Forum: The Racing Rules of Sailing

29er gybe and RRS 42

P
Tom Björkholm
Nationality: Sweden
Certifications:
  • National Race Officer
  • National Umpire
  • National Judge
I would like to know what the correct rule interpretation is for the following scenario. Is it OK and a smart manoeuvre, or should the judge give a yellow flag. 

A 29er is planing before the gybe. When gybing the 29er stops planing, and thus speed is a lot lower. At the end of the gybe the 29er is heeling considerable to leward. Then as a single action (still as part of the end of the gybe) the main is sheet pumped and the crew in trapeze does one forceful body pump rightening the 29er up. This pump fixes the inverted battens. This gives a considerable acceleration that is easy to spot. Still as this is done from a non-planing condition the speed after this rock/pump combination is not higher than when planing before the gybe.

RRS 42.1 interpretation Basic 4 says that except when permitted under rule 42.3, any single action of the body that clearly propels the boat (in any direction) is prohibited.

RRS 42.3(b) interpretation Rock 8 allows the exaggerated rolling as the speed after the rocking is not higher than before the gybe. However, RRS 42.3(b) is only about rolling, and does not allow the pump. 

RRS 42.3(e) allows pumping to fix inverted battens, but only if it does not clearly propel the boat.

You could argue that the this is allowed as RRS 42.3(e) allows the pump and RRS 42.3(b) allows the rock and the acceleration. You could also argue that it is prohibited as RRS 42.3(b) does not mention the pump, and RRS 42.3(e) clearly prohibits a pump that propels the boat, and this pump clearly propelled the boat (or was it the roll at the same time as the pump that propelled the boat?).


Created: 22-Aug-27 20:41

Comments

Greg Dargavel
Nationality: Canada
Certifications:
  • National Judge
-1
The phrase is right there in your question..... "This gives a considerable acceleration "  Yellow flag. No need to look further than the basic rule.
Created: 22-Aug-27 21:37
Matt Michel
Nationality: New Zealand
0
Not an expert, but my interpretation is that 42.3b allows exaggerated roll to steer the boat, the roll you describe, righting the boat from a leeward heel, does not assist with steering the boat up to course, heeling to leeward would help it turn up, so 42.3b does not allow the movement your talking about. 
Created: 22-Aug-27 22:03
Christian Jensen
Nationality: United States
1
It would probably be a good idea if you read the class rules.

Here is an excerpt:
2. Pumping
Due to the fully battened main, the boom needs to be pushed out to stop the boat swinging up to wind
direction. If 29er wants to bear away from an almost stopped situation, she needs to back the main.
Afterwards, with a strong pull on the main or boom, she will get the battens onto the correct side. This
action can be repeated as long as it is clearly intended to get the battens on the correct side.
Permitted actions:
• Repeatedly pumping the main in order to invert the batten(s) – 42.3(e)
Prohibited actions:
• Repeatedly pumping the main when battens are already on the correct side – 42.2(a) (PUMP 1)
Gathering evidence:
• Is a boat having an inverted batten(s)?
• Is pumping the main inverting the batten(s)?

Pumping the mainsail
A forceful pull on the boom with the hand or sheet may be required to get the battens onto the correct side
after a gybe, and will be repeated if it failed to do so. These actions are permitted as long as it is clear they
are being done to release the battens
Created: 22-Aug-27 22:56
Tim Hohmann
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • Umpire In Training
  • Regional Judge
0
I would say that if the sheet pump is to fix inverted battens and/or to initiate planing, and the rock/body pump is also to initiate planing, as long as the boat's speed coming out of the gybe is not faster than she would be going if she hadn't gybed, it's legal.

If I saw an acceleration or surge coming out of the gybe followed by a deceleration back to a regular planing speed, that would look like a violation to me.
Created: 22-Aug-28 00:06
Phil Mostyn
Nationality: Australia
Certifications:
  • National Judge
  • National Umpire
1
Hey Tom,

It's a bit disappointing that there appears to have been no senior judges offering comment. I'm senior only in age - just turned  85 - and I'm retiring my IJ at the end of the year - and last judged RRS 42 on the water in 2019. 

