Seminar Preparations | 5

Today, Friday 17th of October, the first of two IJ Seminars starts in Sofia, Bulgaria. I wish all participants a fruitful time in the classroom and best of luck in the test. Knowing Pat Healy he will make it fun on occasional too.
To all who participate, if you have time next week, drop me an E-mail and tell me what you thought about the seminar and test.

On with our series: In SP4 I had a question about a protest-form. It was not a trick question All, but designed to have you think about what a protest must have and what it doesn't need, to be considered a protest. You're answer Sen, is correct. Sorry Jan, back to the book for you.

In order to be accepted as a protest we have to look at rule 61.2.

• A protest SHALL be in writing and identify: (a), (b), (c) and (d).

In the last part of the same rule however, we can read that only requirement (b) MUST be met on the initial form. i.e. a description of the incident, including where and when it occurred.

The incident: a boat touching the mark, where and when: in race B at mark 4 on 16/10/08
The form also provides information on requirement (a): the protestor: Falcon 742 and the protestee: Falcon 1020. That must be provided before the hearing can start. Otherwise the parties cannot be notified and have no time to prepare.

If the protestor doesn't remember the exact sail number of the boat, he can nevertheless hand in the form - for instance to meet the protest-time limit - and then start looking in the boat park to try to find the correct number. He has until the hearing starts to get that number and tell the PC. If he can't, the protest will be dismissed, but if he can, the PC must continue.

Requirements (c) and (d) have even a longer time to be met. They can be added during the hearing. You can leave out the name of the person who will represent the boat, send someone in who is best - after for instance, you've talked to the crew - and tell the PC the name when you start. Requirement (c) is by far the least of your troubles. The rule you think the protestor has broken. You don't need to worry about the correct rule number, but you must tell the PC what you think the other boat has done wrong according to the rules. Well, that was why you started this protest in the first place, wasn't it?

So although there are clearly a number of things missing on the form; there is no drawing, no further description how the boat touched the mark or where, etc, this form is a protest! It meets the requirements in rule 61.2

The fact that it is written on a protest form - designed to extract all the relevant information - has no value in the RRS. You can WRITE a protest on any piece of paper as long as it meets the requirements of rule 61.2. Mind, don't do it just because you can. Most SIs have a sentence where it is stated that a protest must be written on such a form. But if you're pressed for time getting back, write your sentence on anything and hand it in, before you ask for the form. That way you at least are sure you handed it in as soon as possible.

In our case, this sentence should suffice:

• " Boat Falcon 742 protests boat Falcon 1020 for touching mark 4 in Race B on 16/10/08. Signed: Jos "

Then write the form as best you can, leave it at the desk in addition to you first paper and prepare for the hearing. If that is not accepted, point the PC to RRS 61.2 and state you think you have met all requirements as best you could. The PC would be hard pressed to find fault.


In today's question I've tried to give you a feel for the type of question you can expect in the test. Those are all multiple choice. With points for correct and deductions for incorrect answers. You can read about the points and scoring in this post: IJ seminar study questions 2


QUESTION LTW08-01:
Boat P on port tack on a collision course with boat S on starboard tack. Both close hauled on a beat in race 3 toward the first windward mark racing in J22s. Boat P thinks he can cross ahead of boat S and shouts " Hold your course ". Boat S however does not think P can pass and hails back "Starboard!" Both boats continue and when P is 2/3 passed the bow of S, boat S bears away to avoid a collision. When S passes the stern of P the distance between the boats is 1 meter.

Which of the following statements are true:

1. Boat S broke rule 16.1
   
2. Boat P broke rule 10
   
3. There is no rule broken
4. Both boats have broken a rule, P broke rule 10 and S broke rule 16.1
5. Boat P broke rule 10 and rule 14.
   

This question is much simpler than the one you will have in the test. Nevertheless it's good practice to make a quick drawing of the situation and then decide. Remember: a wrong answer will get you negative points!

UPDATE: I've been informed that the scoring on the IJ test has been changed. You don't get negative points on wrong answers anymore. In each part there are 12 questions with 62 possible answers. To pass with over 80% you need 12 or less mistakes in each part. So a mistake isn't a negative point, it is one of the 12 goofs you allowed. (Thanks Pat!)

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