Duties of a Sailing Master
A skipper is responsible to the owner, his employer, for the correctness of the yacht's rating, as shown on her certificate; he must also see that she is properly prepared for each race, and properly raced; thus:—
He should not start unless the owner or a qualified representative is on board (Rule 10).
He should have the yacht's colours carried properly (Rule 11).
He should carefully study the written or printed instructions and follow them in every detail (Rule 12).
At the start he should look out for his recall numeral (Rule 12).
He should prevent any paid hand joining or leaving the yacht after the signal to start (Rule 14).
He should be careful to comply with the ballast rule, and see that the dead-weight is not altered after 9 p.m. of the day previous to a race (Rule 15).
He should see that boats and life-buoys are carried in accordance with Rule 16.
He should be specially careful not to infringe any sailing rule between the guns at the start (Rule 17).