A few nationals ago, to save time measuring, we asked competitors to sign a declaration that their boat complied with the rules, including the rule which requires you to have the boat number on the side of the hull. Once registration was closed I walked through the dinghy park and found at least 18 boats which had been declared compliant but did not have their number. Why is this important? If a boat capsizes and the crew is taken off the boat in an emergency situation there is no way another rescue boat can see the sail number. A call to see if the crew is safe is almost useless unless you know which boat it is. If the boat has the number on the side it largely solves the problem. We also encourage the use of a yellow ribbon tied by the rescue boat to the forestay to indicate the crew has been taken.

One of the things that will be inspected at this year's Nationals will be do you have the number on the side of the boat? Its a good idea to do it permanently but a temporary solution is to write it on duct tape. It also helps us identify you as you go through the finish line.

By the way did you know if you are using a sail on the boat which has a different number to the boat, you should enter under the boat number and request to use a different sail number. As one who has taken many finishes it is most confusing to find you have a boat in the results which did not enter and another boat which signed on but didn't appear in the results. This usually starts a search which holds up sailing. If you make a note at entry time the club can advise the Race Officer and it helps all round.