Sailing Instructions

The Global Solo Challenge 2023-24 (GSC) is a single-handed, non-stop round the world yachting event.

History of amendments

Version 1.0 issued 05/08/2023
Version 1.1 issued 12/08/2023 (Amendment 1: Pararagraphs 5, 11.3, 14, 15)
Version 1.2 issued 10/09/2023 (Amendment 2: Pararagraphs 6.1)

Definitions

• Event: The Global Solo Challenge 2023
• Event Website: http://globalsolochallenge.com
• Event Sponsor: any party that has entered into a sponsorship agreement with the Organiser
• Event Partner: any party that has entered into a partnership agreement with the Organiser
• Organiser: Marco Nannini LTD, 3rd floor, 166 College Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 1BH, UK
• Skipper: the skipper of a Boat entered in the Event
• Boat: A boat entered in the Event
• Inspection: any inspection carried out by Inspectors
• Notice of Event: The Global Solo Challenge 2023-24 Notice of Event and any amendments thereof as published on the Event Website
  Regulations: The Global Solo Challenge 2023-24 Regulations and any amendments thereof as published on the Event Website
• Sailing Instructions: These Sailing instructions
• Preferred Shore Email: the email address given by the skipper in the Information and contacts sheet required by 5.1.e) of the Notice of Event
• Boat Email: the email address given by the skipper in the Information and contacts sheet required by 5.1.e) of the Notice of Event
• Organiser Contacts: the list of email(s) and telephone contact(s) provided by the Organiser to each skipper for ship to shore communications
• Satellite Phone: Any handheld or fixed satellite phone carried by the skipper on their Boat during the Event capable of making voice calls and or sending SMS messages.
• DP: Discretionary time Penalty applied to a Skipper by the Organiser
• NDP: Non Discretionary time Penalty applied to a Skipper by the Organiser
• Support persons: Any person engaged by the Skipper in providing assistance on or off the water on the day of their allocated departure
• Antarctic Buffer Zone: The body of waters between the Ice Limit and the Antarctic Region

1. Interpretation

Headings are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation or meaning of the Sailing Instructions
Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to one gender shall include a reference to the other genders
In the event of any translations being made this English text will always take precedence

2. Event Rules

The event is governed by the rules as defined in paragraph 1 of the Notice of event

3. Changes to the Sailing Instructions

3.1 Any change to the sailing instructions occurring prior or after a Skipper’s start date in the Event will be posted on the event website and notified to the skipper’s Preferred Shore Email and boat email and will become effective and deemed to have been read by the skipper 24hrs after being sent by the organiser

4. Communication with Skippers

4.1 Official communications to Skippers shall be sent to each Skipper’s Preferred Shore Email and Boat Email except as provided at point 4.5 below and may be published on the Event Website

4.2 The Organiser shall be contacted exclusively by email at gsc@globalsolochallenge.com and or voice call and or SMS and or WhatsApp message at the number +393204093306

4.3 On the water the Organiser intends to monitor and communicate with competitors on VHF radio channel 72 whilst within VHF range of A Coruña.

4.4 The following communications may be made by the race committee on VHF channel

4.4.1 Time left before the departure

4.4.2 Boat over the start line at the departure time

4.4.3 Traffic or safety information relating to the area in the proximity of the start line

4.5 It is the sole responsibility of the skipper to inform the Organiser using the Organiser Contacts of any changes to the Preferred Shore Email and or Boat Email and or Preferred Boat Phone Number

4.6 A skipper unable to access their Boat Email after their departure shall inform the Organiser via their Satellite Phone(s) using voice or SMS using the Organiser Contacts

4.7 The Orgniser shall communicate via Voice/SMS with the Skipper by Preferred Boat Satellite Phone only in the event that the skipper has informed the Organiser that they are unable to access their Boat Email

4.8 A skipper losing access to any means of satellite communication shall make reasonable efforts to inform the Organiser by any means of communication still functioning on the Boat to contact the Organiser or have a message relayed to the Organiser

4.9 A skipper who in good faith and demonstrably loses all means of communication before or after informing the Organisers may carry on in the Event on the assumption that no changes have been or will be made to the Sailing Instructions and shall not be penalised for breaking any Sailing Instructions rules amended after their communications blackout but must comply with all Rules and amendments therof already communicated to the Skipper up to that point

