WI and LO are on a beat to the finish. The boats are sailing close to the port tack layline to the pin end of the finish line. WI, well overstood, bears away towards LO (Position 1) and then heads up to a close hauled course as the boats reach the zone. At the zone, WI hails for room to finish (Position 2). LO holds her course, believing that WI has sufficient room to finish at Position 3. About a boatlength from the mark, WI luffs towards but not past head to wind as she crosses the finish line in an effort to finish as quickly possible. In doing so, her transom makes contact with LO. There is no damage or injury. Assume that in the absence of her luff, WI would have crossed the finish line without making contact with LO.
Questions:
1. Does Rule 18 entitle WI to luff at the finish line, assuming that the luff was her proper course?
2. Did LO give WI the room to which she was entitled under Rule 18?
Please pardon the formatting, I'm still learning how best to post gifs from TSS.
Finish Question
2. Yes.
- I'm agree with Michael. At pos.4 (after the finish) Blue has not a proper course.
But if Blue does luff to finish as soon as possible close to the mark Yellow should be give her room for it.
Now it may be that Yellow was still not giving enough room .. but I think Blue's actions of falling down onto Yellow inside the zone and away from the mark creates enough doubt that it lifts the burden of proof from Yellow to Blue if sufficient room was given and how it was used.
The idea of providing sufficient room for another boat to change course without contact is a burden on a "keep-clear" boat .. not a 'give mark-room' boat. LO (Yellow) is not a keep-clear boat, rather Yellow is an ROW boat obligated to give mark-room .. so Yellow was under no obligation to continue to provide more room if sufficient mark-room was already provided.
That said, ...
Ang
PS ...
Review Case . Similair scenario but in Case 75 the boat sailing outside the "direct corridor" to the mark was a ROW boat (being on STB vs a port boat). This is not the case here. Yellow is the ROW boat and Blue is the Keep-Clear boat with Mark-Room rights.
From Case 75 .. notice the "direct corridor" language.
As she closed the distance btw her and Yellow at position 3, she is also no longer keeping clear. See Def of Keep Clear (b). No obligation on Yellow to give more room. (Yellow could have protested here, after all she may have wanted to luff up to the line or bear off for more speed, but was prevented from doing so).
As for PC, let's not forget the part of the definition that talks about ..in the absence of other boats...
From the diagram, Yellow gave Blue room to sail within rule 18.
Answers: No, Yes.
Kim
My follow-on points were (which jives with yours)