33. 24-HOUR DISTANCE RUN
Above offshore rules generally apply.
Claims for a record 24-hour run may be made as follows:

a. Timed position reports from the vessel must be GPS positions which are then transmitted onwards to an approved base station or directly to an official observer appointed by WSSRC. The onward transmission shall be via Inmarsat, GPS Argos or another system capable of being polled by the base station. The essential feature is that the timed GPS position reports must be collected and forwarded without any action by the crew of the vessel.

b. The data shall include the time in Coordinated Universal Time (GMT) to the nearest minute and the latitude and longitude to the nearest tenth of a minute.

c. The elapsed time between the two relevant readings shall be 24 hours or less. Owing to the inherent margin of recording by GPS equipment, a reading of 1 minute over the 24 hours is acceptable. The distance sailed will be corrected to 24 hours precisely. Otherwise no extrapolation shall be used.

d. The 24-hour period may begin at any time.

e. For a distance to be ratified as a record, it must be at least one nautical mile greater than the previously ratified record.

f. The GPS status as logged by the US Department of Defense shall be obtained and any corrections or cancellations applied.

g. The equipment on board the vessel shall not be tampered with in any way and any repairs conducted, electrical breakdowns on board etc. must be reported.

h. The person in charge of the vessel should give notice of an impending claim as soon as practicable. After arrival in port the skipper and (unless singlehanded) one other member of the crew shall sign a declaration in a form to be provided by WSSRC. WSSRC will rework the distance over a great circle course between the two approved positions.

i. If the vessel making the claim is taking part in a yacht race, then the organizers must satisfy the WSSRC in advance that the equipment is suitable for the purpose and may then take on the task of monitoring positions, alerting WSSRC to possible records and supplying them with the necessary data.

j. If the vessel making the claim is engaged in an INDIVIDUAL RECORD ATTEMPT (whether or not competing in a yacht race), then the owner or skipper(s) must satisfy WSSRC in advance that the equipment on board is suitable and proper arrangements made. Claims cannot be ratified unless WSSRC has been contacted in advance and arrangements approved. A fee at the time of publication of GBP 1200 is required for ratification.

k. A claim can be made without the use of GPS, using terrestrial observations and in this case Rules 24, 25 and 26 (first paragraph) will apply. The distance sailed must be at least one mile greater than the previous record and the time taken must be exactly 24 hours or less.