(pillow)Case of the Week (36) – 77;

(This is an instalment in a series of blogposts about the ISAF Call book 2009-2012 with amendments for 2010. All calls are official interpretations by the ISAF committees on how the Racing Rules of Sailing should be used or interpreted. The calls are copied from the Call book, only the comments are written by me.)

Case 77

Rule 12, On the Same Tack, Not Overlapped
Rule 14, Avoiding Contact
Rule 31, Touching a Mark
Definitions, Keep Clear

Contact with a mark by a boat’s equipment constitutes touching it. A boat obligated to keep clear does not break a rule when touched by a right-of-way boat’s equipment that moves unexpectedly out of normal position.

Assumed Facts
Boats A and B approached the leeward mark with spinnakers set. A rounds the mark clear ahead of B. A has difficulty lowering her spinnaker and, as she assumes a close-hauled course, her spinnaker guy trails astern by some 30 feet (9 m) and drags across part of the mark above the water. Later, when the mark is about five lengths astern of B, the boats are sailing close hauled on port tack and B is 20 feet (6 m) astern of A. A is still having difficulties handling her spinnaker and the head of her spinnaker unexpectedly streams astern and strikes B's headstay.


Question
What rules apply during these incidents and does any boat break a rule?

Answer
When A’s spinnaker guy drags across the mark, she breaks rule 31. A boat touches a mark within the meaning of rule 31 when any part of her hull, crew or equipment comes in contact with the mark. The fact that her equipment touches the mark because she has manoeuvring or sail-handling difficulties does not excuse her breach of the rule.


When contact occurs later between the two boats, rule 18 no longer applies. Because A’s spinnaker is not in its normal position, the boats are not overlapped and, therefore, rule 12 applies. That rule requires B to keep clear of A, which she is doing because nothing B did or failed to do required A ‘to take avoiding action’ (see the definition Keep Clear). This is shown by the fact that the contact between them results exclusively from A’s equipment moving unexpectedly out of normal position. Therefore, B did not break rule 12.

Rule 14 also applied. A broke rule 14 by causing contact that she could have avoided. However, because there was no damage or injury, A cannot be penalized. It was not reasonably possible for B to avoid contact with A’s spinnaker as it streamed astern, and so B did not break rule 14.


Note that Case 91 also addresses an incident involving equipment out of its normal position.

USSA 1980/232



The protest decision in this case would be: Protest upheld, Right of Way Boat A breaks rule 14, but is not penalized because there was no damage. Boat B did not break any rules.