DAIL UP; USMRC Newsletter Vol2, Issue 1
It was about this situation:
He has written back:I have sent a RRC on this. I am aware that there are others as well. The proposed call I sent shows Blue closing the door and a collision. The question is: may Blue close the door?
I am coming to believe that the second sentence of rule 18.2b allows Blue to close the door and Yellow must continue to give Blue room to sail 'to' the mark, even though Yellow initially gave Blue room to do just that.
I spent the better part of a weekend last month setting this up on our Catalina 37s. The tactic I used as Yellow was to follow Blue, and when Blue gybed back to the RC boat, then continue on starboard over the top of Blue, falling off when Yellow can clear Blue's transom, or if Blue gybes underneath, then Yellow gybes and Blue will never be able to get to Yellow.
Yellow merely needs to follow Blue and not get trapped and the boats will drift across the finish line. The strategy for Yellow is to get inside the "H" by driving Blue to that point. Once Yellow does that, she cannot lose.
In conclusion, I think the RRC can leave the 'mark trap' in the game, but Yellow has a winning strategy as long as she doesn't get trapped and can drive Blue inside the "H".
But, we'll see.
Best, Kirk
Actually I have not understood what is the "H" ...
ReplyDeleteBut if blue has to do a penalty what is strange that yellow win?
Blue didn't need to round the mark (see my other point below), she just need to make a turn to make the penalty not to round the mark. And in fact she could actually make the turn inside the mark point.
Blue is required to keep clear of Yellow because she is taking the penalty (21.2), and I can not see anything about to let me think that yellow is breaking 23.2.
Moreover C2.2 states that a boat taking a penalty or manoeuvring to take a penalty is not sailing a proper course. So 18.5(b) surely does not apply.
But even if C2.2 were not present and a boat taking a penalty were sailing a proper course, this course would not required to round the mark.
But I have a more general point. What about rule 18 and the definition of mark room at a finish mark?
Definition at mark room clearly distinguish between before reaching the mark and when (and after) the mark is reached.
What is the mark room at a finish mark after a boat has reached it? This mark need not to be rounded and there is no proper course after the finish line (and for a boat that has reached the finish line, but not yet finished because she need to take a penalty in any case the proper course does not necessarily required to round the mark, so I can not see a finish mark as a mark that need to be rounded).