Sailing Instructions

Last Updated on Thursday, 03 December 2009 13:10

2010 Darwin Dili Yacht Rally Sailing Instructions

1 The Course
The course will be from the Start Line in Darwin Harbour, Australia, leaving Jaco Island (located approximately S8° 26’ and E127° 21.2(a)) to port, to the Finish Line off the city of Dili, Timor-Leste, a distance of around 425 NM. Recommended charts for this passage are:  Aus 313, Aus 4721, Aus 901 and Aus 26. 

2 The Start
All yachts will start together at 1100 hours CST on Saturday 3 July, 2010. The Start Line will be west of the Darwin Sailing Club between “E” buoy (which is located at approximately S12° 25.5 and E130° 48.8(a)) and the start boat which will be in a position 100 metres north of “E” buoy. The Start Vessel will carry out the following start procedure.

• 1050 Hours Warning Signal
• Code Flag "P" will be hoisted and may be accompanied by a sound signal
• 1055 Hours Preparatory Signal, Numeral Pennant 1 will be hoisted and may be accompanied by a sound signal
• 1059 Hours Code Flag "P" will be lowered
• 1100 Hours Starting Signal, Numeral Pennant 1 will be lowered and may be accompanied by a sound signal.

3 The Finish
The finish line is a transit of the longitude E125° 34’ between the drying reef bounding the northern edge of Dili Harbour and the latitude S8° 32’.   This will be detailed in a chart provided to you at the pre-rally briefing.

When you pass Fatocama Point (approximate longitude of E125° 36.2(a)) as you approach the finish line, please contact the Dili Rally Office in Dili on VHF Channel 77 and they will be able to give you any final directions. Yachts must take their own finish time (CST) and advise the Dili Rally Office by radio.

After you have crossed the finish line, you may then enter Dili Harbour and approach the rally anchorage.  Dili Harbour is surrounded by fringing drying reefs, and must be entered between the designated port and starboard channel markers shown on the chart. 

Extreme care should be exercised as you approach and traverse Timor especially close to Dili as it is a busy, working port. There is a continuous stream of large ships, dredges and ferries using the port and at night their navigation lights will not always be in accordance with regulations. In addition, throughout this region when you are close to the coast extra care is required as there are always large numbers of small unlit fishing canoes and fish traps in these waters that are difficult to see at night and often do not show up on radar.

4 After Finishing
After you finish please advise the Dili Rally Office on VHF Channel 77 and you will be directed to the Customs clearing and anchorage area to complete Timor-Leste Customs, Immigration and Quarantine formalities. Ensure your yacht is displaying the code flag Q and Timor-Leste courtesy flag.

The Customs/Rally anchorage is located at approximately S8° 33.10’(a) and E125° 34.5’(a) and will be highlighted on charts provided at the pre-rally briefing.  Use extreme caution in this area as there is a small drying reef in the vicinity.  Anchor and please wait for the Customs and Immigration Staff to come on board your yacht for your clearance into Timor-Leste. Yachts must advise Dili Rally Office when they have checked by Customs officials and have been cleared.

5 Time Limit
There is no time limit to the rally. However if you arrive in Dili after 9 July 2010 the 'one-stop shop' support may not be available to facilitate your clearance into Timor-Leste.

6 Divisions
The following divisions are offered and unless you notify us in writing that you wish to enter a competitive cruising Division you will be automatically entered into the Rally Division(s)

• Division I Monohull Competitive Cruising
• Division II Rally
• Division III Multihull Competitive Cruising

7 Rules
The Rally will be sailed under the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea. The use of automatic steering is permitted in Division II, and when engine propulsion is used it must be logged, totalled and declared at the finish in Dili.

8 Handicaps
Yachts in Divisions I and III may be allocated a Time Correction Factor based on the yacht's measurements. The yacht's Elapsed Time will be multiplied by this T.C.F. to give a Corrected Time and placings.

9 Safety Regulations
The safety of the vessel and its crew is the sole responsibility of the skipper. The Rally is open to Monohull yachts having a waterline length of not less than 7.3 metres and Multihull yachts with a waterline length of not less than 8.0 metres. All yachts shall have completed a non stop passage of at least 200 miles across open sea and must comply with the SOLAS regulations.

10 Declarations
All owners or skippers of yachts must sign a declaration form advising their finish time and stating whether or not they have complied with these Sailing Instructions and hand it to a member of the Dili Rally Office within 10 hours of finishing in Dili. Protests will be heard by a protest jury whose decision will be final and any protest received after that time may not be considered.

11 Flags
The yacht's own national flag should be displayed at the stern and the Timor-Leste flag of a size not less that the yacht's own national flag from the crosstrees. When you enter Timor-Leste waters you must display the code flag "Q" until you have been cleared by Timor-Leste Customs.

Participants in the Rally will be issued with a Darwin Dili Rally Pennant.  This pennant should be flown on all yachts going over the start line and until they finally leave Timor-Leste waters.

12 Radio Schedules
The Rally Communication Frequencies are Primary 4483 KHz or Secondary 2524 KHz.  All yachts while at sea must report in on the Radio Schedules as will be advised at the pre rally briefing. The Dili Rally Office, call sign "Dili Rally Office" will conduct a morning radio sched on VHF Ch 77 at 0810 hours Dili time each morning.

13 Retirements
Any yacht retiring from the rally must make every effort to inform the Rally Committee by radio and continue to give position reports at each sched until safely in port, or if its radio is inoperative, at the earliest opportunity. 

Yachts retiring from the event and returning to Darwin must notify Australian Customs at the earliest possible opportunity prior to arrival. Australian Customs require that yachts arriving in Australia must give notice of arrival at least 96 hours before arrival at their first port in Australia. 

14 Time Zones
CST is Central Standard Time (Darwin Time) and will be used throughout the Rally for all communications and time keeping and is the time referred to in these instructions, unless specified otherwise. CST is GMT +9:30, Dili time is GMT +9:00.

15 Rejection of Entries
The Rally Committee reserves the right to reject any entry at any time up to the Preparatory Signal, in which case the entry fee or part thereof may be refunded.

16 Sponsors Advertising
Yachts may seek and obtain sponsorship and advertise it in whatever form they choose.

17 Presentations and Welcome Function
Details and times will be confirmed at the pre-rally briefing prior to departure from Darwin.  A noticeboard of events will be located as you come ashore in Dili.

18 Additions or Alterations
Any additions or alterations to these instructions will be advised at the Pre Rally Briefing.

19 Indonesian Waters
Any yachts wishing to travel into Indonesian waters or ports require appropriate cruising and security permits. These must be obtained prior to departure from Darwin.  For more information go to www.sailindonesia.net

(a) All positions and co-ordinates are approximations only and cannot be relied upon for the purposes of navigation.  The safety of the vessel and its crew is the sole responsibility of the skipper and all normal navigational aids, systems and precautions should be used.