Yellow and Blue sailing dead down wind approximately ¾ boat lengths apart. Yellow’s helmsmen looked away for a moment at position 3 and blue gybed without altering course causing their booms to touch. There was no damage or injury.
Who should be DSQ if no penalties are taken?
Intended Answer:
Like it or not Yellow is DSQ for rule 10 in this case.
Unlike tacking (rule 13) there is no rule that says that you must keep clear while gybing. Rule 15 does not apply in this case because Blue is ROW at both position 2 and position 3. She is not aquiring ROW by gybing. Rule 16 does not apply because Blue does not change course. However, I would argue that even if Blue changes course away from Yellow as she gybes she will not break rule 16 if thier booms touch because the course change would not have caused the contact or prevented Yellow from keeping clear. In fact, she would prove more difinitively that Yellow was not keeping clear since even though Blue was moving away from Yellow there was still contact.
The moral of the story here is that if you are Yellow you need to give more space between you and Blue and concern yourself with her boom should she gybe.
DSQ Yellow.
ReplyDeleteBlue is sailing her proper course when she gybes.
Er, respectfully disagree. Blue has ROW under 11, then loses that when she gybes and immediately gains it again under 10. During the transition 15 applies. DSQ Blue.
ReplyDeleteRadio Newbie
Yellow DSQ.
ReplyDeleteBlue never loses ROW. Gybing is not the same as tacking and there is nothing corresponding to rule 13 for gybing (except when match racing).
Blue initally gave Yellow room to keep clear under rule 15 @2, or @1, or at some earlier time. Blue has no further rule 15 obligation.
I think what Brass has said may not be totally accurate as I see it. I think Blue never has an obligation under 15 because she starts as a ROW boat, rule 11. Then, when she gybes she continues to be ROW boat, rule 10.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, Blue has not acquired ROW, because she never lost it, and so 15 does apply to her.
But, my lingering question is, why does 16.1 not apply? Or does it?
Oops. I meant to say 15 does NOT apply to Blue
ReplyDeleteRule 16 only applies when a boat changes course.
ReplyDeleteI misspoke. Brass did say rule 15 was not applicable.
ReplyDeleteSo, what rule is it that says rule 11 includes room for blue to gybe his main when ever he sees fit and not be penalized if there is contact with yellow?
Is it the definition of Room, or Proper Course, or Keep Clear?
Dick,
ReplyDeleteAll the limitations that there are on a boat given right of way under Section A are contained in Section B and Section C.
If none of the Section B or C limitations applies the right of way boat may do anything she pleases and the give way boat must keep clear.
Aha! Very interesting. Never thought of it like that.
ReplyDeleteCan you gybe without changing course, however slightly?
ReplyDeleteI can't. In which case 16.1 would apply for me.
I forgot. What about rule 14?
ReplyDeleteSince there is no damage blue is not penalized.
But what about yellow? Was it reasonably possible for yellow to avoid the contact when blue did a sneak attack by gybing the sail when yellow wasn't looking?
And I think Andrew poses an interesting question.
So how would the protest be decided if blue changes course by steering away from yellow when he gybes? Or if he changes course by steering towards yellow to when he gybes?
I've got a lot of problems with the notion that Yellow is at fault here.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think that Blue's trick falls clearly within the realm of gamesmanship and violates at least the spirit of fair sailing. Rule 2.
Second, I agree with Andrew that "gybes without changing course" cannot be done in any real world scenario, so 16.1 should apply.
Third, I fail to see the logic in the position that ROW transitions seamlessly from rule to rule rather than being lost and regained. There is a time, no matter how brief, when Blue's boom is dead fore and aft, and by the definition of "tack" (incorporating the definition of "leeward/windward") Blue is no longer to leeward and not yet on starboard. At that instant Rule 15 applies.
Radio Newbie
How about a definitive answer from one of our rule wonks?
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