5. Code of Conduct

5.1 [DP] Skippers and Support Persons shall comply with reasonable requests of the Organiser

5.2 [DP] Skippers and support persons shall place equipment provided by the Organiser with care, seamanship, in accordance with any instructions for its use and without interfering with its functionality

5.3 [DP] Skippers shall place flags vynils decals provided by the Organiser for the Boat in accordance with the Notice of Event with care and in accordance with any instructions for itheir use and without interfering intentionally with their visibility

5.4 [DP] Any flag provided for in-port use shall be displayed whilst moored at Marina Coruña and until leaving the mooring for the allocated departure

5.5 [DP] Any flag provided for use during departure/arrival shall be displayed by the Skippers on the Boats’ starboard shroud at least 1m above deck from at least 2 hours before their allocated departure to 2 hours after they have crossed the start line as well as from 2 hours prior to their expected finish and 2 hours after they have crossed the finish line

5.6 [DP] A Skipper shall keep the Boat’s AIS Transponder active and in transmit mode during the whole duration of the event

5.7 [DP] In addition to the IMO rules for the prevention of pollution at sea Skippers shall carry on the Boat until the finish or until they pull into port everything embarked on departure except for provisions or fuel consumed, without disposing at sea of any trash such as but not limited to packaging and or damaged equipment and or damaged sails and or polluting liquid

6. Schedule of departures

6.1 No Boat shall depart before their allocated departure date and time

6.2 A Boat that that is over the Start line before of their allocate departure time will incur the time penalties defined in paragraph 14

6.3 No individual recalls will be issued

6.4 Skippers are reminded that Racing Rules of Sailing do not apply at any time prior to or during the Event and that collision avoidance is ruled exclusively by Colregs

6.5 Skippers are reminded that their right of way over any other vessel in or around the departure area is solely governed by the Colregs and that every precaution must be taken to avoid collision regardless of right of way

6.6 Boats shall use their engines for propulsion up to their allocated time of departure and at any time to avoid a collision

7. Pre-departure Area

7.1 The pre-departure area is defined as the navigable area of the A Coruña basin limited by the lines joining the Lighthouse at the end of the Breakwater by Marina Coruña called Faro del Dique Barrie de la Maza (10.1) the Boya Bajo Guisanda (10.2) and the Lighthouse Cape Toriñana (10.3)

8. Departure and Finish Line

8.1 The departure line is the line joining the Lighthouse at the end of the Breakwater Marina Coruña called Faro del Dique Barrie de la Maza (10.1) and the Boya Bajo Guisanda (10.2) to be crossed from South to North

8.2 The finish line is the line joining the Lighthouse at the end of the Breakwater Marina Coruña called Faro del Dique Barrie de la Maza (10.1) and the Boya Bajo Guisanda (10.2) to be crossed from North to South

9. Course

9.1 Cross the Departure Line from South to North

9.2 Leave continental Europe to Port outbound

9.3 Leave continental Africa / Cape Good Hope to Port outbound

9.4 Leave Cape Leeuwin to Port

9.5 Leave Continental South America to Port outbound

9.5 Leave Tierra del Fuego and all outlying rocks including Isla Ildefonso to port, except for the Islas Diego Ramirez and Isla de los Estados which may be left to Port or Starboard

9.5 Leave Isla Hornos to Port (Cape Horn)

9.6 The Falkland Islands may be left to Port or Starboard

9.7 Leave Continental South America to Port homebound

9.8 Leave continental Africa / Cape Good Hope to Starboard homebound

9.9 Leave continental Europe to Starboard homebound

9.10 Cross the Finish line from North to South

10. Marks

10.1 Faro del Dique Barrie de la Maza. Puerto de A Coruña. International Number D-1714, approximate position Latitude 43º 22.00N, Longitude 008º 22.40W, Notes EQUIPPED WITH RADAR REFLECTOR, Technical Data: Light Signal, Type of Mark MASONRY CONICAL TOWER, Focal Plane Height (m) 18, Support Height (m) 5, Light Characteristics D, Light Rhythm L 0.5 oc 2.5, Light Period (s) 3.0, Light Color GREEN, Nominal Night Range (NM) 7

