I am not new to sailing or racing, but have never heard or heard of "water" being hailed.  "Mast abeam," sure. But not "water".

 

hi Nick Taylor 

The cry of "WATER" has been a classic hail for decades and there is no problem with it as long as it is used as a call, it is a sound signal, a call for attention, and a specific word has never been regulated to call generically. 

I hope the answers to your questions are clear and help you 

1) The time for the boat to call is when it will shortly need to maneuver to avoid an obstacle 20.1 (a) and (b) 

2) YES. The called boat should ALWAYS respond 20.2 (b) 

3) No, because there is no specific voice for the hail in the basic rule, except that the IR could have specified it 20.4 (b), and in addition it could be required to make a visual signal 20.4 (a) 

4) This part 2 rule governs when sailing in or near the racing area between boats that intend to race are racing or have been racing, PREAMBLE PART 2, and because it is from section C it will not apply in a starting mark in the manner and with the conditions established in the PREAMBLE SECTION C 

5) The hail of "WATER" was never changed because it is not a word established by the rules, it is a voice adopted generally by sailors, it could be another "AHOY" I like. 

 

My additional comment is that perhaps in your reading of the rule you have joined the words "space" that refers to said definition with "to tack" the reason or need for the call, interpreting the set as the regulatory and unique way of hail. 

A hug, sorry for the translation, I wrote it in Spanish. 

 Michael Moradzadeh 
Yachting World magazine annual 1970, pag 118.

Case 54: 

"... rule 20.1 does not require A to use specific words in her hail but, to meet the requirements of the rule, those words must clearly convey that A requires room to tack."
In a culture that recognizes "Water!" to mean "I am running out of navigable water," that is sufficient.
In radio sailing, the hail must include the words room and tack, plus the hailing boat's sail number.

Rule 20 is, in my opinion, the worst rule in the book and if I were 'The Rule King' deleting it would be the first thing I would do.  But more on that later.

This applies to all your questions.  There are no required words to use.  I have heard 'room to tack', 'water', 'obstruction', and many others, but 'pizza', 'yoga mat', and 'get the f* outta my way' are equally as good.  Also 20.4(a) applies if you can't be heard, but there are no required signals either.  A raised middle finger could apply as a response from the hailed boat.

1) Technically, rule 20 turns on whenever a boat hails anything to another boat that could possibly be interpreted as a request for room to tack.  Once that happens, the hailed boat is required to respond in some way.
2) Yes, no matter what the hail, the hailed boat is required to respond as outlined in 20.2(b) and20.2(c).
3) Unless the hail is deemed improper as outlined in 20.1(a) or 20.1(b) or the last sentence, a protest will get you nowhere.
4) Rule 20 'turns off' when both boats have done what they need to do under 20.2(b), 20.2(c), and 20.2(d).

Hola John Christman

The rules are neither worse or better, they all have to be read and taken into account together, and above all, be able to use them in the best way in an atmosphere of camaraderie and try to make it work. When using improper voices like the ones you've written that aren't allowed by the rules (see clipping attached) we're just trying to make it not work and then blaming the rule.

Nick, are you referring to radio controlled sailing?

When I read your question that said  

I was curious, thinking I wonder when the rule changed.  I have a library of old rules books.  I went back to 1965 and they all say words very similar to the current rule 20 "A boat may hail for room to tack".  For example the 1965 rule 43.1 said "she shall hail the other boat for room to tack".   In 1936 Rule XXXII said "if she is not able to tack without coming into collision with the yacht to windward; the latter shall, on being hailed by the person in charge of the leeward yacht" .  (that was the NAYRU rules, rules weren't consistent worldwide until 1965.)

There isn't and there has not been for as long as most (all?) of us have been racing a consistent required hail.  I think if you hail "room to tack" it would be hard to argue that your hail wasn't for "room to tack" so it is safe, but other hails can meet this description.  World Sailing Cases are authoritative.  World Sailing Case 54 Answer 4 says "Unlike rule 20.2(c), rule 20.1 does not require A to use specific words in her hail but, to meet the requirements of the rule, those words must clearly convey that A requires room to tack."   I would guess that in some parts of the world a hail of "Water" would meet that requirement and in others it might not.  It might lead to the response shown in the cartoon above..

