Assumed Facts
The course required boats to start, leave mark 1 to port, leave mark 2 to port, and finish. Boat X started, left mark 1 to port, and then sailed to the finishing line and crossed it from the course side. As X sailed from mark 1 to the finishing line she passed mark 2 to starboard. After crossing the finishing line, at position 7, X eased her main sheet, luffed her sail and stopped for 30 seconds. Then she sailed to mark 2, left it to port and crossed the finishing line from the course side a second time.

Boat Y saw X pass mark 2 to starboard and protested her alleging that she had not sailed the course as required by rule 28.1. Y’s first opportunity to inform X that she was protesting her was after both boats had returned to shore, and Y informed X of her protest at that time. The protest committee decided that Y’s protest met the requirements of rule 61.1(a)(3).

Question 1
When did X finish?

Answer 1
Boat X satisfied the first sentence of the definition Finish when her bow crossed the finishing line for the first time, shortly before position 6. The second sentence of the definition contains three conditions, (a), (b) and (c). If one of those three conditions applies, X’s first crossing of the finish line does not qualify as her finish.

X did not take a penalty at or near the finishing line and, therefore, she did not satisfy condition (a).

Boat X had made an error in sailing the course when she failed to leave mark 2 to port, which she corrected by sailing to mark 2 and rounding it to port. The error in sailing the course that X made was made at mark 2, not at the finishing line. Therefore, X did not satisfy condition (b).

Condition (c) is satisfied if, at all times after a boat’s first crossing of the line, her actions are consistent with continuing ‘to sail the course’.

There are situations in which a boat can be stopped and still be taking actions consistent with continuing ‘to sail the course’ while she is stopped. Here are examples of such situations: a boat stops because she capsizes and remains stopped until her crew rights the boat; a member of a boat’s crew falls overboard and the boat stops to recover the person; a boat stops while repairing a piece of equipment.

The assumed facts in this case state that X stopped at position 7 for 30 seconds. The protest committee must find the relevant facts and then reach a conclusion as to whether or not X continued to sail the course. This will mean deciding why X stopped at position 7. If X stopped because her crew thought they had finished when they first crossed the line and then, 30 seconds later, she resumed sailing the course when the crew realized that they had failed to leave mark 2 to port, then X was not continuing ‘to sail the course’ during those 30 seconds. However, if at all times between her first and second crossing of the line, her actions were consistent with sailing the course, then she meets exception (c) and she finished when she crossed the line for the second time.

Question 2
What race score should X receive?

Answer 2
If X finished the first time she crossed the finishing line, then she broke rule 28.1 by failing to leave mark 2 to port before she finished. In that case the protest against her by Y should be upheld, and X should be scored DSQ.

If X finished the second time she crossed the line, then she corrected her error in sailing the course (as permitted by rule 28.2) by sailing to mark 2 and rounding it, and she should be scored points based on her finishing place when she crossed the line the second time (see the table in rule A4).

World Sailing, 2022