Situation
The sailing instructions for a keelboat regatta clearly describe the marks, and in addition, specify the GPS position of the marks. During the race, one of the marks got snagged by a boat and dragged well out of position.

Question 1
For the purpose of rule <%= rule_link(28) %>, what is now the 'correct' mark?
 (d) The re-located mark,
 (e) the original GPS position, or
 (f) both the GPS position and the re-located mark.

Answer 1
A mark is an object - see the definition Mark. In order for a boat to comply with rule 28.2 she has to round or pass the marks as described in the sailing instructions, even if a mark is out of the position.

Question 2
If the answer to Question 1 is that the re-located mark is the only correct mark, may a boat that has rounded the GPS position be eligible for redress?

Answer 2
For a boat be eligible for redress, the protest committee must be satisfied that all requirement of rule 62 are fulfilled, namely:
1. That there was no fault from the boat.
2. That there was an improper action or omission of the race committee.
3. That the boat's score was made significantly worse.

1. When the mark is out of position but it is visible and identifiable in the vicinity of the GPS position, the boat shall round the mark. Therefore, in the situation described in the question, a boat that rounded only the GPS position did not comply with rule 28.2 and would not be entitled to redress. When the mark is not visible, it is missing. In this case, boats may round the intended mark GPS position gathering all the information available (time, position and actions of the boats around). They will not, however, have rounded the mark, but they may request redress after the race.
2. The moving of the mark was not an action of the race committee. In the situation described, if it was not possible for the race committee to fix the problem, there was no improper action or omission of the race committee, and in that case, no redress can be given.
3. The protest committee must analyze the situation and find whether, as a fact, it would have been reasonably possible for the race committee to replace the mark. If they find as a fact that the race committee should and could have done that, they must further analyze the position of all the boats before and after the incident. The protest committee shall take all relevant factors into consideration such as the distance the mark is out of position, the relative positions of the boats in the fleet, whether one design or handicap, and an analysis of how the different boats were affected by the movement of the mark.

Question 3
If the answer to Question 2 is 'Yes', would redress be depending on the distance the mark had been dragged or the speed at which the mark was dragged?

Answer 3
Yes. See Answer 2 above.

Question 4
If redress is possible, what would be the factors the protest committee would consider when deciding what redress to give?

Answer 4
See rule <%= rule_link(64.2) %>