Laser Start?

Finish A boat finishes when any part of her hull, or crew or equipment in

normal position, crosses the finishing line in the direction of the course from the last mark, either for the first time or after taking a penalty under rule 44.2 or, after correcting an error made at the finishing line, under rule 28.1.

According to that definition, on many club courses, a boat would 'finish' before sailing the second lap. Has ISAF become completely divorced from club sailing around the cans?

Race Officers cannot disqualify a boat - they can only give the penalties laid out in Rule A5, which are limited to incidents at the start or finish line.

If it is alleged that a boat has  not sailed the correct course then a hearing is required (see rule 28.1).

If the Race Committee does disqualify a boat incorrectly then the boat is entitled to redress because of the incorrect action of the committee. The redress hearing will only be deciding if the RC's action was correct. The competitor should be reinstated. If the RC then protests they would have to explain why the protest is outside the time limit. "Because we don't know the rules" should not be an adequate excuse.

Gordon

Originally posted by RS400atC Originally posted by gordon The race committee not recording a boat as a finisher when she has finished wouold be grounds for redress,......Gordon To finish you have to sail the course and cross the line, so if you see them not sail the (correct) course, they are DNF It happens often enough at my club, people write the course down wrong or go to the wrong buoy in RTC racing, there is rarely any dispute that it was their mistake. Done it myself, it was the crew's fault!

Originally posted by gordon The race committee not recording a boat as a finisher when she has finished wouold be grounds for redress,......Gordon

To finish you have to sail the course and cross the line, so if you see them not sail the (correct) course, they are DNF It happens often enough at my club, people write the course down wrong or go to the wrong buoy in RTC racing, there is rarely any dispute that it was their mistake.

The race committee not recording a boat as a finisher when she has finished wouold be grounds for redress, as it is contraryto rule A5. By the time that you have "had a word" with competitor time limit might well have been reached and the RC protest might well be found invalid.

There are ISAF guidelines on what a RC and judges would protest - somewhere in the manuals. Roughly speaking anything that smacks of unfair sailing should be protested (including hitting a mark and sailing on.
Increasingly judges are being asked to more pro-active - commonly by signalling that they believe that they have seen an infringement. Any such request from a class association or organising club would be studied. I would advocate informing competitors.

Gordon