10.2 Boya Bajo Guisanda (03580). Puerto de A Coruña, approximate position Latitude 43º 21.80N, Longitude 008º 21.80W, Notes EQUIPPED WITH RADAR REFLECTOR, Technical Data: Light Signal, Type of Mark RED TURRET, Top Mark RED SQUARE OR CYLINDER, Light Characteristics D, Light Rhythm L 0.5 oc 4.5, Light Period (s) 5.0, Light Color RED

10.3 Faro Cape Toriñana, International Number D-1740, approximate position Latitude 43º 03.20N, Longitude 009º 17.90W, Light Characteristics GpD(2+1), Light Rhythm L 0.2 oc 2.2 L 0.2 oc 6.1 L 0.2 oc 6.1, Light Period (s) 15.0, Light Color WHITE

10.4 Cape of Good Hope approximate position Latitude: 34° 21′ 17.39″S Longitude: 18° 28′ 11.39″E

10.5 Cape Leeuwin approximate position Latitude: 34° 22′ 16.19″S Longitude: 115° 08′ 5.40″E

10.6 Islas Ildefonso approximate position Latitude 55°44′00″S Longitude 69°26′00″W

10.7 Islas Ramirez approximate position Latitude 56°29′S 68°44′W Longitude 56.483333°S

10.8 Isla de Hornos (Cape Horn) approximate position Latitude 55° 58′ 28.19″S Longitude: 67° 16′ 10.80″W

11. The Antarctic Region

11.1 The Antarctic Region is an obstruction of the course

11.2 Boats sailing into the Antarctic Region shall be subject to time penalties and or disqualification from the Event as detailed at paragraph 13

11.3 The Antarctic Region (AR) includes all waters south of the loxodromic route connecting the following points:

• • AR1: Lat. 45°00’S, Lon 030°00’W (-45.0000, -30.0000)
  • AR2: Lat. 45°00’S, Lon 050°00’E (-45.0000, 50.0000)
  • AR3: Lat. 52°00’S, Lon 050°00’E (-52.0000, 50.0000)
  • AR4: Lat. 52°00’S, Lon 105°00’E (-52.0000, 105.0000)
  • AR5: Lat. 46°00’S, Lon 105°00’E (-46.0000, 105.0000)
  • AR6: Lat. 46°00’S, Lon 120°00’E (-46.0000, 120.0000)
  • AR7: Lat. 56°00’S, Lon 120°00’E (-56.0000, 120.0000)
  • AR8: Lat. 56°00’S, Lon 120°00’W (-56.0000, -120.0000)
  • AR9: Lat. 60°00’S, Lon 120°00’W (-60.0000, -120.0000)
  • AR10: Lat. 60°00’S, Lon 055°00’W (-60.0000, -53.0000)
  • AR11: Lat. 57°00’S, Lon 055°00’W (-57.0000, -53.0000)
  • AR12: Lat. 57°00’S, Lon 045°00’W (-57.0000, -45.0000)
  • AR13: Lat. 52°00’S, Lon 045°00’W (-52.0000, -45.0000)
  • AR14: Lat. 52°00’S, Lon 030°00’W (-52.0000, -30.0000)
  • AR1: Lat. 45°00’S, Lon 030°00’W (-45.0000, -30.0000)

12. Ice Limit

12.1 The Ice Limit is a precautionary limit North of the Antarctic Region that Skippers are strongly recommended not to cross in order to reduce the risk of encountering icebergs and or growlers

