From the Protest Desk

by Dave Cobbett

A couple of interesting protests lately:

1 – Two boats – call them Blue and Red. Time of incident – about 15-30 seconds pre-start. Location of incident – about midway between RC boat and pin, and about ½ to 1 boatlengths below the line. Both boats on starboard. Blue was ahead and to windward. Red overtook Blue, obtaining a slight overlap on Blue. Red called Blue up, and Red responded slightly, then bore off again. Red again called “up”. At this point, Blue turned up, and the action of turning swiveled her transom such that her outboard motor propeller hit Red’s starboard hull between mast and prow. Red protested Blue under Rule 11 “On the same tack, overlapped”

Question: Was a rule broken here ? Did Blue (windward) fail to keep clear of Red after Red obtained an overlap from astern ? Did Red break Rule 15 “Acquiring right of way” and 16.1 “Changing course” by not giving Blue room to keep clear ?

The Protest Committee had to decide whether Blue had failed to keep clear of the leeward boat, or whether Red, in luffing up (changing course) had got so close to Blue that Blue could not respond without contacting Red.

The Protest Committee decided that the principal rule broken was 16.1 “When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear”. Inasmuch as Blue, in attempting to keep clear, could not do so without her outboard striking Red’s hull, it was actually Red who broke a rule. The Protest Committee therefore disqualified Red, even though Red had lodged the protest in the first place.

2 – The second situation involves 3 boats on a downwind leg….Boats,A,B and C. There are several stages to this protest situation.

Stage a
- Boat A – clear ahead and outside leeward boat.

- Boat B – clear astern and to windward of Boat A
- Boat C – clear astern and to windward of Boat B.

Stage b – Boat B overtakes Boat A to windward, and Boat C overtakes Boat B to windward, each establishing an overlap.

Stage c – Boat A calls to Boat B to luff up, whereupon Boat B calls to Boat C to also head up and keep clear.

At this point, Boat C refused to luff up, claiming that Boat B had no overlap. Consequently, Boat A protested Boat B for failing to keep clear, and Boat B protested Boat C for the same reason. There was no contact between any of the boats.

Boat B’s protest of Boat C was the only one recorded as received by the Protest Committee.

The protest was ruled invalid by the Protest Committee Chairman, on the grounds that a red cap was displayed, not a red flag., and that too long a time had elapsed before the cap was displayed. Racing Rules of Sailing Rule 61.1.a states “shall conspicuously display a red flag……..”. Nevertheless, this is how the rules might apply in this case.

Stage a: each boat is clear of the other.

Stage b: Now Boat B must keep clear of Boat A, and Boat C must keep clear of Boat B.

Stage c: Boat A is perfectly within her rights to luff Boat B, and as Boat B luffs in response, Boat C must keep clear of Boat B. Of  course, the boats that are luffing must give the windward boats time and opportunity to keep clear.

Now Boat C refuses to respond to Boat B’s luff, claiming no overlap. Yet Boat B claims that she had to pull in her jib which was flying on the starboard side, lest it hit Boat C’s port spreader. This strongly suggests that Boat C was NOT clear ahead, and definitely vulnerable to B’s luff (Rule 11).

Rule 17 “Proper Course” does not apply here, since Boat B overtook A to windward, and C overtook B to windward – not leeward.

Rule 15 applies:”When a boat acquires right of way, she shall initially give the other boat room to keep clear, unless she acquires right of way because of the other boat’s actions.”  In this case, Boat A acquired right of way when overtaken to windward by Boat B, and Boat B acquired right of way when overtaken to windward by Boat C – other words, both A and B acquired right of way by another boat’s actions.

So, did Boat C keep clear of Boat B ? Judging from the diagram accompanying the protest, all three boats could easily fetch the next mark, with Boat C needing to move downwind a bit so as not to overstand. But there was no real reason why Boat C could not keep clear of Boat B., at least not in terms of “proper course”.. The rules state that it’s not necessary to have contact in order for a boat to be found to have not kept clear.


However, in the absence of a protest by Boat A, really the principal factor in causing B’s protest, and the lack of a timely and official red flag hoisting, and the lack of contact or damage,the Protest Committee would likely have concurred with the decision to invalidate Boat B’s protest of Boat C.

Best regards,

Dave Cobbett

Judging and Protest Committee Seminar

Are you interested in honing your skills as member of a protest committee, or just learning the basics of what happens at a hearing?

If so, then come to a seminar to be held by Dave Cobbett

Date: Saturday May 7

Time: 9:30 am to 12:00 noon

Place: the HYC Clubhouse

See you there!

