Five new Interpretations have been issued in accordance with Special Regulation 1.01.5 addressing drinking water, GPS, toilets, resistance to capsize and reserve navigation lights.

The interpretations are published at https://www.sailingresources.org.au/safety/special-regs-interpretations/

The intent of SR 4.11.2 is to ensure there is a secondary GPS device designed and manufactured for a marine environment with the purpose of determining latitude and longitude of the boat, and that can be used independent of the boat’s main power supply in an emergency. A hand-held marine VHF radio that shows the coordinates of the boat may be fit for the intended purpose.

Water makers can be used as an alternative to stored drinking water after starting a race providing the person in charge ensures that there is sufficient water to meet the needs of the crew for the duration of the race. The requirements of SR 3.18 for Water Tanks and Water are under review.

Marine toilets come in many forms. These may be self-contained portable toilets, fixed plumbing systems with holding tanks, or even complex systems that can treat raw sewage. A portable chemical toilet may be used in Category 1 and 2 races if installed in a way that it does not come loose when racing.

For Category 1 races an organising authority will not be able to rely on the IRC certificate alone to confirm resistance to capsize and will need some additional verification that the ISO Category A and STIX has been derived from measurement of the freeboards and righting moment of the actual yacht by a qualified source. For Category 2 races an organising authority could accept the stability information on an IRC certificate to satisfy itself of the yacht’s ISO 12217-2 Design Category A and STIX.

Reserve navigation lights compliant with SR 3.23.4 should be able to be fitted so as to show the required coloured light over the prescribed arc and range specified in the IRPCAS as closely as is practicable.