The Racing Rules of Sailing
Rule 11, boom contact?
Two dinghies sailing on broad reach, overlapped (actually alongside each other) and the boom of the windward boat touches the leeward boat. Has windward failed to keep clear?
Second question - if the leeward boat gybes in order to sail away from the parallel course of the windward boat has the windward boat failed to keep clear if the leeward boats boom touches the windward boat during the completion of the manoeuvre?
Second question - if the leeward boat gybes in order to sail away from the parallel course of the windward boat has the windward boat failed to keep clear if the leeward boats boom touches the windward boat during the completion of the manoeuvre?
Created: Fri 11:45
Comments
Format:
You must be signed in to add a comment.
First question. Yes
Second question
If the leeward boat is gibing from starbd to port, then she is no more right of way, and breaks rule 10
If the leeward boat gibes from port to starbd, she gets right of way from her own action. Rule 15 applies. If gibing and touching are very close in time, then she breaks Rule 15
I don't think 15 would apply, as the newly starboard boat is not acquiring ROW... they are already ROW.
However, I think that 16 would apply. They'd be hard-pressed to argue they didn't change course while gybing.
Depending on how close they were before the gybe, they might argue that RRS 11 had already been broken, that they were gybing to satisfy RRS 14 (in an effort to avoid contact) and that the minor contact is exactly the preferred outcome from RRS 14 as opposed to the more dangerous alternative.
Lastly, in the second situation, it's more likely the booms would hit than boom on boat.
Absolutely. Whenever there is contact between boats the right-of-way boat needed to take avoiding action (RRS Definition Keep Clear) in order to comply with her obligation to avoid contact under RRS 14.
If boats were initially on starboard tack, after gybing, the leeward boat will be on port tack, and required by RRS 10 to keep clear of the windward boat on starboard tack. The windward boat will have acquired right-of-way because of the leeward boat's action, and will have no RRS 15 obligation to give the leeward boat room to keep clear.
If boats were initially on port tack, after gybing the leeward boat will be on starboard tack, and continue to be the right of way boat. Because the leeward boat was a right-of-way boat changing course through her gybe, she was probably required by RRS 16.1 to give the windward boat room to keep clear, and if there is contact she has failed to do that and broken RRS 16.1.
So, either way, on valid protest, penalise the leeward boat.
I don't think that's right: The leeward boat was initially the right-of-way boat (RRS 11). If boats start out on port tack and the leeward boat gybes onto starboard tack, she does not acquire right-of-way, she already was the right-of-way boat, only the right-of-way rule has changed from RRS 11 to RRS 10. Because the leeward boat does not acquire right of way in the transition, RRS 15 does not apply. See the discussion above: RRS 16.1 probably does apply.
I could have swore that there was a Case that said that, but I looked and can't put my finger on it.
Anyone recall a case that states that?
Not a Case but US Appeal 52 notes that Rule 15 does not apply "because L was the right of way boat throughout the incident", first with 10, then 12, then 11.
First, assume both initially on port, leeward gybes to starboard. As noted, rule 15 does not apply because the transition from leeward to starboard is not "acquiring" ROW. Some have argued that rule 16 will apply because leeward has necessarily changed course when gybing to Starboard and should therefore be penalized for failing to give room, initially, to the keep clear boat to keep clear.
I'd like to challenge that for two possible reasons.
First, the definition of "Keep Clear" includes the requirement that "(b) when the boats are overlapped, if the right-of-way boat can also change course in both directions without immediately making contact."
If the change of course from port to starboard resulted in immediate contact, Windward has failed to keep clear. Of course, "immediately" is not defined, so some may say it was not immediate contact if a gybe has occurred.
Second, I'm searching for the case. But I believe "Change of course" refers only to a change in the direction the boat is sailing. Thus, a gybe from DDW from port to starboard could be achieved without a change in course, simply by throwing the boom over (assume wind is light enough to do so).
For the other nuance, I'd like to move the scenario to the Zone of a leeward mark to be taken to port (I know that was not part of the initial scenario).
Boats both on Starboard, Inside/Leeward needs to gybe to round the mark. Windward must give her room to sail her proper course to the mark, which includes a gybe (provided inside/leeward has sailed no farther from the mark than needed to sail her proper course).
Would the answer be any different if, before she jibes, she hails “ Heads up, we’re jibing” with the same result of the booms hitting?
Both Case 77 and Case 91 when taken together imply your answer I think. Both pertain to the obligations of a keep clear boat when the equipment of the ROW boat is out of its normal position.
A boom swinging from the starboard to port side is a boom operating in its normal operating positions. A KC boat sailing DDW so close along side a ROW boat that if the ROW boat flops her boom over, without ROW changing course, that the boom hits part of the KC boat .. the KC boat has not kept clear IMO.
In other words, a ROW boat that has to prevent their boom from moving fully to the port side to avoid contact with a KC boat has executed "an avoiding action" IMO.
I think this is affirmed in the negative when you read the cases I linked to above. In those cases they discuss the obligations of a KC boat when equipment is or moves out of its normal location.
IMO, unless there is a case that says otherwise, there should be nothing unexpected about a boat sailing DDW on port-tack flopping her main over such that she is sailing on starboard-tack. A KC should be keeping enough space between them to allow that.