PART 3
As concerns a seasonal mark that is laid by a contractor on behalf of local clubs, a race committee is entitled to expect that the mark was laid in its intended position, and cannot be expected to check the positions of all marks it might use. If it learns of an error, it should advise competitors.
A caveat concerning the accuracy of mark positions in sailing instructions does not relieve the race committee of its responsibilities. When the race committee learns before a race that any mark is out of position, and does not act on that knowledge when it is possible to do so, this may be an improper omission giving rise to the possibility of redress. When a race committee learns during a race that any mark is out of position, it is required to act under rule 34, if possible. If it is not possible, abandonment under rule 32.1(c) may be appropriate if a mark is so far from its intended position that boats cannot be expected to find its actual position, or can do so only at the expense of changes in position too extensive or unquantifiable to be remedied by redress that is fair for all the fleet.
However, a boat that relies solely on GPS for sailing the course in good conditions is not without fault if she is delayed in arriving at a mark that is not in its correct position but is reasonably near it, and she is not entitled to redress.
What looks like a sensible decision to abandon can be made to look foolish by the revived breeze that is frequently summoned by the sound of three guns. In RYA 1999/8, shortening the shore-started three-lap club race was not possible – there was no vessel in which to go to a mark. The time limit was two hours, the first two laps had been sailed in 40 minutes, but the wind then dropped, and some boats went home. With 55 minutes of the time limit left, the race committee signalled an abandonment from a shore mast. This was neither seen nor heard by the remaining competitors, the wind picked up, and the rest of the fleet reached the finishing line in the time limit. The boat that would have won on handicap requested reinstatement of the finishing scores as redress, which was refused. On the decision being referred, the RYA overturned it, as the abandonment was premature, given the time remaining. In effect, with 55 minutes to go, the possibility of a boat finishing within the time limit could not yet be said to be ‘unlikely’. The RYA went on to say that the decision to abandon so soon would have been equally improper had no boat then crossed the finishing line within the time limit, but that would not result in redress, since in the absence of the abandonment the boats would all have been timed out and would not have had scores for finishing positions.
The power to abandon a race after at least one boat has validly finished is rarely used, and the rule is in effect saying ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ It includes the possibility of doing so when all boats are ashore, unaffected by any time limit, and when this happens, the announcement can be made by a notice – the flag signals are not needed1
. If a race committee is contemplating a post-race abandonment for some reason affecting the fairness of the competition, it might be advisable to refer the matter to the protest committee, which might decide to take it into its own hands and consider redress. It too has the option of abandoning as redress, and rule 64.2 also says ‘Are you sure?’ to the protest committee.
In an unpublished reference of a protest committee decision to the RYA, the race committee of an event in waters controlled by naval authorities was instructed by those authorities to stop a race in progress – the last race of the series – because of an unexpected passage through the course area of a warship. The race committee sent a RIB to the next mark to signal a shortened course, after more than half the race had been sailed. The RIB did not have flag S on board, and so sound signals were made, and all boats had their positions taken and were told to stop racing as they reached the mark. All boats complied, and a finishing order was compiled and posted. The race committee then reviewed its failure to signal the shortening, and decided to abandon the race, and to sail a replacement race. After that extra race, one boat asked for redress in the form of the reinstatement of the published results for the abandoned race. The protest committee refused the request, but the RYA reversed this decision.
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