ok can someone clear this up for me, more for a second opinion than anything.?

the other day I was racing my laser at a club race and I called starboard on two port boats (a GP14 and an RS400) the GP14 tacked out om my way but the RS made no move. assuming he hadn't heard me i called it again. this time he registered me with a look but made no move. I tried to avoid colision by going round the back of him but couldn't because of the time i was given to react was very little in the end i ended up clipping the side of his boat and damaging the nose of my laser (so much so that it is having to be repaired professionally).  the RS had made no move to get out of my way at any time. after the colision i called for him to do penalty turns and he responded telling me i should have held my course and not steered into him which i didn't do. the helm of the GP14 confirmed that i hadnt made any move but to avoid the RS. the helm of the RS then turned round and said that the colision wasn't his problem as i should have steered round him then called for him to do turns. he told me i had the obligation to avoid him, even though i was on starboard, and he didn't have to do anything, therefore i was in the wrong for not avoiding him. He then proceeded to box me in between him and the island while he yelled at me which let the rest of the fleet by - i went from 4th to 17th, places which i never recouped

surely this goes against the whole point of the port gives way to starboard rule. i know all boats are ment to avoid colision but surely port boats are still ment to give way to starboard boats?

i have seen boats on starboard ram(t-bone)  boats on port

mainly when the starboard boats helm is having a bad day!

protest him if you win the protest and he is at fault then you can use that against hime and his insurance must cover the cost of repairing the damge to your boat.

Sounds to me like the RS400 sailor needs to be given a harsh talking to.  If not by you then by someone in your club.  It sounds (from your explanation) like the actions of the RS400 are way out of order.  It will be far too late to protest now (but remember for next time),

You do still have an overriding burden to avoid the collision and by trying to go behind him (IMO) you have done your best.  Better bet would usually be to tack and then protest him.  After a few trips to the protest room, he will get the message !

It would be interesting to hear his side of the story. There are certain circumstances under which starboard does not have rights but from what you have described, this doesn't appear to be one of them. It sounds like he needs educating on the rules. It's too late now but if he does it again, protest him and let the protest commitee explain the rules to him. You'd have also had more chance of getting him to pay for your repairs if you'd done so.

I am quite surprised there is more damage to your boat than his. Normally the bow is the strongest bit of a boat.

You normally have to do so within a couple of hours of the finish. The time limit will be in SIs. You almost certainly won't be able to days later.

Just because he has done his turns may not exonerate him from more actions.  Did he admit liability for the accident - does the doing of turns do this.  It may do; but a protest is always useful.

The best thing to do is give as much detail on the insurance quote form as possible with good witnesses, irrelevant of if they would have been on the protest committee. Insurance companies can take the results of protests into consideration but are inclined to make their own decisions. If the boat you had an incident with is a hassle on the water, just bear that in mind anytime its close to you and don't put yourself into the position where an incident could occur. Keeping an eye out across the water and calling earlier, gives you more time to avoid other boats. We call earlier so if a boat doesn't move out of our way, we still have time to avoid and protest. Its better to think 5 steps ahead than 2.

1. Never call on someone to do their turns - RRS 61.1 requires you to haoil "protest". It is up to the protested boat to decide if she should take a penalty.

2. You are not required to take avoiding action until it is clear that the other boat is not keeping clear (RRS 14.

3.A Two Turns Penalty is not sufficient if serious damage (or injury) has been caused (RRS44.1). The infringing boat should retire. Damage requiring professional repair work may be considered to be serious.

4. If the crew of the infringing boat continued to yell at you while sailing you into a corner then you would be entitled to protest them under rule 2 "Fair Sailing". a protest committee may even consider such behaviour to constitute serious misconduct an initiate a hearing under rule 69.

5.A two turns penalty should be taken "as soon after the incident as possible (RRS 44.2), not when the offending helmsman has calmed down, thought about the protest and decided he can't win it.

Conclusion

 If in doubt shout protest and get the protest form in  time. Even if the protested boat has done his turns there has to be a hearing (RRS 63.1) unlessyou request that the protest be withdrawn, and the protest committee grants you the right to withdraw (they are not obliged to do so RRS 63.1). At the hearing you can indicate why you claim that the penalty taken was inadequate.

If a protest committee refuses to hear a protest...appeal! They are required to hear all rotests. In this case it might be diplomatic to volunteer for future protest committee service! Don't complain unless you are willing to do the job yourself.

thank you for all your help everyone.

the guy refuses to accept liability and from what i've heard since i believe he has suggested that i should pay for a tiny crack in his boat to be repaired that i know was there before the incident as he pulled a simillar stunt on my training partner a while back and got off with it by retiring when he was protested.   

    even so i guess on reflection i really should have protested him just the club policy on it seems rather stale. because my club doesn't get a lot of protests our protest comittee is the three most expeirenced racing sailors on the club comittee available. there were only two there that day not involved in the incident. Maybe i should bring it up in the AGM this year.

Does he give a reason?  Either there is more to this than meets the eye or the guy is completely out of order.

If your club has class captains, I'd have a word. The club should be able to exert some pressure on him.

If this RS sailor is making a habit of unfair sailing and, it would seem, defrauding insurance companies, it is time to do something about it.

Learn the rules, go on any training courses that may be available, volunteer for protest committee work, make a habit of protesting when other boats infinge you, try and persuade an RYA judge to run rules evenings at the club. And every time your friend infringes a rule protest and go ahead with the protest, especially if he does not takes a penalty immediately.

If you can find a qualified judge who can spend the time get him out on the water for a day. If he whistles every time he sees an infringement and then explains what he saw and the rules involved this draws members attention to the rules. I'd do it myself, with pleasure, but there is the Irish Sea in the way.

Gordon