Luffing rules and rights

Thanks

I come to this not looking to luff for luffings sake, as no one wins, but want to be clear on how to react if I find myself in these situations.

For “1”, on the odd occasion when I’ve found myself in this situation, I haven’t noticed any indication that the ‘big boats’ were minded to accept that they were limiting my right to head up – they just held on until they were over me and then sailed on.  "I could have touched”  is a notional argument and doesn’t get you very far.

“2” is less clear to me. Let’s scale it down and this is not now a hot-shot asymmetric, but someone just going faster on the same course. The old rules didn’t allow the undertaking boat to go higher than its proper course. Do the current rules allow for the faster boat to bear up once it’s got an overlap?

Agree subject to proper course.

Classic example is where an Asym or cat is overtaking a slower boat to leeward as that's the way the race track sets out, or perhaps the slow boat is dead running and the cats asyms are reaching down hill, even now I still get calls for "over taking boat keep clear" and "return to your proper course which is DDW".  makes me laugh and cry at the same time.....

In this case, it sounds like the big boat to leeward is being an arse, BUT, I've said it beforee and I'll say it again, I would like to see the views of the ISAF/RYA where a boat to leeward has to head up because of the hole in the wind.

We've already had the discussion  about proper course being "in the absence of the other boat(s)", but I do not think that when this was written the ISAF consideredn the effect of the wind blanket of the windward boat.

My argument if I was leeward would be "The ind shifted and so I had to head up and sheet my kite in"; now as this was BECAUSE of the boat to windward, is the effect of the boat on thw wind a limitation on proper course or not?  If the wind had simply shifted and the other boat was not there, I would have headed up and sheeted in, is the fact that the shift was caused by another boat preclude me from sailing this course.

I'd really like to take this to protest and find out. 

Comments ?  

The call for time and oportunity is an interesting one, I have certainly seen in team racing the winward boat being penalised as they established a windward overlap too close to windward, so they gave themselves no oportunity to keep clear, and the umpires have used the term anticipation when explaining their decision. You may also luff as quickly as you want to, as long as the windward boat has oportunity to respond, Mr 400 will just have to luff hard and flap his kite. He will obviously try it on though with the time and oportunity thing, but if his helm is not down, he is not trying.

The leeward overlap thing is another bug bear when against assymetric boats. Proper course is of course has always been in the absence of other boats, so the wind hole argument is a non starter, as they obviously took it in to account. Having been on both sides of this, I now make sure the assymetric is aware of its rights as it sails into my wind shadow, ie it has no right to make a more than a tiny adjustment if he has come from behind, if he has come from below this is a diferent situation, the strong luff which inevitably does come is a blatant foul. I think as more people have swapped in and out of assymetric boats people are becoming aware of this now.

In handicap racing it is hardly ever fast to use a luff, except to deter a whole line of boats from sailing over you, so positioning is important, look for the clearest lane when you are in the smaller boat, which means looking back as well as forward, the fast boats will be looking for the quickest way past, sometimes it is best to let them have the racing line.

Andy

Unless you're team racing or really need to keep the boat behind you, don't get into luffing matches!!  If a faster boat is going to roll you, and you should really see it coming gybe or get by the lee, keep your wind clear and sail quick.  I see no point in stuffing up a quicker boat they will eventually get passed you and while you fight them you are sailing slowly and giving away time to everyone else.

I have explained this to a guy trying to get involved at a nats on the first run of a 4 lap race with us in 3rd and 4th......extend, extend extend.  In the end I let him through and took him on the next upwind cause he was obseesed with sailing us back into the fleet!