Boat A lodged a protest against boats B and C for sailing the wrong course. Boat B did not believe she had done so, but ‘did the sportsmanlike thing’ and retired. Boat C did not retire. Within protest time, boat A checked her facts with the race committee, and found that her protest was unjustified. She withdrew her protest against boat C.

Was boat B then entitled to ‘unretire’?

The rules are silent with regard to ‘unretiring’. When a boat retires in compliance with rule 44.1, Penalties at the Time of an Incident: Taking a Penalty, for having gained a significant advantage or causing serious damage in the act of touching a mark or breaking a rule of Part 2, that is irrevocable.

When a boat retires for some other reason, as in this case, and has indicated her retirement either to the race committee or to another boat, she may reverse this decision before the end of protest time or declaration time, whichever is earlier, provided that she has not broken any other rule in the meantime. For instance, retiring during a race, using her engine, and then resuming racing would preclude ‘unretirement’.

However, if she has no good reason to ‘unretire’, she breaks rule 2, Fair Sailing, and the protest committee should, if necessary, extend the protest time limit for any boats that did not proceed with a protest against her because of her initial retirement.