Room for an obstruction - Sailing Downwind

Had this team racing in the Carmela Cup in first class 8s in the dock by excel. Wind straight down the dock. Luffed to the wall on port by leeward who then held me there. Our kites were up. Got a bit of a roll on in the disturbed sir off the wall. Couldn’t slow to go out the back (main on the centreline would have meant more roll as might getting the kite down. Too close to the wall to gybe (boom would have smashed into it). Asked for room - umpires greened when we protested. Their perception was that leeward was giving us enough room.....and they may have been right since there was oodles of water under the keel and the rig never hit the wall. Lots of discussion that the only guaranteed way out is to get to close hauled early!

Because you don't need to gybe and sail away from the bank at 45 degrees to avoid it. You can bear away and sail parallel to it. It's just slow. 

Originally posted by Fatboi Interesting... and what do you think about the room situation downwind following on from the IJ claiming that you could not have room as you were not going upwind. Seamed very odd to me, not being able to ask for room downwind but I assumed they knew their stuff...

'Room' is always qualified as room to do something, for example, under rules 15 and 16, room to keep clear, under rule 19 room to pass between an outside boat and an obstruction and under rule 20 room to tack and avoid.

Edited by Brass - 17 Aug 19 at 2:27pm

If the inside boat gets her overlap before the outside boat gets to the obstruction, 19.2c does not excuse the outside boat from giving room.