Racing Rules: a not such simple port/starboard

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a not such simple port/starboard

Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Racing Rules
Forum Discription: Discuss the rules and your interpretations here
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5352
Printed Date: 08 Aug 25 at 3:23am
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Topic: a not such simple port/starboard

Posted By: Paramedic
Subject: a not such simple port/starboard
Date Posted: 24 Mar 09 at 6:57pm

I am outside boat in a staggard line of 3 or 4 port tack boats, appraoching a mark but aiming to tack onto starboard on the layline and beat in on stbd approximately 5 or 6 lengths from the mark. It's a small lake, it's gusty and shifty.

There is a boat on starboard about 4 lengths further out but for a long while it looks like they are dead in the water as we have wind, they don't and it looks comfortably like we're passing at least a length in front. Then the wind kicks in!

They take a lift, accellerate, and call starboard. I call for water to tack - no response. I call again - no response. Slightly more colourful call for water to tack - no response and it's now too late to do anything and the starboard boat taks off amid a rather blue cloud of air.

Surely any penalty for this infringement muat pass down the line of boats and either they should have protested the boat inside me, or protested me and then i protest the one inside me and so on.

In any protest it is surely wrong that i should be penalised when i was prevented from keeping clear by another boat?

Replies:

Posted By: Garry
Date Posted: 24 Mar 09 at 7:04pm

Who did you call water to tack on? i.e. did you have the right to ask?

As there was no damage you probably wouldn't be penalised if the actions of another boat that broke a rule caused you to break a rule. Why not get your club to sign up to the RYA arbitration scheme, can't remember what its called but it aims to improve rule knowledge in clubs.

Garry

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Garry

Lark 2252, Contender 298

www.cuckoos.eclipse.co.uk

Posted By: Paramedic
Date Posted: 24 Mar 09 at 7:15pm

i called water to tack (3 times) to the boat inside me. He claimed afterwards that he was telling me that io could go but 1) i didn't hear any hail from him and 2) at no point could i tack without putting a hole in his bow about two feet behind his stem. He didn't IMO have room to go behind me.

This was an open meeting, not a club race.

Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 24 Mar 09 at 8:09pm

You protest the boat that fails to give you room and so on... but it sounds as if you were all on a very high risk strategy.

Posted By: Paramedic
Date Posted: 24 Mar 09 at 8:17pm

You are right but the lie of the land, length and bias of first beat and the wind inside the bay in which the mark was located meant that you had little choice. You either drifted along the bank on starboard hoping for a gust or stuck out in the breeze and came in as close as you dare on port. Because this was the first beat things were congested and out of choice i wouldn't have been there, i actually think you were better off coming in closer on port and pray for a gap - at least being on the inside you control where you go and either tack and go round or duck behind until there is one.

The whole situation is not one that happens all that often, and only when either the course is poorly laid or a club is suffering a poor wind direction. You can't criticise the race management, but NW is the club in questions worst possible wind direction! A starboard rounding would have been better, but there is nowhere to go to afterwards.

Posted By: gordon
Date Posted: 25 Mar 09 at 8:25am

Starboard boat is an obstruction for you and all other boats on port. If you choose to dip you must give room to al the other boats overlapped to windward.

If you called for water to tack boat to windward must tack or allow you to tack, however you have to allow him time to call for water to tack on boat to windward of him. Result is a chain of calls, and eventually, a chain of protests

In this case the boat that would be penalised would be the one who either did not hail for room to tack, or did not mmedailtely respond to a hail from the boat to leeward. Worse - it could well be the boat that did not protested that gets penalised.

Port boat most to windward might have thought that he was alrady in the zone - in which case he believed tha all boats to leewardhad to give him mark-room. However this does not remove his obligation to atck to give room to avoid an obstruction.

Gordon

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Gordon

Posted By: ChrisJ
Date Posted: 26 Mar 09 at 2:13pm

Maybe the boat next to you knew the latest rules, and so was ignoring a call for "water to tack".

The rules don't mention "water" anywhere: you need to call for room.

Posted By: gordon
Date Posted: 27 Mar 09 at 8:42am

However, rule 20.1 only states that a boat "may hail for room to tack" and does not prescribe an exact form of words. What is prescribed by 20.1(b) is the reply"You tack".

In match racing - see C2.7 - only the arm signals are prescribed by the rules. The wording does not imply that the hail must be "Room to tack".

Calling "water to tack" would be entirely acceptable, especialy in a club race where most competitors may be presumed to speak some form of English!

Sorry to be pedantic - it's just what judges do!

Gordon

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Gordon