Notice of race

LA CHARENTE-MARITIME / BAHIA TRANSAT 6.50 2009

Charente-Maritime / Madeira / Salvador de Bahia
Starting on the 13th of September 2009

17th EDITION

NOTICE OF RACE

1/ ORGANISATION

The CHARENTE-MARITIME/BAHIA TRANSAT 6,50 2009 is organised by Grand Pavois Organisation (G.P.O.), in partnership with the Charente-Maritime department (France), Turismo do Portugal, the government of Bahia (Brasil), the Mini Class and the French Sailing Federation (F.F.Voile), with the participation of the Société des Régates Rochelaise (S.R.R.), the Clube Naval do Funchal and the Terminal Nautico of Bahia.

2/ RULES

2.1 – The event will be governed by by the text in force of documents mentioned below and eventually modified by the Sailing Instructions. Each text prevails the previous one in case of contest:

- This Notice of Race and its additional clauses and appendices,
- The ISAF Offshore Special Regulations 2008/2009, Category 1
- The rules as defined in the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing 2009/2012,
- The prescriptions of the FFVoile,
- The Class Rules of the Mini Class (see 2009 Guide Mini),
- The Sailing Instructions and its amendments,
- Sailing at night: Part 2 of the RRS shall be replaced by Part B of the COLREGS between sunset and sunrise.

2.2 – The only documents having an official value are the documents mentioned in the § 2.1, the notes and prescriptions written and signed by the president of the Race Committee + the Race Director and/or the President of the Jury.

2.3 – Official language is FRENCH, French text shall prevail.

3/ RACE COURSE AND EVENT SCHEDULE

3.1 – 1st leg: La Rochelle - France/ Funchal – Madeira - 1.100 nm

3.1/a – the start of the race will be in La Rochelle on Sunday, September 13th 2009 at 2:17 pm.
3.1/b – boats must be in La Rochelle from Thursday, September 3rd 2009 at 5:00 pm, local time,
in the “Bassin des Chalutiers”.
Any competitor who would not be present at this date and cannot prove he was in the totally impossibility to be, could be considered as being registered at the end of the waiting list.
3.1/c – In accordance to the Guide Mini, the following penalties of delay may apply:
* 80 Euros for the first day of delay,
* 160 Euros for the second day of delay,
* 320 Euros for each day after
The total amount of these penalties will be given to an association of Sea Rescue.
3.1/d – the boats inspections and the confirmations of entries will take place from Friday, September 4th to Friday September 11th 2009.
3.1/e – each competitor must give his declaration of departure properly filled and signed before Friday, September 11th lat 12:00 noon, local time. This declaration will be added to the Sailing
Instructions.
3.1/f – during the stopover in Funchal, 30 (thirty) competitors minimum indicated by the Organiser will have to take part in a friendly crew handed regatta with their boat and willl welcome onboard partners, important persons or children from Madeira.

3.2 – 2nd leg : Funchal – Madeira / Salvador de Bahia – Brasil - 3.100 nm

3.2/a – competitors who haven't finished the first leg will not be allowed to take part in the second one.
3.2/b – the start of the second leg will be on Saturday, October 3rd 2009 at 12:02 noon.
3.2/c – the arrival in Salvador de Bahia is estimated from Wednesday, October 21st 2009
3.2/d –at the arrival of the first leg in Madeira and of the event in Salvador de Bahia, the Race
Committee may check the boats, without previous warning, by its own decision, by request from the authority organising the race, or by the authority of the Jury. A boat which would not be in accordance with the rules may be penalised or disqualified by the Jury.
3.2/e – at the arrival in Salvador de Bahia, 30 (thirty) competitors minimum indicated by the organiser must take part in a friendly crew handed regatta with their boat and will welcome onboard partner or important persons from Salvador.

4/ ELIGIBILITY AND ENTRY

4.1 – Entries will be restricted to 72 (seventy two) boats, according to the agreement from the maritime authorities.

4.2 – The Transat 650 is a single-handed race WITHOUT OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE. Any outside assistance other than medical is forbidden. Failure to comply with this article shall result in the competitor being deemed out of the race and following a ruling of the jury, the competitor in question shall no longer be classified.

4.3 – The Transat 650 is open to all boats complying with Class Mini Rules – 2009 edition.

4.4 – Each Competitor has to complete the qualification complying with Class Mini Rules – 2009 edition, on the boat he will be helming in the Transat 650.

4.5 – Each competitor must comply with his national or place of residence authority, holding a racing licence valid for the whole event with medical certificate and must comply with the Mini Class rules.

4.6 – In accordance with French Federal Medical Rules, appendix 3, each competitor shall provide a medical file before July, 1st 2009 including:

- Inevitably, results of a test of effort less than 4 years old.
- Inevitably, the result of an echocardiogram.
This file must be sent to the Organiser and marked “private and confidential”.
Medical file – to the attention of the Race Doctor
Grand Pavois Organisation
Avenue du Lazaret
17042 La Rochelle Cedex 1

Each eligible competitor shall have his general practitioner fill in and sign a race medical file furnished by the race doctor. This file must be counter-signed by the competitor himself. It shall be address to the Race Doctor before July, 1st 2009.

