yacht to finish. Notices informing competitors of the approximate time of each protest will be posted on the WhatsApp group and hearings will commence as soon as possible after those notices have been displayed and rum received.
15. SCORING:
The Low Point Scoring System, rule A4. will apply for all classes, Two (2) races shall constitute a series. One discard shall be permitted (see 5. Above).
Rule A5.3 will apply, a boat that came to the starting area but did not start, did not sail the course, did not finish, retired or was disqualified shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats that came to the starting area, and a
boat that did not come to the starting area shall be scored points for the finishing place one more than the number of boats entered in the series, this changes rule A5.2
Where only 2 boats enter, the winner has 10 points added. The second boat has 10 points deducted.
Where 3 boats enter, the winner has 10 points added. 3rd boat has 10 points deducted.
Where 4 boats or more enter. The winner has 10 points added. The 2nd boat has 5 points added. The 3rd boat has 5 points deducted. The last boat has 10 points deducted.
16. INSURANCE
All boats shall have as a minimum third-party insurance for the duration of the series.
17. SAFETY
See Addendum A
18. RADIO COMMUNICATION
All on the water communication shall be by VHF Channel 12. The Race Committee may broadcast the following information:
A time check before the first start of each day;
notification of amendments to the Sailing Instructions;
the abandonment or postponement of any race.
Failure of a boat to hear any notification on the VHF radio will not be grounds for redress. This
changes rule 61.4(b)(1). The Committee will stand by on VHF Channel 12.
19. RESULTS AND PRIZES:
Prizes will be awarded in each division at the at Sea Dream Restaurant & bar at 17.00. Series results will be awarded at the end of season dinner or at Sea Dream Restaurant & Bar on the last day of the Series. Series prizes will be awarded in each division, provided that the competitors sailed at least half of the races.
Prizes for the weekly results are open for all competitors, however the series results for the Club handicap are only available for club members. In the event that a boat wins both her division and the Club division, the prize will be awarded to the second-place boat in Club. This applies only to the weekly prize and not to the series winners.
April 2026