12.2 The Ice Limit (IL) is defined by the loxodromic route connecting the following points:

• • IL1: Lat. 44°00’S, Lon 035°00’W (-44.0000, -35.0000)
  • IL2: Lat. 44°00’S, Lon 045°00’E (-44.0000, 45.0000)
  • IL3: Lat. 42°00’S, Lon 045°00’E (-42.0000, 45.0000)
  • IL4: Lat. 42°00’S, Lon 055°00’E (-42.0000, 55.0000)
  • IL5: Lat. 50°30’S, Lon 055°00’E (-50.5000, 55.0000)
  • IL6: Lat. 50°30’S, Lon 100°00’E (-50.5000, 100.0000)
  • IL7: Lat. 45°00’S, Lon 100°00’E (-45.0000, 100.0000)
  • IL8: Lat. 45°00’S, Lon 125°00’E (-45.0000, 125.0000)
  • IL9: Lat. 52°00’S, Lon 125°00’E (-52.0000, 125.0000)
  • IL10: Lat. 52°00’S, Lon 115°00’W (-52.0000, -115.0000)
  • IL11: Lat. 58°30’S, Lon 115°00’W (-58.5000, -115.0000)
  • IL12: Lat. 58°30’S, Lon 075°00’W (-58.5000, -75.0000)
  • IL13: Lat. 59°45’S, Lon 075°00’W (-59.7500, -75.0000)
  • IL14: Lat. 59°45’S, Lon 060°00’W (-59.7500, -60.0000)
  • IL15: Lat. 58°30’S, Lon 060°00’W (-58.5000, -60.0000)
  • IL16: Lat. 58°30’S, Lon 055°00’W (-58.5000, -55.0000)
    IL17: Lat. 56°00’S, Lon 055°00’W (-56.0000, -55.0000)
  • IL18: Lat. 56°00’S, Lon 048°00’W (-56.0000, -48.0000)
  • IL19: Lat. 50°00’S, Lon 048°00’W (-50.0000, -48.0000)
  • IL20: Lat. 50°00’S, Lon 035°00’W (-50.0000, -35.0000)
  • IL1: Lat. 44°00’S, Lon 035°00’W (-44.0000, -35.0000)

13. Antarctic Buffer Zone

13.1 The body of waters between the Ice Limit (yellow) and the Antarctic Region (red) constitutes the Antarctic Buffer Zone

13.2 A Skippers may always sail north of the Ice limit and or temporarily decide to sail into the Antarctic Buffer Zone based on considerations that include but are not limited to wind strength and direction and or sea state and or forecast weather conditions

13.3 Skippers having been made aware of the additional ice risk that sailing past the Ice Limit poses may under their sole responsibility sail within the Antarctic Buffer Zone for a maximum of 48 consecutive hours at a time

13.4 Skippers sailing inside the Antarctic Buffer Zone for more than 72 hours shall be subject to time penalties as detailed at paragraph 14

14. Time Penalties

14.1 Time penalties are ruled by paragraph 17 of the Notice of Event except that point 17.2 does not apply for Boats returning to Marina Coruña

Extract from the Notice of Event for reference

17. Time penalties
17.1 Any violation of or non compliance with the Rules may result in the application of a time penalty to be decided at the sole discretion of the Organiser

17.2 A boat pulling into port as per 12.2.1 must then observe a minimum 96 hours time penalty or longer as decided by the Organiser. The Organiser may direct that such a penalty is to be observed entirely in port or that a boat may resume sailing at a time chosen by the Skipper and that any remaining part of the time penalty is to be observed at sea. The Organisers may request that a time penalty to be observed at sea must be completed after Cape Horn

17.3 Any time penalty to be observed at sea must be completed at a time chosen by the Skipper within a time window determined by the Event Organisers. For the duration of such a time penalty a Boat must not make any advance towards the finish line. The Organisers may request that a time penalty to be observed at sea must be completed after Cape Horn

17.4 No time penalties are applicable if a Boat anchors to carry out repairs find shelter from bad weather or other reason without receiving any kind of outside assistance

14.2 Any time penalty shall be notified to the Skipper to their Boat email in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of the this document

14.3 Any time penalty that is not observed by a Skipper because for no fault of their own they are not aware of it during the course of the Event will be added to the final elapsed time of the Boat finishing to establish the Event Rankings in accordance to 4.9

14.4 Any time penalty that is deliberately not observed by a skipper according to the instructions contained in the notification email and or communication made to the skipper according to 4.7 by the Organiser will be doubled before being added to the final elapsed time of any Boat in order to establish the Event Rankings

In addition to any discretionary time penalty resulting from the application of point 17.1 of the Notice of Event the following penalties are defined where [DP] indicates a Discretionary Penalty and [NDP] indicates a Non Discretionary Penalty

14.3.1 [DP] A Boat involved in a collision with any other vessel at any time prior or after the allocated departure shall receive a time penalty except for when a Skipper has demonstrably taken all reasonable precautions and action to avoid the collision in which case section 20 may apply

14.3.4 [NDP] Sailing outside of the Pre-Departure area defined in 7.1 in the 10 minutes before the allocated departure; PENALTY: 6 hours

