Rules Quiz
For an animated version, go to UK-Halsey Rules Quiz,
http://www.ukhalsey.com Quiz #23.
The Situation Two J-109’s are on the downwind leg of a windward-leeward course in about 8 knots of true wind.
Facts Found: Both boats were on port tack with spinnakers set. Red was
approximately 10 feet to windward of Green and there was an intermittent overlap between the boats. The boats were sailing parallel courses with the apparent wind slightly abaft the beam (100-110 degrees). Red decided to gybe so two of her crew members pushed her boom over to the port side of the boat. Red hailed “Starboard Tack” to Green, bore away slowly and gybed. Green gybed to starboard after nearly colliding with Red. Green hailed “Protest” and immediately flew a protest flag. Green protested under Rules 11 and 2.
Conclusions and Rules that apply: Red pointed out that the Sailing Instructions called for an
Arbitration hearing prior to a protest being heard by the Protest Committee and she therefore requested Arbitration. However, Arbitration applies only to the rules of Part 2 “WHEN BOATS MEET” and since Green also protested under Rule 2, Fair Sailing, which is not in Part 2, the protest was referred right to the Protest Committee for a hearing. In the hearing, Red claimed that once her boom crossed the centerline of the boat and was on her port side, she was on starboard tack and that as long as she gave Green room to keep clear, she had right of way under Rule 10. However, the definition of Tack, Starboard or Port clearly states that “A boat is on the tack, starboard or port, corresponding to her windward side”. Since the boats were sailing with an apparent wind of 100-110 degrees blowing over the port side of the boat, Red’s port side was her windward side so she was on port tack. Red referred the Protest Committee to the definition of Leeward and Windward and claimed that her leeward side was the side on which her mainsail and boom were lying. However, since that definition only applies “when sailing by the lee or directly downwind” the Protest Committee disregarded it and concluded that when the incident occurred, Red was on port tack. When Red bore away before gybing, the boats became overlapped and Red was the windward boat. Since Green, the leeward boat, was forced to take action to avoid Red, Red violated Rule 11 and is disqualified. The Protest Committee next took up the issue of Rule 2, Fair Sailing. They noted that ISAF Cases are “authoritative interpretations of the Racing Rules of Sailing” and Case 47 says “A boat that deliberately hails ‘starboard’ when she knows she is on port tack has not acted fairly, and has broken rule 2.” However, the Protest Committee decided that Red had hailed out of ignorance of the rules and not “deliberately” in the meaning of that Case. The Protest Committee did point out to Red that if she had been disqualified under the Fair Sailing rule, the disqualification could not be excluded from her series score. They further mentioned that such a finding sometimes leads to a hearing under Rule 69 (see ISAF Case 47).
48° NORTH, AUGUST 2010 PAGE 60
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