Forum: Rule 18 and Room at the Mark
Rule 18 - Late overlap
David Ginty
Nationality: Australia
0
This incident occurred in the Australian Laser Masters at Mooloolaba February 2018. The course is offshore with a 12knt NE breeze and significant waves. There are 2 swells running NE and SE causing significant rogue waves possibly up to 2M which at times would cause very fast surfing speeds. The fleet is over 70 boats and I am sailing hard to maintain my position in the high 60s. While there was plenty of shouting no protest was lodged and no penalty turns, however I did capsize after getting tangled up in the mark. The ultimate outcome was last in this heat.
I am on a downwind leg and required to pass through a gate either port or starboard. There are 2 overlapped boats probably 3 boat lengths ahead and all 3 of us are heading for the starboard mark. At about 6 boat lengths out, I pick up a wave which sends me almost past the 2 boats. I am now the inside boat on starboard tack with 2 boats outside me to leeward who, as there is an overlap, have luffing rights which they enforce with determination. I am now in the 3 boat length zone and attempt to sail to round the mark. All 3 of us collide gunwale to gunwale. I end up hitting the mark still sailing downwind with my bow which stops me and results in a capsize. The other 2 round the mark and sail on. Next time I will gube away early and round the Port Mark and stay out of trouble and in clear air. So how do the rules apply, and what action should have been taken to avoid a collision and what penalty turns should have been taken?
I am on a downwind leg and required to pass through a gate either port or starboard. There are 2 overlapped boats probably 3 boat lengths ahead and all 3 of us are heading for the starboard mark. At about 6 boat lengths out, I pick up a wave which sends me almost past the 2 boats. I am now the inside boat on starboard tack with 2 boats outside me to leeward who, as there is an overlap, have luffing rights which they enforce with determination. I am now in the 3 boat length zone and attempt to sail to round the mark. All 3 of us collide gunwale to gunwale. I end up hitting the mark still sailing downwind with my bow which stops me and results in a capsize. The other 2 round the mark and sail on. Next time I will gube away early and round the Port Mark and stay out of trouble and in clear air. So how do the rules apply, and what action should have been taken to avoid a collision and what penalty turns should have been taken?
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OP said: If you are 6 boat lengths from the mark and another boat is 3 boat lengths ahead of you, she has reached the zone, clear ahead of you, and you are required to give her mark-room (rule 18.2( b ))
If you are 6 boat lengths from the mark and another boat is two boat lengths ahead of you, she has almost reached the zone: for you to be overlapped on her when she reaches the zone, you need to travel 2 boat lengths in the time it takes her to travel 1 boat length..
I would expect a protest committee to have reasonable doubt that you obtained your overlap in time.
Once overlapped to windward, you were required to keep clear (rule 11), and give the outside boats mark-room (rule 18.2( b )), avoid contact if reasonably possible (rule 14) and not touch the mark (rule 31). You could have complied with these obligations by sailing to windward of the mark: you did not do so. You broke rules 11, 18.2( b ), 14 and 31.
If they broke rule 16 while sailing within the mark-room to which they were entitled, the other boats are exonerated for breaking rule 16 in accordance with rule 21. If there was no injury or damage, they are exonerated for breaking rule 14 in accordance with rule 14( b ).
Late inside overlap with contact is a very hard protest to win, and is always a win/lose: Unless you win the protest and the other boat is disqualified, you will be disqualified.
If there was no injury or serious damage you could have taken one two-turns penalty.
You could have avoided the incident by, as you say, gybing away, or by going to windward of the mark and tacking back (on port, into the teeth of a horde of surfing starboard tackers ).
Is that 6BL description of the group of boats .. i.e. "all 3 of us" or of David's postion? If the group of the boats were 6BL out, then there may have been a chance. If the 6BL was David's boat, then what you said.
After your posts there is little more to be said. Your are correct in his description he is very vague on some issues. Probably 3 BL could be anywhere from 2 - 4 BLs. About 6 BLs could be 5-7 BL. If he doesn't known, how can the committee know. And you defined we don't know who was 6 BL away. In this protest David gets tossed.
Now in a hearing most of those issues could maybe be clarified, but we don't know.
It always amazes me how little of the rules many very competitive sailors know. They are also really poor at filing a protest for their own behalf.
Thanks again for providing this very useful service.