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I've just watched the video (without sound).

I'll play it with sound, but my first impressions are that a) this is a novel definition of "tack" - i.e. rename "gybe" to "tack",

b) even under the new rules, when a boat acquires right of way, it must allow the give-way boat room (and time) to keep clear. If you're tacking inside the zone a boat at a down-wind mark, that's probably insufficient.

c) Practically, it takes me several seconds to tack, then gybe - by this time, the boat clear ahead has only to carry out 1 gybe. It's likely that the boat clear ahead would have rounded the mark.

d) Practical tactics.

Why on earth would a boat clear ahead at the zone want to stop by going head-to-wind? The boat clear astern must keep clear, the fastest thing to do is to ignore the following boat & luff after rounding the mark...

Colin

In team racing it is often a good tactic to hold an opposing boat up, so as to allow a team mate to catch up or over take. The problem is that the rules are written for fleet racing, in which which boats nearly always want to get round the course as fast as possible.

The video seems to show an interesting reading of the rules. I'll have to get the little boats out and work on the new rule 18. One point, when the second boat turns away having completed a tack, at that point she is sailing away from the mark and could be said to be no longer rounding the mark. Rule 18 would only apply when said boat turns to sail towards, then round, the mark. By which time it wold be too late to establish an overlap on the inside.

If there is not a Call already written I suspect that one will appear soon.

I had been hoping to avoid wprking on the new rules until after my last event this year - 20/21 December, whuch would have allowed me to spend Christmas wth my nose in the rule book, before the next event in January!

Gordon

Re-reading the appendix "D" - team racing rules, rule 18 (b) is amended to cover this situation. (... when one boat tacks within the zone ...) 

Unfortunately, 18 (c) isn't deleted (rule 18 (b) does not apply when one boat tacks in the zone), so for team racing we have rules 18 (b) and 18 (c) in conflict....

COlin

Whether rule 18 applies does not depend on whether boats are passing or rounding it applies when 'at least one of them is in the zone'. Whether a boat is sailing away from, or conversely sailing to the mark or at the mark, is only relevant to the contextual meaning of mark-room.

In the video, Red is zone clear of Black so black must give Red mark-room.  This switches off when Black passes HTW, and Black almost immediately becomes inside overlapped on Red who has gybed, and thus Black gains mark-room herself.

Brass

Ok,

Rule analysis:

This is in a team racing context - so appendix D applies - and this changes the rule 18.

The zone is 2 boat lengths (D1.1 a)

Rule 18.1 is probably applicable - except for section c) "between a boat approaching the mark and one leaving it" - I could argue that the boat which taked was leaving the mark - i.e. sailing away...

anway, rule 18.2

a) the boats are not overlapped at the mark zone.

b) (modified by D1.1 b) if a boat is clear ahead when she reaches the zone, or she later becomes clear ahead when another boat passes head to wind, the boat clear astern at that moment shall thereafter give her mark room.

In the video, the boat clear ahead was clear ahead at the zone, therefore the other boat shall give her mark room.

c)  ... if either boat passes head to wind ... 18.2 b) ceases to apply

d) (deleted by D 1.1 c)

e)not applicable.

So - which rule applies - 18 2 b)? - it appears to be inactivated by section c).

In that case, we're back to the fundamental rules 15 & 16 - gaining right of way and preventing a keep-clear boat from keeping clear.

The keep-clear boat isn't required to predict another's change in course/tack/gybe.

Of course, the fact that we now have a 2 boat-length mark zone makes the manoeuvering really tight (remember that leaving the mark zone activates 18.2 c) as well.

Summary- it's not clear if rule 18 actually applies to this situation due to internal conflicts - due to the team racing modification from section D.

If rule 18 doesn't apply, then the "mark room" concept is irrelevent, and we're left with the rules 14 (avoiding contact), 15 (acquiring right of way) and 16 (changing course).

The boat on starbord gybe has acquired right of way - but is this too close in time/distance to allow the other to keep clear - Rule 16?

Colin

Just a quick comment (& thanks!)

" Rule 18.2 b ceases to apply when the boat passes head to wind." - but not for team racing - Section D (team racing rules) modifies rule 18.2.

That's where I see an inconsistency - it appears that section D should have deleted section 18 2 c) as well - but didn't, so we have section b) where the tacking situation is considered, and section c) which states that if a boat tacks, section b) is not applicable.

I checked the team racing "Calls" - and it isn't in the current set.

Mind you, with the section D making the zone only 2 boat lengths, we may be looking at a theoretical situation rather than a real tactic.

Colin

(b) If boats are overlapped when the first of them reaches the zone, the outside boat at that moment shall thereafter give the inside boat mark-room. If a boat is clear ahead when she reaches the zone, or she later becomes clear ahead when another boat passes head to wind, the boat clear astern at that moment shall thereafter give her markroom.

There is nothing in this to indicate  that rule 18.2(c) does not apply. So as soon as one boat passes head to wind the original 18.2(b) restriction ceases to apply. However, if the boats are not overlapped as one boat passes head to wind, then a new 18.2(b) restriction applies to the boat clear astern. This means, in the situation under discussion, that the boat that benefitted from protection under 18.2(b) looses that protection and that the boat that passes head to wind acquires protection.

What intrigues me the most is whether the game change induced by this re-write of rule 18 was intentional, or whether our eminent rule writers just forgot about they way team racing can torture the rules almost to breaking point.

Gordon

Quote:-

"Thats going to be carnage at big handicap events isnt it??"

I think that the loophole applies for team racing - which has a special Appendix.

The rules for "normal" racing are different. Hopefully we won't have the problem of a team race using the same marks at the same time a normal racing - that would be a nightmare because the rules would be different....

Colin

Sorry the video requested could not be found