Can't say I'm an expert, but Rule 42 "calls"  Pump 7; Rock 6 and Rock 8 seem to apply in my opinion. What do you think?

Phil.
Created: 22-Aug-28 03:54
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
0
I am anything but an expert on propulsion rules, but I do have a lot of time at the sharp end of similar boats. If the actions described here are illegal, it's not immediately obvious to me what a legal gybe looks like if its to be successfully completed. The boat always accelerates as the main goes across, and a heave on the sheet to flick the battens is important. A big pump because a small heave that fails to flick the battens is a problem. As for the body pump on the trapeze, the heeling moment is about to double and if the weight doesn't get out there in time then the result is inevitable. That seems to leave a suggestion that the crew needs to keep the boat bolt upright through the gybe to comply with the rules. I suppose the top end of the fleet may be skilled enough to manage that in all but the most extreme conditions, but I bet mid fleet boats are not. All in all, unless I am misunderstanding greatly, there seems little difference between the description and what is necessary to complete a competent gybe. 
Created: 22-Aug-28 08:55
P
Tom Björkholm
Nationality: Sweden
Certifications:
  • National Race Officer
  • National Umpire
  • National Judge
1
@Phil Mostyn - now I will commit the sin of adding facts late in the discussion of rule interpretations:
I instinctively never considered this to be a pump intended to initiate planing as
  • The 29er was between two waves with the bow slightly higher up a wave than the stern. What I use to call the downhill slope of a wave to help initiating planing was not there. 
  • I had the feeling that the asymmetric spinnaker was not yet properly trimmed. 
  • None of the 29ers using this technique managed to initiate planing when doing this. Planing was initiated later when the 29er had a different sail trim and was positioned correctly in the wave pattern.
However, the question if the pump to initiate planing (Pump 7) can be done at the same time as the rightening part of the exaggerated roll (Rock 8) is another question and a good question.

@Jim Champ - maybe my description was bad. This is a technique I saw consistently by a few boats and it differs a lot from what the majority of the 29er fleet did:
  • These few 29ers heeled a lot more to leeward at the end of the gybe than the majority of the 29ers.
  • The majority of the 29ers brought the 29er upright first and did the sheet pump to fix the inverted battens when the 29er was upright. These few 29ers did the sheet pump at the same time as they brought the 29er upright (from a much bigger heel).
  • These few 29ers accelerated a lot more by these simultanious actions than majority of the 29ers from their gybe.
  • This was intentional actions in these few 29ers that were in the top third (but not top tenth) of the fleet. I did not see this technique at the back of the fleet.
  • The interesting question is if these few 29ers had a legal better technique than the majority of the 29ers, or if these few 29ers was doing something illegal. (And naturally how to motivate the decision by rule interpretation either way.)


Created: 22-Aug-28 10:41
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
RRS 86.1(c) allows CR’s to change RRS 42 and Christian cited the CR which appears to allow the action described.  Wouldn’t this answer the question directly?
Created: 22-Aug-28 12:28
P
Tom Björkholm
Nationality: Sweden
Certifications:
  • National Race Officer
  • National Umpire
  • National Judge
0
@Angelo - what @Christian cited was not the class rules, but the "RRS 42 - GUIDE – 29er, March 2022" ( https://www.sailing.org/our-sport/race-officals/resource-centre/ -> "29er - Rule 42 Judging Guide"). Still this guide is silent on the original question of combining the pump to invert the batten with an exaggerated roll (Rock 8) to maximise the propulsion effect of it.

The only change to RRS 42 in 29er class rules is using flag "O" in class rule C.1.1(b): 
'If the wind is consistently 10 knots or above, measured at deck level, the Race Committee may signal in accordance with RRS Appendix P5 that “pumping, rocking an ooching” are permitted. This changes RRS 42.2(a), RRS 42.2(b) and RRS 42.2(c).'

The question refers to a situation where "O" has not been displayed. Had flag "O" been displayed it would definitely be legal.



Created: 22-Aug-28 13:59
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