Sailing the wrong course

Asterix - the request for redress would be on the basis that Race Committee made an error by not following rule A5. ISAF case 80 gives guidance.

The boat had been improperly scored DNF because the Race Committee did not have the right to do so as the incident did not involve starting or finishing. As there is no protest against the boat for not sailing the correct course she cannot be disqualified for doing so.


Noah -  the Race Committee acted improperly - they should have recorded finish times and protested the boats that they allege did not sail the proper course. It may well be that the SIs were at fault, and that boats did sail the course described in the SIs, even if this was not the course the Race Committee intended them to sail. So boats may well be entitled to redress. As it is if a boat had requested redress she and all the other DNF boats would have been granted redress and reinstated in their finishing positions.

Gordon

Surely not going through the line, if it is in the instructions to do so, is the same as missing a mark? If someone has sailed the wrong course and agree they have, they should retire. If they say they sailed the correct course, then they need to be protested by whoever it is says they sailed the wrong couse, whether it is a competitor or the race officer.
I confess it doesn't happen that way at our club. Generally if outside of the line you'll get shouted at loudly by someone in the box, and come back and do it right. This is probebly against the rules, too, in some way.

Sounds like outside help to me. Probably acceptable in a friendly club race.

Gordon

Originally posted by gordon Sounds like outside help to me. Probably acceptable in a friendly club race.Gordon

41(d) surely...

It seems quite simple. If a boat does not cross the start finish line, the Race Officer cannot legimately record either a lap time or finish time. Ergo,either the boat gets an overall lap score one lap down on what it would have been had they crossed the line, or a DNF because they simply did not finish by crossing the line. I cannot see how any protest by the competitor can possibly be upheld, unless the boat insists they did cross the line and the boat has sufficient witnesses of sufficient calibre to convince a protest jury it was the RO's mistake not theirs. 

Waiting half an hour is another issue...... especially if back to back races are being run. A query from the safety boat to the competiter along the lines of "Have you retired?" may help resolve the issue, but presumably only after the last boat has finished.