Organizing Authority:
Galveston Bay Cruising Association.

Event Description:
This is the third edition of a biennial regatta from Galveston to South Padre Island, organized by the Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA).
Competitors should expect to complete the 240 nautical mile course within two and a half days. A driving distance from Houston of only 6 hours and availability of inexpensive air fares between Houston Brownsville and Harlingen gives sailors and families the opportunity to enjoy a vacation together, spend a day in Schlitterbahn, visit the Mexican border town of Matamoros or simply enjoy the beautiful white sand and blue water beaches of south Padre Island.

Rules:
The regatta will be governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2005-2008 including US SAILING Prescriptions, the current Offshore Racing Council (ORC) Special Regulations for monohulls, Category 3 with Life Raft and Special Regulations for multihulls, Category 3 without Life Raft . Life rafts need not have a canopy or insulated floor, the International Rules for Prevention of Collision at Sea (COLREGS), PHRF of Galveston Bay rules, ORC Club handicap rules and by this Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions. GBCA reserve the right to amend this Notice of Race and Rules by the Sailing Instructions.

Any vessel with coated life lines may submit a petition to waive Rule 3.14.6 (ORC) Lifeline Minimum Diameters, Required Materials, Specifications. Your petition should have proper documentation and proof of when was the last time your life lines were replaced.

Eligibility:
The regatta is open to any sailing yacht which is of a thoroughly sea going type, strongly built and rigged, fully seaworthy, and meeting the standards set forth herein. Cruising yachts meeting equipment standards are encouraged to participate. Entry of yachts below 27' foot in length will be subject to approval of the Regatta Race Committee.

Skipper:
The Skipper of the yacht is the person actually in charge of the yacht and crew while the yacht is racing. Unless specifically designated to the contrary in writing by the owner or Charterer, the owner or Charterer will be considered the Skipper. The safety of a yacht is the sole and inescapable responsibility of the Skipper who must assure that the yacht is fully sound, thoroughly seaworthy and manned by an experienced crew who are physically fit. The Skipper of a yacht must be satisfied as to the soundness of the hull, spars, rigging, sails, and all gear. The Skipper must assure that all equipment is properly maintained and stowed and that the crew knows where it is kept and how it is to be used. Neither the establishment of equipment regulations nor any inspection of a yacht in any way limits the complete and unlimited responsibility of the yacht's skipper. It is the sole and exclusive responsibility of the Skipper and crew of a yacht to decide whether or not to start or continue a race.

Ratings and Handicaps:
Handicaps will be calculated for a course of 240 nautical miles. A signed copy of the yacht's year 2007 Galveston Bay PHRF certificate will be mandatory for all PHRF classes, an ORC certificate will be mandatory for every vessel that wishes to race in the ORC classes, except the motor class and Multihulls. A PHRF certificate will be issued to every vessel who wishes to enter this regatta. Multihulls will be rated by a club handicap.

Motor Class:
The Motor Class is open to any vessel that wishes to participate in this regatta as an observer.

SINGLE/DOUBLE HANDED
The single double handed class will be governed by the SOS-TX rules.

Jalapeño Class:
The Jalapeño Class is open to any vessel or individual with the right stuff to party. A vessel in the Jalapeño class will be scored by the race committee based on their show of good partyship while in South Padre. To enter the jalapeño Class, you will be required to carry a handheld GPS, a flashlight, a digital camera and pen and paper. A vessel in the Jalapeño Class can belong to another class.

Entry:
Entries shall be made on the Official Entry Form and shall be accompanied by an exact copy of the valid Galveston Bay PHRF Rating Certificate or an ORC certificate and entry fee. A vessel without a current PHRF certificate shall register no later that May 11 to be able to participate.

Entry Fee: $125 plus $3 per foot for docking.
Deadline: Sunday May 13, 18:00
GBCA Member take $10 off.

Competitors may enter by delivering a completed entry form and check to the Seabrook Post Office Box 122 before 18:00 Sunday, May 13. For entries postmarked after May 13, 2007 the registration fee is $150.
There is NO LATE REGISTRATION for boats without a current PHRF certificate.
Last day to register is May 25. GBCA members will be entitled to a $10.00 discount.

Motor Class entry fee is a donation of $50.
Entries and fees can be mail to Race to the Border, PO Box 122 Seabrook TX 77586
Make checks payable to GBCA

Entry fees will be refunded if the entry is withdrawn prior to the entry deadline.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Saturday, March 24th.
Kick off party at HSH Yachts, 2pm
Food, drinks and door prizes.
Thursday May 24th.
Safety Seminar at GBCA Club House, 7pm
Thursday May 31st.
Skipper's meeting at GBCA Club House. 7pm
Saturday June 2nd.
Start of Race, Bolivar Roads - Marker # 11 at 4pm
Monday June 4th.
17:00 -Welcome party at South Point Marina. Sponsored by Laguna Madre Yacht Club
Tuesday June 5th.
Noon - Lunch and pool Party at the Sheraton Hotel
17:00 - Sunset dinner and Blue Water's Barn Burner Bon Fire party. Sand dunes at north side of island.
Wednesday June 6th.
12:00 Deadline to return Jalapeño Class passports
18:00 - Banquet and Trophy presentation. Sheraton Hotel.
Thursday June 7th.
Bon voyage dock party
Return to Galveston

Safety Seminar:
Each yacht is encouraged to be represented by a crew member at the Safety Seminar Meeting to be held at 19:00 hours in the GBCA office on Thursday, May 24th. Prizes will be awarded.

