INTRODUCTION Dick Rose writes...
Racing sailboats is distinctly different from most of the sports we played at school in that almost never are there umpires or referees out on our field of play enforcing the rules. Instead, everyone who races a boat has important obligations – • To learn the rules. • To comply with the rules. • To enforce the rules.
When a dispute arises that is not settled on the water by one boat accepting a penalty, we are expected to protest and argue our case under the rules in the resulting protest hearing.
There are a variety of books available to help learn the rules. Some are very basic – just short booklets with diagrams illustrating the most common situations in which boats meet and showing which boat has right of way and which boat must keep clear. Others are more advanced and thorough – covering each Part 2 rule and some other rules with discussion of several situations in which it applies. These books include references to the World Sailing Cases and to a particular national authority’s appeals.
RYA The Racing Rules Explained by Trevor Lewis is distinctly different from other books on the racing rules. It fills a void that has existed since 2001 when Mary Pera passed away and an up-to-date version of her much admired book, The Yacht Racing Rules, a complete guide, was no longer available. Trevor’s book is now the only book available that has the following useful features:
• It covers each racing rule, from rule 1 through to the last numbered rule, rule 92. • It includes very thorough coverage of the rule interpretations made in the World Sailing Cases, the appeals published by three national authorities – the Royal Yachting Association, US SAILING and Sail Canada (SC), and even some of the World Sailing Match Racing and Team Racing Calls.
• Its references to cases, appeals and calls are all to the latest versions of those interpretations.
A serious competitor or judge who wants to be thoroughly prepared for a hearing, whether for a protest, a request for redress or a rule 69 hearing, will be well served by this book.
Many of us who work on the arcane task of writing the racing rules for sailing refer to a person with a deep understanding and interest in the rules as a ‘rulie.’ I have had the pleasure of working with Trevor for several years. We both are members of the World Sailing Case Book Working Party and we have also served on other special working parties tasked with improving particular parts of the rulebook. Trevor stands out among ‘rulies’ as one who has a special talent for applying the rules when a situation crops up that the rest of the ‘rulie’ community has never seen before. He thinks outside the box, often producing unique new ways of explaining how a rule works. And he’s not shy – he defends his positions with vigour and humour, rather like a bulldog tugging on a favourite toy while wagging his tail.
I am confident that each of you who read this book, no matter how well you knew the racing rules before you began, will gain new and deeper insights into the workings of the rules.
Dick Rose is a member of World Sailing Racing Rules Committee, and the Chairman of both the World Sailing Racing Rules Working Party and the World Sailing Case Book Working Party. Within US Sailing, Dick is a member and the Secretary of its Racing Rules Committee (having been its Chairman for 12 years), and a member of its Appeals Committee.
RYA The Racing Rules Explained 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256