14.3.5 [NDP] Sailing into the Antarctic Region; PENALTY: 2 hours for any hour spent inside the Antarctic Region calculated as per Paragraph 15

14.3.6 [DP] A Boat Sailing into the Antarctic Region for more than 48 hours may be disqualified from the Event

14.3.7 [NDP] Sailing in the Antarctic Buffer Zone for more than 72 hours: 1 hour for any hour spent inside the Antarctic Buffer Zone after the initial 72 hours calculated as per Paragraph 15

14.3.8 Time penalties that may result from non compliance to the Regulations are determined in accordance to Paragraph 7.4 and 17 of the Notice of Event

14.3.9  [DP] Voluntary deactivating or interference with the functioning of the Yellow Brick tracker is in breach of point 5.2 of these Sailing Instructions and can be subject to time penalties and or disqualification from the Event for grave misconduct

14.3.10  [DP] Voluntary deactivation or interference with the functioning of the AIS transponder is in breach of point 5.6 of these Sailing Instructions and can be subject to time penalties and or disqualification from the Event for grave misconduct

14.3.11 [DP] A Skipper found to have violated point 5.7 on trash disposal and the prevention of pollution of at sea during the Post-Event Inspection or at any other time may incur a penalty of 6 hours which may be increased at the discretion of the Organiser proportionally to the severity of the conduct of the Skipper including disqualification from the Event for grave misconduct

15. Boat position course and speed for the purpose of Time Penalty applications

15.1 Boat positions course and speed are determined by the Yellow Brick Trackers provided by the Organisers which will be set to transmit the Boat’s position and navigation data every 4 hours

15.1.1 Boat position course and speed data can be integrated by Boat AIS data when available for the purpose of monitoring any possible breach of Point 15.1 of the Notice of Event (Motoring)

15.1.2 The Event Organiser may increase remotely the reporting frequency of any Boat tracker for the purpose of surveillance of any possible breach of Point 15.1 of the Notice of Event (Motoring) without informing the Skipper

15.1.3 The Event Organiser may contact a Skipper at any time on their Boat Email or Boat Phone Number for the purpose of receiving clarifications acquiring data including but not limited to navigational data and or information on weather conditions and or photographic evidence of weather conditions and or instruments data during the process of surveillance of any possible breach of Point 15.1 of the Notice of Event (Motoring)

15.2 A Boat is deemed to have sailed into the Antarctic Region or Antarctic Buffer Zone if the Organisers receive a tracker ping within these zones and will use the tracker ping time to determine the time of entry and exit into and out of an area except as provided for in 15.4 and 15.5

15.3 A Boat is deemed to have sailed out of the Antarctic Region or Antarctic Buffer Zone if the Organisers receive a tracker ping outside these zones and will use tracker transmitted position to determine the time of exit from the area

15.4 A Boat with primary and secondary trackers not functioning shall keep a log and document with photographs of suitable on board equipment displaying the GPS and report to the Organiser the Boat position by Satellite automated SMS message at least once every 24 hours at 00:00 hours UTC when sailing more than 3 degrees north of the Ice Limit, every 12 hours at 00:00 hours UTC and 12:00 hours UTC when sailing between 1 and 3 degrees of latitude North of the Ice Limit, every 4 hours when less than 1 degree North of the Ice Limit at 00:00 hours UTC, 06:00 hours UTC, 12:00 hours UTC, and 18:00 hours UTC

15.5 A Boat that has suffered a total communication blackout shall keep a log as per 15.4 and submit it to the Organiser for review upon arrival. Any time penalties and or disqualification that emerge after review in relation to 14.3.5, 14.3.6, 14.3.7 will be applied to determine the final ranking or disqualification from the event

16. Departures

16.1 No signals will be displayed ashore or on any boat on the water pertaining to any of the departures

16.2 Time to the departure of the day may be communicated by the Organiser as per 4.4.1

16.3 Departures will not be postponed

16.4 Skippers may receive a recommendation from the Organiser that due to adverse weather conditions they should consider postponing their departure

16.5 The recommendation to postpone the departure is not binding and it is the sole responsibility of the skipper to decide whether to start or postpone their departure

16.6 If adverse conditions and or any other extenuating circumstances make it unreasonable or impossible for the Organiser to oversee a departure skippers can depart on their assigned departure date and time and tracker data will be use to confirm that the departure was valid

