the virus and racing - current situation

[Birdseye]

Hearing confusing stories . Been told that the DDCMS can sanction racing if an organisation applies and that the RYA has done so, thus meaning that the participant limits dont apply in England at least . At the same time a big south coast yacht club has allegedly fallen foul of the participant numbers limit and face a large fine ( dobbed in by local fishermen allegedly). Obviously these two things dont match.

My own club is looking at the participants in races as being in a "gathering" ( thats the word the law uses) with a 30 people limit. Doesnt matter that the yachts might be half a mile apart in open water. Yet the club compound might well contain 50 to 100 members in a far smaller area. The difference is that the racing is an organised event, the club compound isnt. This is recognised by the virus of course. And where does this leave a city centre street with lots of people on it? Is that a gathering too?

And here is another one. Where exactly are the boundaries between the territorial waters of say England and Wales, two "countries" where the rules are different.. Or are they all British waters. Whose rules apply in the Bristol channel for example.

My club has, quite understandably, just run for cover and cancelled. What is yours doing?

 

[dunedin]

Have you / your club consulted the various RYA Guidelines for Covid-19, and if necessary spoken with them if need clarification.

The government rules / dictats are a complex mess, but RYA is working hard to assist clubs to get some clarity.

 

[GrahamD]

The most recent advice from RYA about racing is here https://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/clubs/RYA C19 gov guidance QAs.pdf?v=1.4.1

Broadly, the RYA position is that sailing is regarded as an organised sport, so on the water the rule of 6 doesn’t apply and that there is no limit on number of participants. However managing participants off the water is a different matter and clubs need to work very carefully to fulfil track and trace obligations and maintain a “Covid secure environment“.

 

[TernVI]

Hearing confusing stories . Been told that the DDCMS can sanction racing if an organisation applies and that the RYA has done so, thus meaning that the participant limits dont apply in England at least . At the same time a big south coast yacht club has allegedly fallen foul of the participant numbers limit and face a large fine ( dobbed in by local fishermen allegedly). Obviously these two things dont match.

My own club is looking at the participants in races as being in a "gathering" ( thats the word the law uses) with a 30 people limit. Doesnt matter that the yachts might be half a mile apart in open water. Yet the club compound might well contain 50 to 100 members in a far smaller area. The difference is that the racing is an organised event, the club compound isnt. This is recognised by the virus of course. And where does this leave a city centre street with lots of people on it? Is that a gathering too?

And here is another one. Where exactly are the boundaries between the territorial waters of say England and Wales, two "countries" where the rules are different.. Or are they all British waters. Whose rules apply in the Bristol channel for example.

My club has, quite understandably, just run for cover and cancelled. What is yours doing?

In my opinion, your club would do better to follow the RYA guidance and practice of other clubs.
A lot of people have spent a lot of time interpreting the rules, re-inventing your own version of the wheel is likely to lead to errors.
The club compound is part of the act of the organised event.

The only issue I'm not sure of is if you need to allow access to members who are not racing. We don't. Obviously that could be tough on non-racing members who want to use the compound at racing times but that's just tough.

 

[Birdseye]

Along with most of south wales, the club is now in local lockdown so the whole question is moot.

 

[Snoopy463]

As I understand it, a club in a lock downed area can hold a race as long as participants all reside in the locked area, only sail with other members of their household and keep 2 metres apart in the compound. Close luffing matches are to be avoided!

 

[Birdseye]

Still trying to find out. GrahamD has given the English answer but what applies in Welsh territorial waters? According to the club its a limit of 30. I suspect the key word in the law is "gathering". Is a race a "gathering"? if so its 30. The same sailors can mooch around the compound because they are then not in a "gathering".

Its the problem of using the law which is a very blunt instrument. Remember how many years it took the beaks to define for vat purposes what was a cake and what was a biscuit. How long would they take to define what is a "gathering" and what is simply a group of people. And how far do the members of a gathering have to go before they are no longer in a gathering?