PART 2
Then, while sailing within that room or mark-room to which she is entitled, she must have broken one of a number of rules. How can that be? It will be because the other boat is not in fact giving her that space, as defined. The simplest example is under rule 16.1, as already discussed under that rule.
Giving Room when Luffing
Yellow luffs and initially give Blue room to keep clear. Blue responds promptly and is initially keeping clear as required by rule 11. Yellow luffs more, and there is contact with Blue. If between positions 3 and 4 Blue was doing her best to keep clear, by manoeuvring promptly in a seamanlike way, yet was not able to keep clear, then Yellow was not giving her room to keep clear while Blue was sailing within the room to which she was entitled. (Note again also that the failure to keep clear was not at the moment of contact but, as defined, just before when Yellow’s course resulted in the gap becoming too small for Yellow to change course further without immediately making contact.) Whether or not Yellow protests Blue for breaking rule 16.1, she is entitled to believe that her own breach of rule 11 is exonerated. Of course, if there is a protest, a protest committee could later decide that Yellow WAS giving sufficient room, and that Blue’s response had been inadequate, so that rule 21 had not actually operated: but absent a hearing, Yellow’s self-assessment will stand.
4 3 2 1
Here are two examples under rule 15: • Yellow and Blue are close-hauled on port tack, with Yellow ahead and nearby on a course to leeward of Blue. Yellow tacks, believing that she can cross Blue, but she has misjudged, and the moment she is on starboard tack there will be a collision with Yellow unless one or both of them act to avoid contact. Freezing that moment, Blue has right of way under rule 10, and Yellow is breaking rule 10, since she is not keeping clear. However, rule 15 requires Blue initially to give room to Yellow to keep clear, and this Blue has not done. Yellow’s technical and unavoidable breach of rule 10 is exonerated by rule 21.
• Yellow is a dinghy on the starting line shortly before the start, sailing with negligible speed on a starboard tack course. Blue, also on starboard tack but with greater speed comes from astern to a leeward overlap and immediately luffs. Yellow cannot keep clear, even by accelerating, and there is contact. Yellow broke rule 11, but that happened because Blue was required by rule 15 initially to give Yellow room to act to keep clear, and that room would have been the space available before Blue luffed. Again, Yellow’s breach is exonerated by rule 21.
Note that all these are breaches of a Section B rule that cause an excusable breach of a Section A rule. There are then breaches of a Section B rule that cause excusable breaches of the Section B rules 15 or 16, which will often be three-boat situations: • Three boats are overlapped on the same tack. The leeward boat L luffs, M next to her responds promptly and in a seamanlike way, as does W next to M. M is able to keep clear of W, but W is not able to keep clear of M. The room that M is entitled to from L includes, as defined, the space for M to comply with the rules of part 2, which in turn includes space to comply with rule 16.1 with respect to W. L therefore did not give sufficient room to M, and therefore broke rule 16.1. M’s own resulting breach of rule 16.1 with respect to W is exonerated by rule 21.
• US 78, shown and discussed on page 43, is an example of one boat breaking rule 15 with respect to another boat because a third boat broke rule 15 with respect to the first boat.
It will be observed that all these examples are in effect a codification by rule 21 of ‘custom and practice’, since this has always been how the game has been played.
Our hunt for ‘room’ and ‘mark-room’ rules now takes us to Section C. 108 RYA The Racing Rules Explained
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