STYC Women at the Helm Regatta II — Saturday, 12 September 2026
Vessel: R/22 "Patriot X" — Sail #2201
Team: Team Patriot Sailing (helm eligibility restriction
applies — see Situation)
Event: STYC Women at the Helm Regatta II — Saturday, 12 Sep
2026 (multi-race day, up to 3 races)
Reference: Women at the Helm Regatta II NOR/SI 2026; STYC GSI;
current RRS; USCG VTS Navigation Rules
Time Zone: All times local (America/Los_Angeles)
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1. SITUATION
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a. Area of Operations: Puget Sound racing area in the vicinity of
Shilshole Bay, between West Point and Spring Beach. Refer to the
STYC GNOR for course mark descriptions.
b. Friendly Forces: STYC Race Committee, on the water and monitoring
VHF channel 72; fellow competitors racing in PHRF Flying Sails,
PHRF Non-Flying Sails, and ORC divisions.
c. Crew Eligibility (critical): The helmsperson must self-identify
as female or non-binary in everyday life. This is defined as
whoever steers the boat from 4 minutes before the start through
the finish, except for momentary absences for personal or
shipboard needs. Confirm who is helming Patriot X for this event
well before dock call — this determines eligibility to race
under these SIs.
d. Dock Call: 0900 — one hour prior to the first warning signal
window; the first class starts at 1000 (first warning at 0955).
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2. MISSION
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Team Patriot Sailing deploys R/22 "Patriot X" (Sail #2201), with an
eligible helmsperson at the wheel per event rules, to compete in the
STYC Women at the Helm Regatta II, executing safe and consistent
racing across all attempted races in order to secure a top-3 class
finish while supporting the event's mission of putting women and
non-binary sailors in the driver's seat.
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3. EXECUTION
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a. Concept of Operations: Race per the current Racing Rules of
Sailing as modified by the STYC GSI, these Sailing Instructions,
and USCG VTS Navigation Rules. This is a multi-race event — the
Race Committee will attempt to run 3 races in one day. Priority
is a clean handoff of the helm before the 4-minute mark of each
start (if rotating helmspeople) and consistent racing across all
attempted races.
b. Schedule of Events:
RACE DATE 1ST WARNING 1ST CLASS START TIME LIMIT FIN. WINDOW
12 Sep 26 0955 1000 2.5 hrs 30 min (TLE)
c. Course: Up to 3 races will be sailed in the vicinity of Shilshole
Bay between West Point and Spring Beach. Specific mark
descriptions are in the STYC GNOR (not attached to this SI) —
pull the current GNOR before race day and confirm mark locations.
d. Divisions: PHRF Flying Sails, PHRF Non-Flying Sails, and ORC.
Confirm Patriot X's assigned division/class break on styc.org by
1800 Friday, 11 Sep (the day before the race).
e. Coordinating Instructions:
(1) Verify and lock in the eligible helmsperson before dock call
— the helm requirement runs continuously from 4 minutes
before the start through the finish, so plan crew positions
accordingly rather than sorting it out on the starting line.
(2) Watch class flags carefully during the starting sequence —
with multiple races run back-to-back, staying oriented on
which class/flag applies to Patriot X matters more than
usual.
(3) SI changes post by 0900 the day they take effect; schedule
changes post by 1800 the day before. On-water changes are
announced via VHF and signaled with Flag Lima.
(4) Comms failures (RC not transmitting, or crew not hearing a
transmission) are not grounds for redress — treat VHF 72 as
best-effort.
(5) Boats finishing after the finishing window (30 min after the
first boat in class finishes) are scored Time Limit Expired
(TLE), one point worse than the last in-window finisher.
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4. SUSTAINMENT / SERVICE SUPPORT
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a. Parking: Not specified in this SI. Prior STYC race-day guidance
was street parking, avoiding any space marked with blue lines —
confirm this still applies for this event.
b. Personal Equipment: Standard PFDs and foul-weather attire
appropriate to forecast conditions. Await the pre-race WARNO for
expected weather.
c. Weather: Await the pre-race WARNO for wind, temperature, and
precipitation expectations; dress and rig for a full day of
multiple races.
d. Post-Race: Awards and raffle at the Shilshole Bay Marina plaza,
1800; awards at 1830, raffle to follow.
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5. COMMAND AND SIGNAL
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a. Command: Team Skipper — Rick Meldrum. All crew and logistics
questions route through the Skipper first.
b. Signal:
(1) On-water: VHF channel 72 (STYC Race Committee).
(2) Skipper contact — email: meldrum.rick@uspatriotsailing.org
| phone: 808-640-7013.
(3) Race Committee / STYC: race@styc.org.
(4) Skippers' Meeting: online, Friday, 11 Sep (time TBD in this
SI — confirm on the race webpage). Attend online or by
phone.
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NOTE: Items to confirm before race day — the eligible helmsperson
for this event, Patriot X's division/class assignment, current STYC
GNOR mark diagram (not included in this SI), exact skippers' meeting
time/link, the pre-race WARNO, and current parking guidance.
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