US SAILING MAKES TWO CHANGES
TO OFFSHORE SPECIAL REGULATIONS

Portsmouth, R.I. (February 26, 2007) – US SAILING, national governing body of the sport, has announced two changes to the 2006-2007 ISAF Special Regulations Governing Offshore and Oceanic Equipment and Preparation, including US SAILING Prescriptions. The changes, which apply to races held in U.S. waters who invoke them, were approved by US SAILING’s Board of Directors after careful review and study by the organization’s Safety at Sea Committee. US SAILING will submit the changes to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) for incorporation in the international regulations.

Change to regulation 3.08.2(a)
Regulation 3.08.2(a) previously required that all hatches be above water level when a boat is heeled 90-degrees. However, US SAILING has found that many boats in today's racing fleets may not meet this requirement and that inspectors and designers were not checking this due to uncertainties in test conditions. This regulation has now been waived and US SAILING’s submission to ISAF will address hatch size, off-center hatch placement, vessel displacement, and trim when heeled.

Change to regulation 3.03.1(c)
Regulation 3.03.1(c) previously allowed race organizers to approve any entry of boats that did not have design, standards or construction certification. After learning of a boat that was not built to industry standards incurred internal damage in a race - while a race organizer had approved the boat to compete in that race - it was determined that this regulation had placed a legal burden on race organizers which was never intended. Typically, race organizers are not qualified to inspect construction and certify that a boat meets known industry standards. US SAILING’s submission to ISAF will address alternate methods of compliance if certification to standards is not available, for example when a boat’s designer has passed away or the builder has gone out of business.

US SAILING invites sailors’ feedback on the changes via e-mail to Paul Miller, member of US SAILING’s Safety at Sea Committee, at phmiller@usna.edu.

The announced changes are available on the US SAILING website at www.ussailing.org/safety/ISAF/0607SRchanges.pdf. The current edition of 2006-2007 ISAF Special Regulations Governing Offshore and Oceanic Equipment and Preparation, including US SAILING Prescriptions (excluding the latest changes) is available through US SAILING’s online store at store.ussailing.org/store.asp.  

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing and sailboat racing. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

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