PART 2 Question 4
If the sailing instructions state that the right-of-way rules of the IRPCAS replace the rules of Part 2, which rules of Part 2 are replaced by which rules of the IRPCAS? Answer 4
All the rules of Part 2 are replaced. Part B of the IRPCAS contains the IRPCAS ‘Steering and Sailing Rules’, which are, in effect, ‘right-of-way rules’. However, Part B of the IRPCAS must be read in conjunction with the whole of the IRPCAS, particularly Part A. For example, many terms used in Part B are defined in Part A1
. Question 5
Is it possible to provide for a wider or narrower range of replacements of right-of-way rules that apply between competing boats? Answer 5
A sailing instruction may only replace all the rules of Part 2 with all the right-of-way rules of the IRPCAS or government rules. Rule 86.1(b) does not permit the sailing instructions to change Part 2, which includes its preamble. Therefore, a wider or narrower range of replacements of right-of-way rules that apply between competing boats is not permitted.
RYA 1989/6 is an example of the need for sailing instructions to specify ‘other documents that govern the event.’ While racing in light winds and an adverse tide, six boats anchored in an area which was marked on a chart as ‘Fishing and anchoring prohibited’, apparently under an Admiralty Regulation. Sigmatic did not anchor, and, believing that the notice on the chart was mandatory and that she had been clearly disadvantaged by not kedging, lodged a protest against them claiming that they had broken rule 2.
The protest committee, in upholding the protest, said that although the sailing instructions did not say that Admiralty Regulations must be complied with, it considered that if the protest were dismissed this decision would indicate that the RYA condoned the disregard of Admiralty Regulations; and that a race committee had no authority to allow boats to anchor in the prohibited area which, by implication, it would be doing by dismissing the protest. The resulting appeal of the six boats was upheld:
Racing is run under the rules, which are defined as the World Sailing racing rules and some World Sailing regulations, the prescriptions of the national authority, class rules, the notice of race, sailing instructions, class rules and any other documents governing the event. Rules J1.1(3) and J2.1(2) say that the ‘other documents governing the event’ shall be listed in the notice of race and the sailing instructions ‘to the extent that they apply’. That this is the intention of the rules is confirmed by rule 48, Fog Signals and Lights; Traffic Separation Schemes. There would be no need for this rule if compliance with IRPCAS etc. were automatically compulsory.
The coasts are dotted with areas subject to special prohibitions. Many oyster fisheries are protected by laws dating back to the Middle Ages, yet these are cited when there is a case between yachtsmen and fishermen. Some regulations are issued as warnings, but it is not always clear whether this is a warning that an infringer may be prosecuted, or a warning that she may be damaged or lose an anchor. Wreck warnings may apply in areas so deep that they will affect deep draught ships but not racing boats. Firing ranges, sewer outfall works, cable laying, mining grounds, archaeological diving positions, prohibited deep channel areas all combine to form an intricate network of permanent and temporary regulations. Some are shown on some charts, others not.
It would be unreasonable to expect a competitor to comply with all these without explicit warning and sailing instructions. When a race committee considers that it is necessary for such regulations to be complied with, it must either list them in the notice of race, stating where or how they may be seen, and list them again in the sailing instructions; or reprint them in the notice of race and in the sailing instructions.
US 83 is to the same effect:
Government buoys marking a security zone are not obstructions unless they fit the terms of the definition Obstruction. Boats may pass such obstructions on either side unless the sailing instructions prohibit sailing inside the security zone. A boat cannot be penalised under the racing rules for violating government regulations unless the sailings instructions make the regulations a rule governing the event.
This raises the question of why boats might want to race under the IRPCAS. It is commonly done for racing at night between specified hours, and when away from the coast in transoceanic races. Its advantage is that any sailing boat encountered, especially at night, is to be treated by the same set of rules. Its disadvantage is that the IRPCAS does not work well for mark-rounding and getting room to tack at the shore. The advantages of using the IRPCAS are less clearcut since 1997 when aggressive luffing disappeared, and collision avoidance became central to the racing rules.
1 RYA The Racing Rules Explained 35
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