simple as port starboard?

Originally posted by gordon dics, When did you go to your rules update?

On Thursday.

Dics,

It would be interesting to know when the guy who gave you your rules update got his update!

The key words are "and then"... 'room to sail TO the mark, AND THEN room to sail her proper course while at the mark.'

The definition does not give 'room to sail her proper course from the time she enters the zone'... which seems to be what you and others are trying to make the definition say.

Neither does the definition of proper course say that it is the course a boat would sail from the start to the finish. It is A course a boat would sail to finish as soon as possible. A boat's proper course is not the "best line" round a course. The proper course continually changes, as it is the course a boat would sail from where it is at to the finish.

So a keep clear inside boat has to be given room to sail to the mark and then, but only then, room to sail what is at that moment her proper course, from where she now is (not from some theoretical ideal position she may have wished to be at).

Gordon

It's just fully clicked with me too.

Gordon is truly a god when it comes to the rules!

I think it does Brass, and thanks to everyone who has made me re-evaluate the new rule. Like many, I had gone to a presentation at my club to hear about Mark-Room. The talk was given by an ISAF IJ and I certainly got the impression that some form of tactical rounding was now admissible.

It now seems from re and rereading the rules that nothing much has changed with regard Rule 18. The definition of "Room at the Mark" has now moved to the "Definitions" section and the "zone" is now a recommended but not prescribed 3 boat lengths rather than two.

Still a wee bit confused about the definition of "at the mark". Is it when any part of the boat is overlapped on the mark? When the mark is amidships? When?

It's less an issue when boats are moving well but in light winds, taking your "proper course" at the leeward mark will involve rounding up hard. This is inevitably going to kick your stern out, more noticeably in longer boats. Do I assume that the OL boat has to anticipate this and keep clear?

It's not like this is an unlikely scenario. What we have been discussing is the leeward mark for every ww/lw course.

(Incidentally, a youngster in a Topper called for room on me on Sunday. He was at the "zone" I came rattling round his outside and he wanted to be sure that I would leave him room to round. Racing against a 20ft cat in a Topper when you are 11 can be intimidating. Well done him for calling. I gave room)

Dave,

You can read all about the 'roundabout analogy' in the
Dave Rose paper here:

http://members.home.nl/jmspijkerman/PRESENTATIONS/Compar
ison%20of%20Old%20and%20New%20Section%20C%20Rules%20%282
%29.pdf

But I think Gordon has it nailed above in this thread:

Two Dandy Definitions from Gordon

A boat is at the mark when they are no longer sailing TO
(as in "in the direction" of) but are required, in order
to sail their proper course, to change course.

A boat's proper course is not the "best line" round a
course. The proper course continually changes, as it is
the course a boat would sail from where it is at to the
finish.