Interesting Protest at Fruitbowl

By Dave Cobbett
The question frequently arises, within the zone at a leeward mark: “Does starboard gybe boat have rights over port gybe ?” The following Fruit Bowl protest helps settle the question.
Boats B and C are close together on port gybe, with the 3-length zone, and about to round the right-hand gate mark (looking downwind). Boat C is the inside boat, clearly overlapped inside B.
Boat A comes in at a fairly wide angle on starboard gybe, from the left side of the course (looking downwind), entering the zone after B and C. Boats B and C have been overlapped inside Boat A for several boatlengths prior to entering the zone.
Boat A calls “Starboard”, then collides with B(still on port gybe), who in turn is forced into C(still on port). The boats swing momentarily in a counter-clockwise arc.
Boat C rounds the mark, hitting it as he goes, and does his penalty turns.
Boat A protests B, on Rule 10 (starboard over port).

Decision: The Protest Jury disqualified Boat A on a couple of counts.
1 – Rule 14 – Avoiding collision
2 – Rule 18.2.b – Mark Room. The new Rule 18 helps clear some confusion. Under the old Rule 18, if Port (P) entered the zone clear ahead of Starboard (S), P became the right-of-way boat while they were rounding the mark. Having the port gybe boat become the right-of-way boat was very confusing.
Under the new rules, S remains the right-of-way boat, but must give P “mark room” (see Rule 18.2.b). In this case, Boat B, having an inside overlap on A, was entitled to ‘mark room”, as was Boat C. In fact Boat C could have protested Boats A and B…… B for not keeping clear, and A for not giving mark room.
Here, Boat B would have been exonerated for hitting C, having been forced into C by Boat A, which was breaking a rule. Boat C did not need to do penalty turns, since she would have also been exonerated by virtue of being forced into the mark by Boat A, which was breaking a rule.

Hook Finishes - Request for Redress WS June 30th

Tuesday June 30th was an eventful race with the Race Committee striving to get a race off in between two storm fronts while dealing 90 degree wind shifts. The finish turned out to be more exciting than anyone expected, with 4 boats requesting redress after the event.

Comment on White Sail race June 30
Request for Redress Hearing July 1,2009
Panel: David Cobbett – Chairman, Alan Gray, Frank Clarke

An interesting protest situation ! To review the facts found, as determined by the Protest Committee.
1 – at the Finish Line, the Race Committee (RC) opted to align the Finish Line at right angles to the wind, which at this point was blowing from right to left across the course (as viewed from the leeward mark)
2 – the race was not shortened.
3 – the Course Board indicated that the leeward pin, which was to become the Finish Pin, was to be left to starboard.
4 – several boats, confused by the orientation of the Finish Line and by the Course Board instruction to leave the Finishing mark to starboard, did NOT cross the Line from the direction of the previous mark, but finished in “hook” fashion, thereby crossing the Finishing Line from the wrong side.

Comments:

1 – the RC, while departing from normal practice of laying the Finish Line at right angles to the Course (rhumb line), did not commit an “improper action” as such. To quote ISAF’s Question & Answer Service – Q&A 2009-016, “as long as the line clearly is at an angle to the course from the last mark, the definition Finish gives the correct finishing direction, irrespective of what side the finishing vessel is situated”. All four boats requesting redress felt that the Finishing Line was obvious, even if at a considerable variance from the “normal” orientation.

2 – inasmuch as the race was not shortened, it was evident that the Finishing Line would incorporate the leeward pin as a finishing mark.

3 – relying again on the above Q&A 2009-016, “had the RC issued a sailing instruction that required the boats to cross the finishing line from the wrong direction, that would have been an improper action, and redress could have been considered. See ISAF Case 45”.
By virtue of requiring boats to leave the finish mark to starboard, the RC thereby issued an improper instruction, so four Requests for Redress were considered.

4 – the RC’s intentions were not clear. In questioning the Bosun and the RC Chairman, it appeared that they expected that finishing boats would understand that they were to pass astern of the RC boat, then cross the line. One boat finished correctly according the RRS definition, but was not called over. A couple of other boats tried other tracks, but were not called over either. The RC compounded the problem by not taking the times of the boats in question when they first crossed the line from either direction, plus subsequent crossings.This made it impossible to grant redress, since the Protest Committee had no time basis to work from in establishing a finishing position by way of Redress.

Recommendation:

1 – RC’s should strive to avoid improper instructions, e.g. “hook finishes” or “buttonhook” mark roundings.

2 – There is no longer any ambiguity in the RRS definition of Finish, that being:

“A boat finishes when any part of her hull, or crew or equipment in normal position, crosses the finishing line in the direction of the course from the last mark, either for the first time or after taking a penalty under Rule 44.2, or after correcting an error made at the finishing line, under Rule 28.1.”

3 – In the case of a shortened course, the leeward mark is now a finishing mark rather than a rounding mark, and boats must cross the finishing line in the direction of the course from the last mark in accordance with the definition Finish.

