April 11th – 18th 2026

2026 SARW – Offshore Series – Sailing Instructions

2026 SARW Offshore Series

April 16th, 17th & 18th 2026

SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

(Rev. 03.13.2026)

The First Coast Sailing Association (FCSA) is the Organizing Authority.
The St. Augustine Yacht Club is the Host.

www.StAugustineRaceWeek.com

1. RULES
1.1 The event is governed by the “Racing Rules of Sailing” (RRS) including US Sailing Prescriptions; the PHRF rules of the First Coast Sailing Association (www.sailjax.com) as modified by the event Notice of Race (NoR) and Sailing Instructions (SIs); and class rules for any One-Design class established.
1.2 REGATTA BURGEES – While racing, each boat shall fly from her backstay or her starboard shroud (if no backstay) the official Race Week burgee, to be distributed along with each Skipper’s Bag when registering
1.3 USE OF ENGINE – In accordance with RRS 42.3(i) – In an emergency, an engine or other means of propulsion may be used when appropriate to avoid collision or in grave emergency. Full details shall be given to the Protest Committee.
2. CHANGES TO THE SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
Any change to the sailing instructions will be posted on the YachtScoring (YS) official notice board (ONB) before 0900 on the day it will take effect, except that any change to the schedule of races will be posted by 2000 on the day before it will take effect. Oral changes may be made on the water and will be communicated to each boat prior to her warning signal.
3. COMMUNICATION WITH COMPETITORS
3.1 Notices to competitors will be posted on the official notice board (ONB) located at YachtScoring (YS) (https://yachtscoring.com/emenu/50613).
3.2 On the water, the Race Committee (RC) will monitor VHF 72, and may, as the circumstances dictate, communicate with a boat(s) while racing. For this, and safety reasons, boats must monitor both Ch 16 and 72 while racing. Failure of the RC to make an announcement or of any competitor to receive same will not be grounds for redress. This changes RRS 61.1(a).
3.3 From the first warning signal until the end of the last race of the day, except in an emergency or to inform the Race Committee of retirement, a boat shall not make voice or data transmissions and shall not receive voice or data communication that is not available to all boats.
3.4 Boats withdrawing from a race prior to finishing shall make every effort to ensure that Race Committee is notified that they have withdrawn.
4. SIGNALS MADE ASHORE
No signals will be made ashore. The Race Committee will make announcements, if any, on VHF 72 starting at 0830 each day. Official announcements will be posted to the ONB. Failure of the RC to make an announcement or of any competitor to receive same will not be grounds for redress. This changes RRS 61.1(a).
5. CODE OF CONDUCT
Competitors and support persons shall comply with reasonable requests from race officials.
6. SCHEDULE
6.1 The Competitors’ Meeting will be held Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the St. Augustine Yacht Club at 1900.
6.2 The first warning signal for the first Class each day is scheduled for 1025; subsequent Class starts to follow. One distance race for cruising class is scheduled each day and two races per day for offshore performance class. See Attachment 1.
6.3 No Warning Signal will be made after 1430 each day.
6.4 Trophies will be presented at the Awards Party on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the St. Augustine Yacht Club.
6.5 The Organizing Authority reserves the right to make additional awards at its sole discretion.
7. CLASS FLAG(S)

8. RACING AREA
The racing area will be in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 0.5nm north or south of the St. Augustine Entrance Buoy ‘STA’ @ N 29° 54.912’ – W 81° 15.280, weather dependent.
9. COURSES See Attachment 1.
10. MARKS See Attachment 2.
11. CLASSES
Boats will race in the Class in which they have registered for the entire event. The Class chosen shall be declared prior to the Competitors Meeting. Boats without a PHRF rating or not choosing a Class will be assigned a rating or to a Class by the Organizing Authority.
12. THE STARTS & STARTING SEQUENCE
12.1 The starting line for all Classes will connect between a staff displaying an orange flag on the RC boat at the starboard end and the course side of a mark at the port end.
12.2 Once the Signal vessel is on station at the start line, each boat shall sail behind the vessel on STARBOARD TACK and check in with the Race Committee until it is acknowledged prior to the warning signal of the first class. Alternately, Boats may hail the Race Committee Boat on VHF Channel 72 for this purpose. Boats failing to check in may be scored DNC.
12.3 Start Sequence – The start order will be Class 1 followed by Class 2, and so on. It is possible that both Cruising Classes will start together, if so, both Class Flags will be displayed.
12.3.1 Races will be started using RRS Rule 26:

12.4 The warning signal for succeeding starts will be made after the preceding class has cleared the starting area.
12.5 Boats that have not started within 10 minutes of their class start shall be scored DNS.
13. THE FINISHES
13.1 The finish line for the offshore cruising fleet shall be as described in 9.1, FINISH; 9.2 FINISH; and 9.3 FINISH. The Finish for the offshore performance fleets shall be a downwind finish, finishing between the signal boat and the finish pin to starboard.
13.2 If the RC is not on station at the finish, buoy “STA” will be the remaining finish mark. See the US Sailing Prescription to RRS 34. As soon as practical after finishing, a boat shall report its finish time to the Race Committee Scorer no later than one hour after finishing, via cellular telephone text to 843-697-8635and include the boat name, the time of day (hh:mm:sec), and GPS location (preferably with a screenshot).
14. TIME LIMITS
14.1 The time limit for the first boat to finish any race is1600 hours.
14.2 A boat failing to finish within 30 minutes after the first boat in Performance class and 60 minutes after the first boat in Cruising class shall be scored TLE. This changes Rules 35, A4, and A5.
15. PENALTY SYSTEM Appendix V applies. A boat that has taken a penalty under Appendix V1 shall report such to the Race Committee immediately after finishing by hailing the RC boat.
16. HEARING REQUESTS
16.1 A Boat intending to file a protest shall notify the Race Committee of that intent immediately after finishing by hailing the RC boat.
16.2 Protests, requests for redress, and scoring inquiries shall be filed on the YS event website by logging into the owner’s corner and filling out the online form (a diagram may be brought to the hearing; Protest / Hearing Request and Acceptance of Post-Race Penalty forms are available on the ONB and may be submitted on line or at the Municipal Marina Boaters Lounge not more than 2 hours after the last boat finishes the final race of the day (RRS 60.3). The Protest Time Limit time will be posted on the ONB.
16.3 Notices will be posted on the YS ONB at a reasonable time after the protest time limit to inform competitors of the location and time of hearings in which they are parties or named as witnesses. Hearings will be held as soon as practical after 17:00 each day. Hearings will be held in the Municipal Marina Boaters Lounge.
16.4 The Organizing Authority shall encourage arbitration prior to a protest hearing.
17. SERIES SCORING
17.1 Race and Series scoring will be in accordance with RRS Appendix A, Low Point System as changed below.
17.2 Two races are required to be completed to constitute the Series.
17.3 Each day’s scored racing will be combined to count for that day’s class awards.
17.4 (a) When fewer than five (5) races have been completed, a boat’s series score is the total of her race scores. (b) When five (5) or more races have been completed, a boat’s series score is the total of her race scores excluding her worst score.
17.5 For the Cruising Offshore Class, boats shall be scored for each race utilizing ToT scoring. For the Performance Offshore Class, boats shall be scored for each race utilizing ToD
18. RACE RESULTS
Results will be posted on the regatta Yacht Scoring website and on www.sailjax.com at the first reasonable opportunity.
19. RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY
19.1 RRS 3 states: ‘The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone.’ By participating in this event each competitor agrees and acknowledges that sailing is a potentially dangerous activity with inherent risks. These risks include strong winds and rough seas, sudden changes in weather, failure of equipment, boat handling errors, poor seamanship by other boats, loss of balance on an unstable platform and fatigue resulting in increased risk of injury. Inherent in the sport of sailing is the risk of permanent, catastrophic injury or death by drowning, trauma, hypothermia or other causes.
19.2. The regatta organizers (organizing authority, race committee, protest committee, technical committee, host club, sponsors, or any other participating organization or official) will not be responsible for damage to any boat or other property or the injury to any competitor, including death, sustained as a result of participation in these events.
19.3. By participating in this event, each competitor agrees to release the regatta organizers from any and all liability associated with participation in this event to the fullest extent permitted by law.

2026 SARW Offshore Sailing Instructions – First Coast Sailing Association
(Rev. 03.13.2026)

ATTACHMENTS:

(Rev. 03.13.2026)

2026 SARW Offshore Sailing Instructions and Attachments – First Coast Sailing Association
(Rev. 03.13.2026)