16.7 Boats that do not depart before their Latest Permitted Departure Date as defined in paragraph 17 will be scored DNS (Did not start)

17. Latest Permitted Departure Date and Time

17.1 A Boat that has started and returned to Marina Coruña or that has pulled into port as per 12.2 of the Notice of Event must satisfy the Organisers that they are still in a position to round Cape Horn by the 31/03/2024

Extract from the Notice of Event for reference

12.2 Pulling into port

12.2.1 A Boat may pull into a port or anchorage for:

Repairs including repair work done by third parties
Provisions
Materials
Like for like replacement of sails carried on departure
12.2.3 Participants pulling into port or an anchorage must satisfy the Organiser that they are still in a position to round Cape Horn by no later than 31st March 2024 if they resume sailing. Non-compliance will result in disqualification from the Event

12.2.4 Save as providedd for at point 13, any type of assistance at sea including embarking provisions sails repair materials fuel or anything else en-route is not allowed

17.2 A Boat unable to be in Marina Coruña at least a week before their assigned departure must make a request for dispensation. If granted the Skipper must fulfill all the obligations comply with the regulations as well as complete the pre-departure inspection before being allowed to start and must do so before the Latest Permitted Departure Date and Time as defined below

17.3 The calculation of the Latest Permitted Departure Date and Time for a Boat from A Coruña or from where the Skipper pulled into port is performed by the Organiser based on seasonal routing information, the Boat’s position, the position of the Antarctic Region and Ice Limit and the performance characteristics of the Boat

17.4 The nominal distance to be sailed to complete the circumnavigation is approximately 25,000 NM

17.5 The nominal distance to be sailed along a traditional route and within the limits imposed by the Sailing Instructions is approximately 18,000 NM

17.6 For the purpose of calculating the time it would take for a Boat to reach Cape Horn a Boat’s theoretical performance is reduced by 20% for safety reasons

17.7 The table below provides the theoretical circumnavigation time for each TCC bracket as defined by 7.1 of the Notice of Event as well as the theoretical number of Days to reach Cape Horn at 100% of the theoretical Boat performance and at 80% Boat Performance

17.8 The table below provides the theoretical Cape Horn rounding date at 100% of the theoretical Boat performance and at 80% Boat Performance and the relative margin in days to the the 31/03/2024 deadline

17.9 The table below provides the Latest Permitted Departure Date and time allowing applying the conservative margin at 80% Boat performance

17.10 If a Boat Pulls into Port in accordance with 12.2 of the Notice of event the Latest Permitted Departure Date and Time from the stop-over port will be recalculated based on the Distance to Cape Horn Calculated by the Organiser sailed along a traditional route and within the limits imposed by the Sailing Instructions

18. The finish

18.1 The finish line is defined in 8.2

18.2 [DP] If the organisers or their representatives are absent when a boat finishes, she shall report her finishing time, and her position in relation to nearby boats, to the organiser at the first reasonable opportunity in person or at the contacts provided in 4.2

18.3 [DP] A Skipper approaching the Finish line shall communicate their ETA when they estimate it to be 48hrs, 24hrs, 12hrs, 6hrs, 3hrs,1hr, 30’ respectively save for what is provided at 4.9

19. Time limit

19.1 The time limit is set at 270 days after the first start as per the Notice of Event 7.31 resulting in the date and time of 22/05/2024 13:00 UTC

20. Time Redress

20.1 The Organiser reserves the right to calculate and assign redress time to be deducted from a Boat’s elapsed time before calculating the final rankings to compensate for circumstances that have unfairly affected a Skipper’s finish date and time

20.2 A Skipper may submit a request for time redress within 48 hours of an incident they feel has unjustly affected their performance

20.3 Any redress assigned by the Organisers to a Skipper shall be communicated within 48 hours of the event taken into consideration for the assignment of a time redress following the same procedures applicable to the communication of time penalties

21. Ranking

21.1 Boats will be ranked based on their finish time adjusted for any Time Penalties not observed at sea and or any Time Redress assigned by the Organiser

22. Safety Regulatons

22.1 A Boat that retires from the Event shall notify the Organiser at the first reasonable opportunity

23. Risk Statement

The responsibility for a Boat’s decision to participate in the Event or to continue saiing in the Event is the Skipper’s 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.