Rules at the mark

[tonyquoll]

I've recently seen or been caught up in 2 buoy room incidents, which had me wondering about limits in rule interpretation:

1/ Approaching a gybe mark on a starboard tack reach. Boat A is overlapped with Boat B, and has mark room. Boat C is overlapped with Boat D, and both are clear astern of A and B.

Boat A luffs B (Rule 11), pushing to the edge of the 3 boat length circle, then gybes to port and becomes almost stationary near the mark.

Boat B gybes to starboard, also becoming near stationary.

Boat D goes outside the 3 boat length circle to go behind these two boats (Rule 18.2B).

Boat C remained on course for the mark and now finds itself blocked with the mark to port, A and B forming an obstruction ahead, and D to starboard. C is still traveling at reaching speed and cannot give D adequate time to keep clear if it wanted to veer that direction.

C is foul of the rules (Rule 18.2B), but what would have been a better strategy?

I argued that A also broke Rule 18.4; to which the skipper argued his proper course was go wide and then cut in, in order to defend his position. How to define the proper course?

2/ Rounding the windward mark, a group of at least a dozen boats are close together and approaching on port.

A large sport boat is clear ahead, and to leeward of the line the group of boats is taking. It tacks onto starboard and aims directly adjacent to the mark. The leading of the group of boats either collide with it, or drastically swerve to avoid it, and collide with boats either side of them. There were many calls of "WTF?" "You cant do that!"

The sport boat could argue it was on starboard (Rule 10), was clear ahead (Rule 18.2), and the question is should it have given the port boats room to keep clear (Rule 15)? How far should it have to go past the mark until it tacked?

If the sport boat tacking to starboard and fouling those coming into the mark broke the rules, then how is a boat gybing to port who does that OK?

[knobblyoldjimbo]

Rare thing to be sailing with so many boats, well done.

If you look on Saling Anarchy - in the sailing section there are considerations of windward mark roundings but also with a free app that you can use to draw the situation.

In your first example the boats that have bouy room continue to have rights until they are past the mark. What you describe is a classic "mark trap" used in team racing - leave an enticing amount of room for the following boat (clear astern at the circle) to bite, then enforce your rights. If a boat rounds the mark outside of the circle he doesn't obtain any rights other than the normal p/s w/l etc rights.

I think that there is a bit about sailing _towards_ the mark once rights are obtained which limits slightly the ability to take the mark wide then close. It'll always be tempting for a boat behind to barge in and sometimes it works (without penalty) especially in light winds when there's a big cartwheel of boats trying to get speed to round, invariably a hole appears at the mark which, if you have speed you can duck into, you don't have rights then and once you've rounded the mark it's back to w/l etc.

The second example, if the sb has tacked and is close hauled on stbd then he has rights and port tack boats should keep clear. I'd be asking why there are so many boats on the port layline, not good tactics. A lot of communication would be necessary as all boats would have to give the port tack boat room to clear the stbd boat.

KO

[tonyquoll]

Thanks for that.

Example 1 was the Paper Tiger Internationals at McCrae, where we had 50 boats. The incident occurred back around 35th place. Similar tricky situations occurred up front, when 10 boats rounded a gybe mark together: boats ahead slowed as they fell off a wave, while boats behind accelerated towards them down the face of the next one. In that case boats ahead maintained speed and were out of there before any incident occurred. If they'd done a hard, slow turn like A above it would have been carnage.

Example 2 was Batemans Bay Anzac Regatta, which had about 80 boats including 8 14' cats, 20 fast cats. We had wind swung a full 360 degrees during the course of a race. The incident occurred at the end of the 'downwind' leg, which became a close-hauled port tack work. Luckily I was just ahead of the sport boat and looked back to watch the action.

[slammer]

Use this rule resource.

http://game.finckh.net/indexe.htm

You can pick scenarios at points on the course. You may find the scenario you feel best describes and see the ruling

[darcy1945]

The sport boat on stbd had the right to the mark, but could not tack back to port to round the mark if in doing so it caused any port tacker sailing to avoid her to alter course. In claiming her rights she had to stay on stbd until the port tackers sailing to avoid her had crossed her stern.

[slammer]

The sport boat on stbd had the right to the mark' date=' but could not tack back to port to round the mark if in doing so it caused any port tacker sailing to avoid her to alter course. In claiming her rights she had to stay on stbd until the port tackers sailing to avoid her had crossed her stern.[/quote']

I think rule 15 is here. When a boat acquires right of way, she shall initially give the other boat room to keep clear, unless she acquires right of way because of the other boat's actions.

Whether the boat wants to tack to the mark is irrelevant. It can tack once it has given the other boats room

[slammer]

http://game.finckh.net/situat/tit_gbr/s05_e.htm

here is a new one.

try this situation