Next buy a copy of the Y.R.A. Rules, Dixon Kemp's book on 'Yacht and Boat Sailing,' and King's 'Channel Pilot.' Study each carefully, especially Chapter VIII. of Kemp's book. More than half the difficulties and troubles connected with the sport are due to ignorance of the rules.[16] In every other sport such ignorance is regarded with the contempt it deserves, but in yacht and boat racing the rules are somewhat complex and difficult—all the more reason for learning them carefully.
Every racing owner should enter his yacht strictly in accordance with Rule 5, Y.R.A., and it saves trouble if an owner has a card with the declaration at entry, his personal address, and the yacht's racing flag printed upon it.
Care should be taken to post this 'entry' so that the club secretary receives it in proper time. Do not rely on the 48 hours' clause, but examine the club programme, as the entries are not unfrequently closed earlier.
The day before the race give the most distinct instructions to crew as to the time and place of meeting on the morrow, and keep the appointment punctually.
Provide yourself with a chronograph, and it may help you to win prizes by means of good starts.
Get to the starting line half an hour before your start if you can, and get a card of the races if one has not already reached you through the post. Read it carefully, and, should anything appear to be doubtful, have it cleared up by the race officer, or by the club secretary.
If other races start before you, do not get in the way of the starting boats.
Note when the ten minutes preparatory flag for your own race is hoisted; you will then be the better prepared to start your chronograph at the first gun. See Rule 17.
After first gun, stand off and on near the starting line. Remember that you are now 'under the rules.' Have Rule 18 by heart, and understand each clause of it. During the last half-minute before the second or starting gun, manœuvre for the place you wish to secure, be there at the flash of gun, and if possible just to windward, or just ahead of your most dangerous antagonist. If you think you are over the line at gunfire, keep a sharp look out for your recall numeral (Rule 12), and directly it is displayed return, and cross the line; but keep clear of other competitors in doing so. After the start do not go in for a luffing match or allow yourself to be luffed by a yacht you do not fear. Stick to the boat you fear most. Remember Rule 19 in rounding the marks. If the weather be light, keep your weather eye open for every cat's-paw, and do not lose an inch during the whole race by careless steering. Be careful when you come to the run to put spinnaker up on the best side; and, if you run by the lee, shift it over at once without parleying with the boy. After the finish, if you win, sign the declaration (Rule 10, Y.R.A.) and send it ashore as soon as possible. If you have any cause for protest against another yacht, or should any protest be lodged against your own yacht, go ashore at once and see the matter through. After the race it has been customary for the second yacht to cheer the winner—like shaking hands after a boxing match—but this old custom is now dying out. Never permit your crew to bandy remarks with the hands on other yachts, either during a race or after it. If your boat wins, lower the racing flag, and hoist the club burgee with your winning flag one fathom below it. If she do not win, sail home with the racing flag still flying, this being the label of your boat's raison d'être. Never accept a prize unless you feel that every rule and regulation has been properly followed; see that your opponents follow them too; cut those men who do not race honourably, and show them up if you can. Keep a log, and enter upon it everything of interest concerning the boat and the racing. Every little change of gear should be carefully noted; the position of crew when the boat goes best, and every detail which may help to point the way to any improvement, either in the boat herself or in the type which she represents. Such a log enables you to draw up an accurate record at the end of the season, and is valuable in later years as a reminder of past pleasures and adventures.