Simple Racing Rules

@Chris249 and "Thread Twist". Ha! You spotted me moving the goalposts, dammit.

We started with 1 rule - "Avoid collisions" - and we moved on to the Golden 8 list because that helped clarify lots of situations. As a result of subsequent posts and suggestions, I'll tweak the Golden 8 in a moment. However, I do think there's some mileage in the Golden 8, providing we accept that outcomes might well be different compared to the existing rules. Then again, if you want something different, you have to do something different.

One thing that strikes me in all this, is the problem of closed loops when defining situations and then applying rules to sort things out. Here's an example;

From your earlier post, you describe a sailing incident thus:
"re the "hunting" example - the issue is partly that it may be very hard to define "time and space to keep clear" without the framework of other rules. Who determines what "hunting" is when there is no proper course, and no requirement on the right of way boat to hold her course? How do you know who is hunting and who is just sailing and then getting hit?"

I read this and I see the usual phrases relating to the current rules; time and space to keep clear, proper course, requirement to hold course and such like. To me, this is almost the tail wagging the dog and you end up stuck in a closed loop where problems can only be conceptualised and discussed in terms of the available solutions. This can easily result in closed, blinkered, "systems" thinking.

As we've done before, let's stop perceiving the problem in terms of the available solutions. Let's lay the current rules, along with proper course, requirement to hold course etc to one side. This would mean we don't have to concern ourselves with defining all these things, and this might free our closed-loop thinking.

The "hunting" scenario then becomes something like:

"Two boats are racing and one keeps chasing the other one to gain an advantage." You see, I'm almost struggling to define the "problem" if I deny myself access to the traditional ways of framing it. Indeed, the "problem" almost disappears, and the solution is easily covered by repeated use of rules 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from the Golden 8.

This is the sort of mindshift I think we need if we want to simplify things.

One last example. This actually happened. My partner has no knowledge of or interest in competitive sailing. She and I were standing on the balcony of Salcombe Yacht Club last year watching the Merlins start. The starts were pretty fraught affairs, what with biased start line, moored boats, tidal streams, lots of competitors, ferries. It all got pretty shouty out there. My partner turned to me and said; "Why don't they stop sailing into each other - wouldn't they go much faster?" The seasoned campaigner standing next to us said; "Indeed". Emperor's new clothes thinking from my partner.

Thanks for the interesting discussion Chris, and others.





Edited by Solo4652 - 14 Aug 15 at 12:10pm

OK, let's try to tweak the Golden 8 now we've thrown them around a bit and applied them to some cases. We'll need to ensure we don't end up with a verbal reasoning test comprised of double-negatives and nested subordinate clauses, mind. And remember that they have to fit onto 1 side of a plastic sheet. Actually, I think they're doing pretty well, if we accept that different outcomes to applying the existing rules may well result. Here we go. Wish me well, folks.


•1. Avoid collisions by giving boats enough time and room to avoid hitting things
•2. Port keeps clear of starboard.
•3. Windward keeps clear of leeward
•4. Overtaking boat keeps clear
•5. Hitting marks is OK and the inside boat(s) at a mark is entitled to room to round the mark.
•6. If you have violated a rule, do a tack and a gybe as soon as you safely can.
.7   Behave towards others in the same way you'd want them to behave towards you.


There you go. I've, combined rules 1 and 5 because the more I thought about them, the more I convinced myself they were covering similar ground. Do feel free to keep them seperate, however.

I've tweaked the mark-rounding rule to say it's OK to touch marks - as RS400's and windsurfers already do.

The last rule is causing me some head-scratching. It's a catch-all mash-up of; fair sailing, don't cheat, don't swear, don't deliberately take out an opponent, don't throw a shackle into another competitor's boat at a start line to distract them, don't use unmeasured sails, don't threaten me, don't punch me, don't use a motor, etc etc. I completely accept that it is a clumsy mop-up rule. Interestingly, people contributing to this thread haven't referred to it at all, and have concentrated on when-boats-meet scenarios.

So, over to you lot to throw the Golden 7 around, apply them to cases and see how they cope. Please remember that they will probably change the game and people's approach to it. But, as I said, if you want something different, you have to so something different.


Edited by Solo4652 - 14 Aug 15 at 12:53pm

I have to say I don't really see the point of yet another set of official rules.

Rule 8 certainly needs rewording. It assumes I don't want people using the rules aggressively towards me, when in reality I expect it, and expect to do the same back, when the situation warrants it. If I then meet someone who simply used your rules a colregs, we have a problem of expectation.

I do agree that some of the psudo legal jargon used in appeals makes things very unclear, but luckily apart from on here I've never had to deal with such things in 40 years of sailing.

The actual rules we have are probably shorter than many boardgames, so I'm afraid I have gone from a position at the beginning of this thread of at least thinking a simple rules set could possibly have merit to thinking that while I think the odd rule is not to my taste, as a set of they work very well.

@Chris249 above

Morning Chris.

Overnight, the Golden 8, have become the Golden 7. Here they are, for reference;

•1. Avoid collisions by giving boats enough time and room to avoid hitting things
•2. Port keeps clear of starboard.
•3. Windward keeps clear of leeward
•4. Overtaking boat keeps clear
•5. Hitting marks is OK and the inside boat(s) at a mark is entitled to room to round the mark.
•6. If you have violated a rule, do a tack and a gybe as soon as you safely can.
.7   Behave towards others in the same way you'd want them to behave towards you.

Let's apply these to your scenarios above where a boat is rammed in the stern;

"...boat ahead could have been hit. It could have been minding its own business and been rammed by a faster boat." Faster boat is DSQ'd under rule 4 if it hit the slower boat's stern, and also rule 3, if the faster boat hit the slower boat's windward side

"[a boat] could also have blasted in on port and tacked just in front of a starboard tacker". Port-tack blaster is DSQ'd under rule 1 and rule 2

Maybe we don't have to be so concerned about who's "fault" it was. Just apply the rules. It may be the case that both boats are thrown out under different rules. So be it.