Conditions are windy with strong gusts and high waves. The boats are 17 feet catamarans. One boat capsizes close to the port gate-mark, and the crew is thrown out of the boat and touches the mark with his body. When the crew touches the mark, he is not in contact with the boat. The crew then swims to the boat, which has drifted between the gate-marks without touching either of them.

Question

Has the boat broken rule 31?
 

No. Rule 31 refers to a boat, which shall not touch a mark. Under Terminology in the Introduction to the RRS (which, under the definition of ‘rule’, is a rule), the word ‘boat’ means a sailboat and the crew on board. When a crew member not on board touches a mark, then the boat does not break rule 31.