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Racing Rules a century ago...
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
4
Just for a little light relief, the linked pdf is the rule book of the Royal Canoe Club in London in 1910. Page 29 (21st page of the pdf) is the start of the racing rules for sailing canoe races. The beginnings of our current rules are evident. https://intcanoe.org/sharedimages/documents/ichistory-rcc1910rulebookextracts.pdf Worth noting that by 1910 decked racing sailing canoes were already sophisticated craft that could plane.
Most of these are newer than a century but this site does include one from 1892, one from 1940 and all of the rulebooks since 1965. https://yachtracingrules.alberti.ca/home It also have some older casebooks. I like the 1910 and 1933 links above and will add them as external links.
Created: 23-Feb-21 19:52
Tim Hohmann
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
Umpire In Training
Regional Judge
0
I've been collecting old rulebooks. Discovered that you can find used versions of Elvstrom going all the way back to the original version in 1965 online for not very much money. And some of them still have the cool little plastic boats in the jackets.
I think the oldest one I've got is the Helmsman's Handbook by Brooke Heckstall-Smith (2nd Edition, 1912). One of my favorite passages is entitled "ALWAYS A CASE FOR HARD SWEARING.", discussing what would today be a RRS 19.2(c) situation:
"...upon the main questions of fact--i.e., whether she had or had not left room for the following yacht to cut in, and whether the overlap was reached--there always has been, and always will be, much hard swearing in cases of collision arising from rounding marks and passing obstructions.
No amount of tinkering or altering the wording of the rules will make any difference in this. A will swear that he had an overlap, and B will contend with equal vehemence that he had not, and yet, like the owners of Bona and Carina in the Sound of Kerrera, at Oban, in 1902, who disputed a case of this kind, contradicting each other's statements with great vigour before the council of the Y.R.A. for no less than nine months, they will remain, following the example of those good sportsmen, the best of friends all the time."
They just don't write rulebooks like they used to...
Created: 23-Feb-23 22:17
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It also have some older casebooks.
I like the 1910 and 1933 links above and will add them as external links.
I think the oldest one I've got is the Helmsman's Handbook by Brooke Heckstall-Smith (2nd Edition, 1912). One of my favorite passages is entitled "ALWAYS A CASE FOR HARD SWEARING.", discussing what would today be a RRS 19.2(c) situation:
"...upon the main questions of fact--i.e., whether she had or had not left room for the following yacht to cut in, and whether the overlap was reached--there always has been, and always will be, much hard swearing in cases of collision arising from rounding marks and passing obstructions.
No amount of tinkering or altering the wording of the rules will make any difference in this. A will swear that he had an overlap, and B will contend with equal vehemence that he had not, and yet, like the owners of Bona and Carina in the Sound of Kerrera, at Oban, in 1902, who disputed a case of this kind, contradicting each other's statements with great vigour before the council of the Y.R.A. for no less than nine months, they will remain, following the example of those good sportsmen, the best of friends all the time."
They just don't write rulebooks like they used to...