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 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO THE NOTICE OF RACE 2014-15
Issue 6
Question number
Question
SECTION A
4
2.12 Outriggers Ammended
SECTION B
5
5.1.3 Sails on-board
7
7.1.11 Guests on-board
8
5.1.2 (a) Race Sails
9
5.1.2 (a) Race Sails
13
Storage of sails during a stopover
14
5.2.3 Testing
15
5.2.6 Sharing information
SECTION C
6
9.6.2 (h) Sewing machine
18
9.6.2 Extra equipment and spares
SECTION D
20
15.1 Communications (email)
SECTION E
3
18.3 – …….50% of the Boats in the Assembly Area
SECTION F
SECTION G
APPENDIX A
1 1
Inner layer clothing
2
Sail covers
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX D
17
15.14 AIS
APPENDIX E
APPENDIX F
APPENDIX G
GENERAL
10
Sailing after re-launching
11
In-Port race, 1st leg
16
TSS
19
RRS 48.2
2 Notice of Race Q & A 1
18th December 2013
NOR 25.9.3. Do you consider base layers as inner layers?
The input we have from our clothing supplier is that once we put the crew
name and logos on an inner (base) layer as required by NOR 25.9.3,
it seriously compromises the functionality of these specific items. Since inner
layers are worn for moisture management and insulation and especially the
moisture management is highly limited when you add prints (non breathable).
Observation:
Most of the times T-Shirts will be worn over the inner (base) layers so the
exposed clothing item will fulfill the requirements of NOR 25.9.3.
Question:
Given the impact on clothing functionality, can we keep
the inner (base) layer free from branding required by NOR
25.9.3?
Answer:
(a) When the inner (base) layer has the team name/logo or team
sponsor's marks, the garment shall comply with NOR
25.9.3
(b) When the only branding on the garment is the
manufacturer's standard mark (at a size no larger
than 70mm in width or height), then the garment is exempt from
the requirements of NOR 25.9.3, but shall be worn under a
garment that complies with NOR 29.5.3.
The reasoning is that if an item can have manufacturer and team branding
and still function as designed then the addition of the name should equally not
impair the performance of the garment.
3 Notice of Race Q & A 2
18th December 2013
Question:
What can we do in terms of branding on the boom cover?
Answer:
The boom cover is available for the team to brand as they wish
providing the branding complies with any conditions or
restrictions in the Commercial Participation Protocol (CPP)
4 Notice of Race Q & A 3
11th February 2014
Question (a): On days when there is no scheduled racing how will the RC
decide the 50% and the times Boats may be absent from the
Assembly Area?
Answer (a)
The RC will use the AM-PM system that has been in use for
past Volvo Ocean Races. Boats allocated the AM slot shall be
back at the dock by 1300, the Boats allocated the PM slot may
depart the dock at 1300 and shall be back at the dock at 1800.
Question (b): May a Boat use the time following the completion of racing on a
day to practice?
Answer (b): No. Boats and Crew Members are required to return to the
Assembly Area following racing.
5 Notice of Race Q & A 4
11th February 2014
Ammended October 2014
Question 4: What is the interpretation of ‘used at a time’? Can we have the
second outrigger mounted to weather and ready to be used
once the boat gybed?
Answer 4:
Yes the second outrigger may be set up in preparation for a
gybe.
The term “used” in this rule means that a sheet or other rope is
lead through the outrigger and tension applied using a winch.
6 Notice of Race Q & A 5
11th February 2014
Question 5: Since the word MAY is permissive can we e.g. carry only 1 x
Mainsail and 1 x MHO on board for a Leg or In-Port, plus a
mandatory pre-race storm jib, and leave other sails behind?
Answer 5:
Yes. The storm jib must be on-board and sealed in place, there
is no minimum number of other sails that shall be on-board.
7 Notice of Race Q & A 6
11th March 2014
Question 6: Is it permitted to carry on board a sewing machine for
emergency repair work that can be clamped over the internal
structure without requiring any additional fixings or fastenings?
Answer 6:
Yes. NOR 9.6.2 (h) does require that when not in use that the
sewing machine is sealed and not to be moved.
The method of attaching to the internal structure shall be preapproved by Green Marine.
8 Notice of Race Q & A 7
11th March 2014
Question:
Is it permitted to carry a guest (media or celebrity) for the entire
duration of leg 0?
Answer:
Yes. Follow the procedure outlined in NOR 7.1.11.
9 Notice of Race Q & A 8
18th March 2014
Question:
How will the OA ensure that there will not be any outside
influence in the design or manufacture of a Boats Race Sails?