Skipper's Meeting:
Each yacht shall be represented at the Skippers' Meeting to be held at 19:00 hours in the GBCA office on Thursday, May 31st. 2007. Any changes to the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions or Rules will be announced at the meeting. These changes shall govern.

Sailing Instructions:
Preliminary Sailing Instructions will be available on the web site. Final Sailing Instructions will be available at skippers meeting.

Start/Course/Finish:
Races will start in Galveston in the proximity of channel marker #11 in Bolivar Roads, in the event that we have too many boats, the start line will be move to the Flagship Hotel.

From starting line go east and turn south leaving marker # 5A at the end of the south jetty to starboard.

The following markers should be left to starboard:

Freeport Sea Buoy, RW "FP" Mo (A) WHIS Racon
Aransas Pass Sea Buoy RW "AP" Mo (A) WHIS Racon
South Padre Sea Buoy RW "BS" Mo (A) WHIS at Brazos Santiago Pass.

Thence to the finish line inside the jetties at the following location. 26° 04.164N 097° 09.469W. The finish line is a straight line extending from the monument of Christ on the north shore to the south shore on a bearing of 205°. The Statue of Christ is visible from the water and it is lighted at night. Yachts are required to report to the Race Committee when they are about 2 miles from the sea buoy on the Brazos Santiago Pass, on VHF channel 67. Race committee will acknowledge. In the event that you are finishing and can not reach the race committee by VHF, Yachts shall continue to the finish line and take their time, by GPS. If finishing at night, vessels should shine a light on the sail number.

Equipment:
Yachts entered in the regatta must be equipped in accordance with ISAF Offshore Special Regulations for Race Category 3 with Life Raft (available at http://www.orc.org). Life rafts need not have a canopy or insulated floor, for monohulls and Category 3 without life raft for multihulls.
Recent amendments to the Special Regulations are available athttp://www.ussailing.org/safety/ISAF/cat3_0607mono.htm. Note should be made to 3.14.6 Lifeline Minimum Diameters, Required Materials, Specifications
a) All lifelines shall be stranded stainless steel wire of minimum diameter in table 8 below. Lifelines shall be uncoated and used without close-fitting sleeving.
Notwithstanding 3.14.6 (a), temporary sleeving may be fitted provided it is regularly removed for inspection

Sufficient fuel for running 60 nautical miles shall be on board at the start.

Special Requirements for Multihulls: Any multihull which does not meet the lifelines requirements for Cat 3, is required to have every crew member permanently harness to the vessel. Jack lines should be install in such a way that a member of the crew can move freely about the deck without having to unclip his harnees.

Other Regulations:
If the engine is operated for propulsion in an emergency while racing, the details of the operation shall be logged and reported to the Race Committee. If you use your motor it should not be operated in any way that advances the boat in the direction of the course.

Non-Spinnaker Class yachts shall fly only one headsail at a time. Flashers, bloopers, cruising, or other spinnakers are prohibited. Yachts normally rigged for staysails and for mizzen staysails are permitted to fly same.

The use of autopilots is prohibited while racing, except for the Motor class or the SOS-TX rules for Single/Double handed class.

Protests and Penalties:
Protests must be given verbally to the Regatta Race Committee as soon as possible after finishing and must be filed in writing within six hours after the finish of the protesting yacht. A foul at the start shall be subject to a minimum penalty of 30 minutes added to the corrected time of the infringing yacht. At the discretion of the Regatta Race Committee, other infractions of the rules may result in the assessment of time penalties rather than disqualification. The Regatta Race Committee will be located at the Sheraton Hotel in South Padre Island.

Docking and Anchoring:
Sea Ranch Marina II also known as South Point Marina in Port Isabel will be the official Docking facility for this regatta. Boats arriving in the Marina will dock on the 1000' foot bulkhead and open slips. We will also raft boats together in the Shrimp boat basin past the marina and the commercial docks on the west side of the marina. The docking fee is already included in your registration. There is no guarantee of shore power. If you wish to Anchor, you can safely anchor north of marker #4. There is no longer a fuel pump at South Point Marina, the fuel dock is 1/3 mile north on the intracoastal waterway across the marina with a water depth of 10 feet. The marina has slips available. If you want to reserve a slip you will have to pay the normal fee, however, it doesn't exonerate you from your registration fee unless previous arrangements have been made with the race organizers.

Note: Sea Ranch Marina I in South Padre Island does not have transient slips; the water depth at the entrance is 5 1/2 feet.

Trophies:
A list of trophies will be in the Sailing Instructions. You must race under ORC handicap to be eligible to the Marion Hayes perpetual trophy.

Download Entry Form