water for starboard boat?

There was a collision with damage caused by C breaking the rules - damn right you should have protested. How else is he going to learn not to do something so b*****y stupid next time? The other thing is you need to hail protest immediately, not just say "do turns".

You were wrong against A, because you tacked in their water the same way you say C did to you, but if the PC found that you were forced to tack because of C you wouldn't be penalised.

Technically, BTW, since the collision caused damage a 720 is probably not enough: if serious damage is caused then the penalty is to retire.

"Serious damage" is not rigidly defined, but one possibility listed in the case book is "Was the current market value of any part of the boat, or of the boat as a whole, diminished?".

I fact Chris and I were "B". I never saw D. C tacked and I had no choice or time, I tacked instantly (no time to hail) to avoid, Not sure if C hit us, but we clonked A - we came off worst with a little damage to the bow. A didn't complain, but we did turns in case we were in wrong against A (were we?). Asked C to do turns several times, but C did not, claiming "what else could I do". I guess we should have protested him - however protests are rare at our club and thought we could still win the race (and did :)) and protest is always a risk, though I was fairly sure we would win. Should we have protested?

Until C hails for room to tack she is leeward ROW boat on A and B. As such, she is obliged to give both A and B rom to keep clear should she change course, and, if she passes beyond head to wind, must keep clear of both.

By hailing, and giving both A and B time to respond, C switches off both of these obligations.

If C decides to dip below D, on starboard, she must give room to both A and B should they decide to do likewise. D then has obligations under rules 16.1 and 16.2

Gordon

If a boat tacks to avoid an obstruction without hailing, she breaks rule 20 in so far as she has not met the obligations that permit her to be exonerated from breaking a rule of section Aor rules 15 or 16.

In this incident C tacks to avoid D without hailing, she does not comply with the requiremants of rule 20 therefore the rules of section A and rules 15 and 16 apply.

B cannot assume that A has heard C's hail, so they should hail A

Gordon

Thanks Gordon.  I can recall the day in a team race when I got Umpire penalised as b with no hail from C.  You can tell it still rankles from the fact I remember it!