PART 2
Immediately the Laser had gybed, the Dart began her gybe more than three hull lengths from the mark and at around two hull lengths from the Laser1
. On taking her new course, the Laser, ahead and to windward of the
Dart, lost control. She gybed involuntarily, skewed to starboard and then capsized on to her port side so that she lay at right angles to the new course and across the bows of the Dart.
A collision took place about 2-3 seconds after the capsize in which the Laser suffered damage. The protest committee disqualified the Dart under rule 18.2(b) for not giving the Laser sufficient room to pass and gybe, considering the wind conditions and speed differences. The Dart’s appeal was upheld, she was reinstated and the Laser was disqualified.
The second sentence of rule 18.2(b) required the Dart to give mark-room to the Laser, which was clear ahead at the zone, and she did so. That obligation ended when, shortly after position 2, the Laser no longer needed room to leave the mark on the required side. When the Laser then involuntarily altered course and gybed, she became the right-of-way boat under rule 10. She did not give the Dart room to keep clear, and broke rule 16.1 before her capsize and before the collision, for which she was penalised.
Once the Laser had capsized, rule 23 began to apply, requiring the Dart to avoid the capsized Laser, if possible. Given the brief interval between the capsize and the collision, avoidance was not possible. Because rule 23 applied, the rules of Section A such as rule 10 did not – as stated in the the preamble to Section D.
The Dart did not therefore break rule 23. She did break rule 10, but was exonerated under rule 21(a) because she was compelled to break that rule when the Laser broke rule 16.1.
Rule 23 grants a quasi-right of way (or perhaps non-way!) to boats once they have capsized, and to boats that are anchored, aground or trying to give help. The preamble to Section D disapplies Section A rules when rule 23 applies.
Rule 23 does not offer any exoneration for a boat that broke a rule while getting into trouble just because the other boat is now required to avoid her, if possible – and rule 23 applies only to the situations referred to in the rule. When a right-of-way boat breaks rules 15 or 16.1 while out of control, no exoneration applies2
, and that
would not be affected by a subsequent capsize. The same is true when a keep-clear boat breaks a rule of part 2 because she is out of control3
. Nor does a keep-clear boat get any protection because damage limits her ability to manoeuvre. When in SC 61 a port-tack boat’s broken diamond stay prevented her from gybing to keep clear, her appeal against a rule 10 disqualification was dismissed. Apart from the protection given by rule 14, possibly by rule 16.14
, and in some cases by rule 23, the racing rules, like nature, are not kind to wounded animals.
The rule states that a boat is capsized when her masthead is in the water, but the obligation to avoid her continues not just until it is out of the water but until control has been regained. I think this means that all the crew are back on board, and the boat is able to manoeuvre sufficiently to comply with Section A rules.
Rule 24 24.1 24.2 INTERFERING WITH ANOTHER BOAT If reasonably possible, a boat not racing shall not interfere with a boat that is racing.
If reasonably possible, a boat shall not interfere with a boat that is taking a penalty, sailing on another leg or subject to rule 22.1. However, after the starting signal this rule does not apply when the boat is sailing her proper course.
1 Hull lengths of the Laser, which is also the boat whose length is significant as concerns the zone size 2 RYA 1990/6, RYA 1994/4 3 WS 99 4 The room to keep clear to which a keep-clear boat is entitled is the space that she needs in the ‘existing conditions’, and a restricted ability to manoeuvre could be an ‘existing condition’
RYA The Racing Rules Explained 113
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