Answer:
When North Sails have received all the sail orders for the Race
Sails the will assign each sail a unique North Sails “OD” number,
these numbers and the code of sail will be sent to the VO65
Class Manager and the Race Director. The OD numbers will be
recorded against a simple 1-7 number system for each code of
sail; a draw will be conducted either as a media event (if
feasible) or an internal draw within the OA where the number 17 will be allocated to a team the results of the draw will remain
confidential between the Class Manager and the Race Director.
When a sail is ready for delivery to a branding company the
team allocated that will be disclosed to North Sails and delivered
to the address supplied on the Race Sail Purchase Agreement.
10 Notice of Race Q & A 9
18th March 2014
Question:
Why does a team have to order and specify the location of and
type of speed stripes they require for each code of Race Sail to
the Volvo Ocean Race; Race Director and not to North Sails?
Answer:
The position and type of stripe required may clearly identify the
team for which the sail is being manufactured at a very early
stage of manufacture this is not desirable. When North Sails
contact the Race Director and inform them that they require the
speed stripe positions and type for OD number xx he will send
North Sails the relevant portion of the excel sheet supplied to
him by the team thus protecting the identity of the buyer until the
sail is ready for shipping.
11 Notice of Race Q & A 10
May 2014
Questions:
(a) At the end of the maintenance period will all the Boat’s go in the water
on the same day?
(b) What is the first day we can sail after the Boat has been re-launched?
(c) Will al the Boats be in the water before Boats are permitted to sail?
Answer:
(a) No. The following table has the anticipated dates for re-launching
dates.
Stopover
Alicante
Cape Town
Abu Dhabi
Sanya
Auckland
Itajai
Newport
Lisbon
Lorient
Gothenburg
1st re-launch day
Monday 29th Sept
Tuesday 11th Nov
Saturday 27th Dec
Sunday 1st Feb
Sunday 8th Mar
Sunday 12th Apr
N/A
Sunday 31st May
N/A
N/A
2nd re-launch day
Tuesday 30th Sept
Wednesday 12th Nov
Sunday 28th Dec
Monday 2nd Feb
Monday 9th Mar
Monday 13th Apr
N/A
st
Monday 1 June
N/A
N/A
(b) The day following the 2nd re-launch day
(c) Yes. We anticipate that it will take the full 2 days to re-launch all the
Boats and get them all ready to sail, so we do not envisage that
Boats will sail on the 2nd re-launch day.
12 Notice of Race Q & A 11
May 2014
In-Port races.
Question:
Will all In-Port races have a first leg to a windward mark?
Answer:
No. Conditions and other constraints may require us to start to a downwind
mark. Where possible we will start to a windward mark.
13 Notice of Race Q & A 13
May 2014
Sails
Question:
(a) Are there any restrictions on where sails can be stored and repaired
during a stopover?
Answers:
(a) Yes. When a Race Sail is removed from the Boat at a stopover it shall
be taken to the Boatyard sail loft where it shall remain until it is put
back on the Boat. All repairs shall take place in the Boatyard sail loft or
at another facility approved by the Boatyard Manager, which may be
the teams base.
Note; the NOR will include this and other wording when the discussion re. shipping the
extra and Pre-race Sails around the world has taken place at the Boatyard ,Advisory
th
th
Board meeting 5 and 6 June 2014.
14 Notice of Race Q & A 14
May 2014
Questions:
(a) In NOR 5.2.3, what is the relevance or meaning of this sentence: NOR
5.2.5 (b) or (c) does not prevent a supplier disclosing improved
methods or technology developed by the supplier provided the
information is disclosed to all Participants at the same time.
(b) Please can the OA clarify what rule this is referring to and if it is 5.2.6 b
and c then what do these races / training sessions have to do with
suppliers?
Answer:
The NOR has been amended to correct the errors in NOR ammendment
5.
15 Notice of Race Q & A 15
May 2014
Questions:
Rule 5.2.6 lists situations where two boat testing is permitted. In these
situations are boats permitted to 'share' performance data?
i.e. in sanctioned events, training sessions or races where 2 boat testing is
permitted, are any of the following actions permitted
(a) verbal communications between teams (via VHF, mobile cell phone, email etc) about performance matters, sail settings, ballast tanks, etc?
(b) sharing of printed data describing the two boat testing, boat configuration,
or sail trim for example?
Answer:
No. Both question (a) and (b) infringe this part of NOR 5.2.3. All Participants
including through the assistance of third parties, shall not share or
exchange performance information.