“Barging” on the Start line - Don't do it

Dave Cobbett forwarded this intersting article by Greg Chisholm, with diagrams by Paul Pascoe from Yachting Victoria

Barging at the start line is a very poor strategy, it is unprofessional and is totally illegal.

What is “barging”

Barging is approaching the starting line from a point to windward of the lay-line of the starboard or committee boat end of the line.
In the diagram, the blue and red boats are on the layline to the committee boat. The green and yellow boats are windward boats and are required to keep clear.

What is wrong with “barging”

In order to sail through the start line the barging yacht must sail at less than close hauled. Any yachts with an overlap to leeward (i. e. forward of a line projecting to leeward from the transom, hence nearly all the fleet) have right of way and can push the barging boat to windward. This will cause the barging boat have to sail to windward of the windward end of the start line and miss the start. That can be extremely dangerous if there is no barging buoy.

Note the overlapped boat can push the barging boat as high as head to wind, as long as enough room and opportunity is given. The barging boat has to respond immediately.

If you are thinking of barging - don’t

As you will put yourself in an indefensible position. At best, you may find a hole on the second or third row, at worst, you will be pushed to windward of the start-line and miss the start completely.

Read the full article at

http://www.vic.yachting.org.au/default.asp?Page=1701&MenuID=YV+Committees%2F13186%2F0%2CRacing+Rules%2F1027%2F0%2CArticles%2F1068%2F0%2F

RRS 2009 - 2013 Rule Changes

On January 1, 2009, the new edition of The Racing Rules of Sailing went into effect. The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) govern the sport on the water. They are revised and published every four years by the International Sailing Federation. It is now time to purchase your new rule book and study the changes which have taken place from the previous version. You will not get much sympathy from the protest committee if you are not aware of the significant changes which have taken place to the mark rounding rule (rule18). Copies of the new rule book are available for purchase from the Club Office.

Confused by what this means then take a look at the following, it will help you understand what the game changes are and prepare you for the season ahead.

The following article is reproduced from SCUTTLEBUTT (www.sailingscuttlebutt.com)

Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors, providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. This article by Dave Perry, Chairman of the US SAILING Appeals Committee, explains some of the game changes that the new rules will create.

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0108/

Other Resources

For full details of the RRS visit the ISAF Website

http://www.sailing.org/racingrules.php

From this page you can download the Racing Rules of Sailing as a complete version or in individual sections, view details of Rule 42 interpretations, the ISAF Casebook and Fleet Race Sailing Instructions and Notice of Race Guides.

There are also plenty of blogs out there too such as Butch Ulmer's discussion of the new rules changes which also includes illustrations and quizzes that to help your understanding.

http://www.ukhalsey.com/blog/default.aspx

Rule 17.2 (On the Same Tack; Proper Course) has been deleted.

This means that a windward boat or a boat clear ahead no longer has a proper course limitation when sailing near other boats. She can sail below her proper course if she wishes, for instance to make it more difficult for a boat astern to pass or establish an inside overlap nearing a mark. Windward boats must still keep clear of leeward boats under rule 11 (On the Same Tack, Overlapped).

New three length zone; no more “about to round a mark.”

The previous rule 18 (which is the rule for rounding or passing marks and obstructions) began to apply when boats were “about to round or pass the mark or obstruction.” Though this was a useful, self-adjusting criteria given the varying speeds and levels of boat handling in the wide spectrum of boats and conditions that are raced under, it was also very vague and almost arbitrary. The new rules now create a definitive location where rule 18 begins to apply. It is when the boats reach the Zone, which is now three lengths from the mark (see definition Zone; note that sailing instructions can change the Zone to two or four lengths; and team and match racing are staying with two lengths, and radio-controlled boats are staying with four).



The game change here is that even if the boats are approaching the mark quickly and/or have a lot of sail handling to perform before rounding the mark, outside right-of-way boats do not need to start giving room until they or the inside boat reaches the Zone. However, outside boats are required to give the room the moment either of them reaches the Zone, so they must be ready for that obligation. And for boats clear ahead of others, they are “safe” from being overlapped on the inside when they reach the Zone, which is now three lengths from the mark, not two as in the previous rules.

A new definition called Mark-Room.

Instead of saying “room at the mark,” there is a new concept called “mark-room” (see definition Mark-Room). In fact, it is not entirely new; the previous rule 18 contained a definition of room at a mark or obstruction that has now been incorporated into the new definition. “Mark-room” is the space a boat needs to sail “to” the mark in a seamanlike way; and then when she’s “at” the mark, the space she needs to sail her proper course around the mark. The primary difference is that the previous rules did not specifically require outside right-of-way boats to give inside boats room to sail “to” the mark, though most outside boats did so anyway. Once a boat gets to the point where she needs to turn around the mark, she can sail her fastest course from that point on (i.e., her proper course), which will normally be to smoothly turn around the mark passing as close as she dare. There is not much game change here.

