Oulton Week Sailing Instructions

Sailing Instructions the important bits! 

The full (UPDATED for 2024) Oulton Week Sailing Instructions are available here: 2024 OW Sailing Instructions .pdf

And a summary of the important bits is below...

Starting
All starts in Oulton Week, apart perhaps for the Bloodbath Race and some evening races, are from a Committee Boat with the line being from the black-and-white mast on the boat to the outer distance mark (buoy with a flag).
Watch out! If there's an inner distance mark, you will be disqualified if you sail between it and the Committee Boat at any time.

The starting sequence is 6 minute (class flag), 3 minute (P flag), start.

Individual Recalls Flag X isn't flown. Instead, your class flag is left at the dip, i.e. not fully lowered. The race officer may try to call out the number of the offending boat but don't rely on this!

General Recalls If your race is recalled and there are other races about to start, your race will go to the back of the queue. If your race is the only race or the last in a series, your 3 minute signal will be 1 minute after the general recall flag is lowered. Therefore your class flag and the P flag will be hoisted together.

Courses
The course is shown on the Committee Boat. Red numbers indicate buoys to be rounded to port, green to starboard. The number of rounds is shown in white on a black background. The letter F on a blue background shows where in the course you'll finish on your last lap. 

Fridays Bloodbath Race will be an average lap handicap race, denoted by a white letter A on a black course board. 

A yellow G on a black course board means gate; you must sail through the start-line gate (between the distance marks) at the end of each lap and this gate is also the finishing line. You continue to sail the course until the shorten course flag is flown and then you complete the lap you are on. 

Finishing Line This is between the orange mast at the clubhouse and a mast bearing 3 orange discs on the north side of the broad. The leading 3 boats in each race get a bell as they cross the line.

For an average lap race, the finish line is the same as the start line and you finish between the distance marks.

Shortening Races If a race is shortened, the class flag is flown with code flag S from the club yardarm. The leading boat then finishes when it next crosses the finishing line (in either direction) while sailing the course that's set.

If necessary, a race may be shortened using the Committee Boat (flying flag S) at a mark of the course. The finishing line is then between the black-and-white mast on the boat and the racing mark.

Note: If boats have fallen behind, then the Whiskey (W) flag may be used, and boats can be finished at any point on the course.

Racing marks
There are 7 buoys that are a pink or orange colour. They are positioned in a clockwise direction round the broad starting with 1 just SW of the clubhouse and 7 as the most easterly buoy. 8 is light blue and can be anywhere. 

The Waveney Princess
This is the large passenger-carrying boat that is hard to miss but you must try to avoid her with room to spare because she is tricky to manoeuvre and the local by-laws say she has right-of-way.

Last updated 13:10 on 27 May 2025