16 Notice of Race Q & A 16
May 2014
Question:
We are looking for detail about how you intend to manage the passage of
the fleet through busy shipping areas. In particular we would like to know
how the rules will deal with Traffic Separation zones in general. Obviously
The Mallaca Straits, Straits of Gibraltar and Dover Straits are obvious
examples but there are many other TSS zones to consider such as Ushant
and various other headlands and Capes around the world? We couldn’t
see anything in the NOR or leg SIs. We intend to train through the Dover
Straits and Straits of Gibraltar and would like to know what the rules will be
please.
Answer:
TSS is dealt with in Leg specific SI’s, which are issued for each individual
Leg. We are in the process of identifying the TSS’s that will impact our
route, in the past we have dealt with many of the schemes by making them
obstructions or exclusion zones, I envisage we will treat them the same in
this edition. We are studying our route at present and will suggest solutions
for the schemes that we think will impact the likely course that a Boat may
take. We will circulate our suggestions to all teams in the near future for
comment, in the mean time it would be wise to treat TSS’s as exclusion
zones for training purposes.
Also see: Q&A 19
17 Notice of Race Q & A 17
May 2014
Question:
We would like to know how the OA will police the use of AIS in NOR
15.14?
Answer:
It is the responsibility of the Boat to ensure the AIS is on and working, we
are investigating ways of sealing the AIS to reduce the chance of the unit
being turned off.
18 Notice of Race Q & A 18
May 2014
Questions:
(a) Can teams decide to take whatever spares they deem to be necessary
(subject to the decision of the OA on whether they will be sealed or
not)? For example can a team take a spare rudder, daggerboard,
outrigger, starter motor, alternator, DC pump, running rigging, battens,
etc?
(b) How will the OA decide whether something is for ballast purposes or
not and if it is a justifiable spare?
Answers:
(a) Yes.
(b) The OA will decide on a case by case basis, large, heavy or items that
would not be used on a regular basis would be sealed in accordance
with NOR 9.6.2.
19 Notice of Race Q & A 19
October 2014
The RC have been receiving many questions both formally and informally in
relation to what actions we will protest and not protest in relation to TSS
zones. We cannot cover all situations but I hope by the following Q&A we can
remove some of the uncertainty surrounding what actions we will take in
relation to this issue. Our answers below are not intended as an interpretation
of IRPCAS rule 10 but hopefully clarify what actions will or will not result in a
protest from the RC.
Skippers should be aware that the harder they push the limits of this rule the
greater the risk that the authorities will take an action against them.
Question 1
What actions of a boat are likely to be protested by the Race Committee
under RRS 48.2 at IMO adopted TSS zones (TSS)?
Answer 1 The RC will protest when
• a Boat’s actions have resulted in a report from a maritime authority.
• or when from a report from any source it believes that:
• a Boat may have impeded the safe passage of a vessel following a traffic
lane;
• a Boat may have sailed in a traffic lane against the general direction of the
traffic flow.
Question 2
Will the following actions at IMO adopted TSS zones (TSS) result in a protest
by the Race Committee under RRS 48.2?
• Repeatedly tacking or gybing in a traffic lane in the general direction of the
traffic flow
• Entering or leaving a traffic lane by either side in the general direction of the
traffic flow
• Entering the separation zone
• Answer 2 No.
20 Notice of Race Q & A 20
October 2014
Q1:Is it correct that emails between the boat and shorebase….@ or
xxxx@ (2 of 3 white list email addresses) must be cc'd to
race.control@volvooceanrace.com.?
A1: Yes. All emails though a whitelist account must cc
race.control@volvooceanrace.com both on to and off the Boat.
Q2: Is it correct that only media emails are to be sent off the boat using
the XXX.OBR@yachts.volvooceanrace.com email address?
A2: No. Any email may be sent through the OBR account. However, the
OBR shall ensure the email is cc’d to
race.control@volvooceanrace.com and using the OBR account shall
not impede the work-flow of the OBR.
Q3. In general shall emails (personal and non media) be sent off the boat
using XXX.crew@yachts.volvooceanrace.com
A3. Yes. The email shall also be cc’d to race.control@volvooceanrace.com
Q4. Emails between the boat and a team media department (the third white
list email address) must be cc'd to
watch.producer@yachts.volvooceanrace.com.
A4. Yes. “Watch producers” is a new department within Race Control,
whose sole purpose is to receive and re-distribute media content from
the boats and coordinate media requests with the OBR’s. The objective
of this initiative of this is to relive the workload from the duty officers.
21