4.7 – In accordance with OSR, chapter 4.08.04 each competitor must have a Senior First Aid Certificate.

5/ ENTRY

5.1 – Entries will be registered in chronological order according to the document “Modalities of entries” enclosed in appendix.

5.2 – Once the 72 first complete files received, competitors wishing to apply will be on the waiting list as defined in the article 5.1.

5.3 – Entry fees: The total entry fees are 1.700,00 € (1.421,40 € ex-VAT). The breakdown is as follow:

- 500,00 € (418,06 € ex-VAT), unrefundable closed costs, to credit on January, 1st 2009.
- 1.200,00 € (1003,34 € ex-VAT), to credit on July, 1st 2009.

5.4 – Entry fees (1700.00 €) will be lost if a Competitor does not declare his withdraw in writing to the organiser before August, 12th 2009.

5.5 – The Organiser reserves the right to refuse an entry to any boat.

5.6 – The deadline of entry is fixed on June, 12th 2009.

6/ ADVERTISING

6.1 – The event will be Category C, rule 80 and section II appendix 1 under 2009-2012 ISAF advertising Code.

6.2 – The advertising spaces are divided between the competitor and the Organiser such as explained in Mini Class Rule R-21.

6.3 – Competitors must hoist flags and banners as defined by Class Mini and the Organiser. Any infringement to this rule can be penalized by the Jury.

6.4 – The boat’s name can be written on both sides of the hull. The Organisation has all rights to refuse a name, if it considers that: it is bad, it can chock, it’s unconscionable and it’s opposite to the objectives of the race.

6.5 - Each boat registered in the event must hoist the official race-flag in his rigging, from the moment it will be given to him in La Rochelle up to the finish in Salvador de Bahia. In case of infringement to this rule, the Race Committee can consider this action as withdrawal.

6.6 - Alongside the quay, skippers are authorized to hoist in their backstays: pennons or flags of different sizes with the boat’s name, logotypes, brands, except slogans.
Besides, the skippers have the obligation to hoist in their forestay the several Organisations’ flags. They have to keep them from Thursday, September, 3rd 2009 in La Rochelle, until the start of the race. They must hoist them again once in the harbour in Madeira at the arrival of the first leg until the departure of the second leg, and also as soon as arriving in the harbour of Salvador de Bahia until the prize giving ceremony of the second leg. If a competitor doesn’t respect that rule, the Jury can require financial penalties from him.

7/ PUBLICITY RIGHTS - IMAGE

Under the provisions of the French law n° 84-610 of July, 16th 1984 relating to the organisation and promotion of sporting activities, as amended by French law n° 2003-708 of August, 1st 2003, competitors are reminded that entering TRANSAT 650 means that their image and name, the image of their boat and those of their sponsor(s) may be used by the Organiser for the race communication, to communicate and/or enhance the value of the RANSAT 650, on any territory or any media support whatsoever.

8/ RESPONSABILITY/LIABILITY

8.1 – The responsibility of the Organiser and its partners shall be restricted to ensure the sporting fairness of the competition. The Organiser shall bear liability for nothing than which is contractual.
Specifically:

. Any inspection which the Race Committee might undertake, upon its own initiative, or upon the request of the Race Director, the Jury or any other authority, shall be undertaken with the sole aim of ensuring compliance with the rules, this Notice of Race, the Sailing Instructions, any additional clauses and appendices..
. The watch which may be undertaken by the Organisation, shall be considered by competitors as optional and random and shall in no event be considered as an extra safety facility upon which they may rely.
. The Organiser shall only bear liability for applications submitted to it, if it has formally accepted to deal with the request, either itself or by one of its officially approved representatives, authorised to deal with such matters. This shall apply particularly to various requests for help, and even extend to requests for assistance at sea.

8.2 – Entering the event, the competitors of the TRANSAT 650 undertake to comply with the applicable rules set out below:
Particularly article 3 of the RRS 2009-2011, Fundamental Rules: « When a competitor enters a race, with regard to the application or interpretation of the texts referred to above and the resolution of any disputes relating thereto, he waivers his right to any appeal or review other than those provided for under the RRS »

8.3 - Whatever the juridical relations between owner(s), and skipper, only the skipper specified on the entry form is a valid representative in front of the Organisation.

8.4 – Competitors shall take part in the competition at their own risk and peril and they alone shall be responsible for their participation (Part 1, Rule 4 of the RRS: decision to race). Each competitor shall have sole liability for deciding whether or not to start or to continue racing, with regard to his knowledge, the equipment he has at his disposal, wind strength and weather forecasts etc.
Any information that a member of the Race Organisation can give to the skippers before or during the competition (for example a strong gale advice) is an element on which a skipper can take a decision, but in no case it can engage the responsibility of the Organisation or its partners.