New rule 18 cleans up some confusion caused in the previous rule 18.

In the previous rule 18, if a boat on port-tack (P) reached the two-length zone clear ahead of a boat on starboard-tack (S), P became the right-of-way boat while they were in the act of rounding the mark. Having the port-tack boat be the right-of-way boat was very confusing. Under the new rules, S remains the right-of-way boat but must give P “mark-room” (see rule 18.2(b)). Also, under the previous rules, if a boat outside of two others entered the zone but then needed to sail back out to give the inside boats room, it was not clear whether rule 18 turned off for that boat (call it X) when it left the zone, such that boats astern that became overlapped on the inside when X reentered the zone were entitled to room. Under the new rule 18, it turns off when a boat leaves the zone for any reason, including giving room to inside boats (see rule 18.2(c)). However, with the new larger zone, it will be possible to remain in the zone longer while still giving room.

Rule 18.4 (gybing at a leeward mark) does not apply at a gate mark.

This may be the biggest “game change” in the new rules. When a leeward “gate” is being used (two leeward marks close to one another that boats pass between and exit in either direction), rule 18.4 does not apply (see rule 18.4). That means that when a boat is approaching a gate mark on the inside with right of way over other boats (and assuming that rule 17 does not apply; i.e., she did not become overlapped from clear astern which would require her to not sail above her proper course), she does not need to gybe to sail her proper course around that mark for as long as she remains the right-of-way boat. She may sail farther from the mark than needed to sail her proper course, even if she has no intention of sailing over to the other gate mark. She might do this because she is having difficulty lowering her spinnaker, or because she wants to push the outside boat outside of the zone or over to the other mark. Outside keep-clear boats will need to keep clear of her under rules 10 (port/starboard) or 11 (windward/leeward). The take-away here is, more than ever, outside boats should not have their bows “locked” outside of boats they are giving room to or keeping clear of at marks.

No more zones around “obstructions.”

Because the previous rule 18 applied at marks and obstructions, it created a two-length zone around every obstruction (such as other boats on the starting line or starboard tackers upwind). If boats were not overlapped before they were two lengths from these obstructions, inside boats were technically not entitled to room from outside boats. In reality however, most sailors did not consider the overlap situation at each zone as they reached down the starting line with everything happening very quickly. The new rules remove “zones” from all obstructions by breaking the old rule 18 into two new rules (rule 18 for rounding marks and rule 19 for passing obstructions). Under new rule 19, if boats are overlapped when they get to an obstruction, outside boats must give inside boats room to pass the obstruction, even if they weren’t overlapped before arriving at the obstruction. The only test for an inside boat establishing an overlap between an outside boat and an obstruction (other than a continuing obstruction) is whether the outside boat is able to give the inside boat room from the time the overlap is first established (see rule 19.2(b)). This does not represent a big game change.



But there will however be a small change on the starting line in the situation where a boat astern is considering sailing in between two boats that are luffing side by side. Right-of-way boats in a race can still be “obstructions” but in the new rules they are never “continuing” obstructions (see definition Obstruction). This will change the “test” for whether a boat astern can establish an overlap between two other boats. Under the previous rules, on the starting line a boat astern (B) could establish an overlap between a leeward boat (L) – which was the obstruction - and a windward boat (W) only if there was room for her to pass all the way between them in safety (windward boats used to let their booms hang out to leeward to narrow this space). The “test” under the new rules however is whether W can give B room to keep clear of L from the time the overlap begins (see rule 19.2(b)). It will still be tough for B to put her bow into a tight space because B has to initially give W room to keep clear when she becomes overlapped to leeward of W (rule 15), and give her room to keep clear if she then luffs (rule 16). But, if W can respond and create the space B needs, B is entitled to be there. The same will be true on a downwind leg when B approaches two boats ahead (L and W).

Rule 20 (Room to Tack at an Obstruction) has a small but important change.

Rule 20 is previous rule 19; it is the rule that allows a boat to call for room to tack at an obstruction and requires the hailed boat to respond in one of two specific ways. The rule prohibits a boat from hailing when safety does not require her to make a substantial course change to avoid the obstruction, or if the obstruction is a mark that the hailed boat is fetching (see rule 20.3). However, it now states that when a boat is hailed, she *must respond* by tacking or hailing “You tack” (see rule 20.1(b)), even when the hailing boat has hailed when she is not allowed to under rule 20.3 (see above). This is for safety. To be clear, if the hailed boat thinks the hail is not allowed, she must still respond; if she doesn’t, she breaks rule 20.1(b) and will be penalized. After responding, she can then protest the hailing boat, who should then be penalized for breaking rule 20.3.