The Sailing Instructions were revised following concerns raised by competitors regarding the fleet size the course layout, plus other time limit issues. Peter Hinrichsen, acting as Championship Commodore for this event, announced the changes at the Competitors Meeting on Sunday. The new SIs call for the fleet to be split into four groups – red, green, blue and yellow – that will sail in rotating pairs for the first 6 races. (In other words there are two starts per race sequence.) For the remaining three races competitors will be assigned to a Gold and Silver fleet, based on overall scoring in the first set of races. Groups are designated by 3 foot ribbons attached to the mainsail’s top batten.
The course has been set to the standard Olympic Gold course, with a triangle, windward-leeward legs and windward finish. Course length will be approximately 7 miles. Time limits have been set to 90 minutes for the full race, 30 minutes to the first mark and boats finishing over 30 minutes after the first boat will be marked DNF.
Groups have been assigned. The method for assignment is not known at this time, although the groupings appear to be fairly random. Otherwise, normal rules apply for the most part- 5 minute starts, etc. Perhaps the new SIs will be posted online. The club withheld an electronic version of the original to post here, apparently realizing a change was happening.