8.5 – Owners, skippers are personally responsible for any material or human incident that may occur to them or their boat or that they can provoke to any third person or any good belonging to any third person. It belongs to them to contract the necessary insurances covering those risks.
Specifically, each competitor is responsible to the Organiser for subscribing all the necessary insurances to cover up the third part liability for a minimum amount at least equivalent to the ongoing international conventions. He must testify for this with an attestation in writing that he will give to the Race Committee on September, 11th 2009 at the latest.
The lack of third part liability insurance cannot engage the responsibility of the Organiser or its partners.

8.6 – It is a fundamental term of a competitor’s participation that they provide the organisers with the form (signed and dated) stating that they waive their right to take legal action against the organiser, its partners, service providers and insurers. This form is attached to the application for entry.

8.7 - A competitor can not require from the Organisation to set up a sea rescue operation from land. The sea rescue and assistance will be driven by international conventions in force.

8.8 - Competitors’ attention is drawn to « Part 1 – Fundamental Rules » of the RRS wherein a boat or competitor shall provide all possible assistance to any person or vessel in danger when he is able to do so.

8.9 – Each competitor entering the Transat 6.50 accepts all its rules and accepts to totally respect the 2009 Guide Mini. Any infringement to this rule would mean a breach of the contract between the Organiser and the skipper and may lead to the expulsion of the event.

8.10 – In a safety concern, every competitor will have to embark onboard a beacon of location. This beacon will be supplied by the Organiser, and will be fixed at the back of the ship, in La Rochelle, before the start. A guarantee by 1500-euros (one thousand five hundred) check will be asked to every skipper; this check will not be collected and will be returned to the skipper at the time of the return of the beacon in Salvador, after the arrival of the race.

9/ TIME LIMITS

9.1. Time limits for stopover

9.1/a – Boats can stop when and where they want. Once in the harbour (to anchor, onto a mooring buoy or alongside a quay) they can receive outside assistance. Towing is restricted to 2 miles from a harbour in case of a stopover and should not provide a significant gain to the race in conformity with the article 42.3h) of the RRS.
9.1/b –The technical stopover(s) can not be longer than 72 hours for each leg whatever the number of stopovers, from the moment the boat reaches the land until the moment it will return into the race. If the skipper stays in technical stopover for more than this 72 hours delay, he will be no more considered in the race for the whole event.

9.2. Time limits for arrival
One boat arriving after the time limits in Salvador de Bahia will be scored as D.N.F. (change to the RRS 35).
Time limits for the first leg, La Rochelle, Funchal (Madeira) is 5 (five) days after the arrival of the 1st competitor for each category, production boat and prototype.
Time limits for the second leg, Funchal (Madeira), Salvador de Bahia (Brasil) is 10 (ten) days after the arrival of the
1st competior for each category, production boat and prototype.
Time bonus the Jury can credit to a boat may be added to these time limits.

10/RANKINGS

10.1 – There will be two separate rankings:
- Production boat
- Prototype

10.2 –The overall production boats and prototypes rankings will be established according to the total time of both legs, increased by penalties or decreased by possible bonuses.
10.3 – The skipper that will have the shorter cumulated time will be declared as the winner. In case of a tie, the time of the second leg will decide between the skippers.

10.4 – There will be two distinctive rankings for each leg (see 10.1).

11/ PRIZE GIVING

The prize-giving ceremony will be held during Paris Boat Show in December 2009.
Prize offered to competitors cannot be financial.

12/ SKIPPERS’ PRESENCE AND OBLIGATION

Skippers’ attendance is compulsory at some of the briefings sessions and official receptions. The dates and times will be communicated at a later date. In the event of absence the skipper can be penalized.
The Organising authority reserves the right to amend the current Notice of Race if changes would occur necessary for the safety and/or sportivity of the event.

Information :

CLASSE MINI
The Charente-Maritime/Bahia Transat 6.50 200
79 avenue La Perrière
56100 Lorient
Tél : 33 (0) 2 97 55 89 54
Email : contact@classemini.com
Internet : www.classemini.com
Contact : Annabelle MOREAU & Sandrine PELLETIER
Skype : classeminiannabelle & classeminisandrine

GPO
Avenue du Lazaret – Port des Minimes
17042 LA ROCHELLE CEDEX 1
Tél : + 33 (0)5 46 44 46 39
Fax : + 33 (0)5 46 45 32 24
Email : imagois@grand-pavois.com
Internet : www.grand-pavois.com
Contact : Isabelle MAGOIS
Skype: isamagois444

AMENDMENT N°1

Amendment of Article 4

4 / ELIGIBILITY

4.1 - the number of vessels involved in the race is limited to 84, subject to acceptance by the maritime authorities.