Appendix E (for RC yachting) :-
 "E1.3 Rules of Parts 1, 2 and 7 (a) Rule 1.2 is deleted. Appendix E RADIO SAILING RACING RULES 95 (b) Hails under rules 20.1 and 20.3 shall include the words ‘room’ and ‘tack' and the sail number of the hailing boat, in any order. "
I sail RC yachts, and it is tempting to refuse to give Room when the call "Water" or  "I'm going to run aground" is made. Especially when no sail number is called.

Stewart, I know you jest. It is tempting, true, for those who seek controversy ashore.
You will still be obliged to "keep a lookout" and to avoid contact.

Hi Philip. As I understand, the onus to avoid contact is on the Hailing skipper/controller. If a Hailed skipper (even a proper hail which is genuinely not heard - and that really happens in RC yachting) gets no response, he is breaking a ROW rule if he simply tacks into a contact. He might be exonerated (R43) in some circumstances?? My understanding is that the Hailing skipper, if compelled to clear an obstruction, should sail to HTW to avoid the obstruction, then protest the other skipper. I'm not sure how things will pan out if the obstruction is, say, a floating branch, and he will hit it even if he only goes htw? Probably R43? I don't think R43 would let him off the hook if it is a lee shore which he could avoid by going htw since he was not "compelled". In all seriousness, it really is essential (though rarely done) to call your sail number. Otherwise how do you know who made the call? (it is not always obvious why a skipper will call for room to tack so it is not always obvious who might be making the call)

Thanks all for the great response. 
Philip, I total miss the case 54 thanks for pointing it out.
Andrew for look back at the rules over the many years way be for my time. 

Just some points I sail a dinghy in a river as well as radio sailing. This is where my confusion comes from.

Sailing rules 20.1 Hailing = “A boat may hail for room to tack and avoid a boat on the same tack. “

Case 10, 101 diagrams I took it as the hail was “Room to Tack!”, not hailed room to tack.

Case 3 the hail was ‘Room to Tack’.

All the other case used room to tack, which could be a hail of “Water”, “Tacking” and anything else.

Radio Sailing adds to rule 20.1 (E1.3(b))Hails under rules 20.1 and 20.3 shall include the words ‘room’ and ‘tack' and the sail number of the hailing boat, in any order.

So back to my question Can you protest a boat for hailing “water”. No way for Sailing. But maybe in radio sailing.

The maybe bit could be hard as it’s a safety call. Then looking into the protesting rules for radio sailing they are different again you can’t protest based on E2.1 Hailing Requirements. 

Rule 60.1 is changed to: 
A boat may 

However, a boat or competitor may not protest for an alleged breach of rules E2 or E3.7. 

Rule E2 applies only while boats are racing.    

I would think that (E1.3(b)) would still prevail over E2 but as Stewart said “If a Hailed skipper (even a proper hail which is genuinely not heard - and that really happens in RC yachting) gets no response,” the hailing skipper could not be protested anyway based on hail volume, other ambient noises at the time and the distance between the skipper involved.

I do think it’s possible to protest on the responding side. 20.2(c) when the verbal reply is “You can’t do that”, ”Protest” or ”No Way” or anything that is not “You Tack” or failing to tack.

Many Thanks Again

Nick Taylor

 

Jeeze .. all I can say is, ‘I’m glad nobody has ever yelled “water” to me!”  … as I wouldn’t have had the foggiest idea what they were saying and would have probably assumed I misunderstood them .. and all along … time continues to tick by.  I could think that they just need room to maneuver to pass an obstruction .., not necessarily “room to tack”. 

The only 2 prescribed hails with defined meanings are “protest” and “you tack”. 

Certainly we have “starboard”, “no room!”, “overlap!”, “no overlap!” Is just a sampling of the hails we hear nearly every race, and though they are not prescribed in the RRS, they say what they mean and generally are put in the bucket of some of many actions a boat can take to avoid contact with another boat by conveying your point of view to another skipper. 

“Water” however by its nature does not convey the action requested … “I need enough room to tack to avoid an obstruction” .., and as I said above, does not distinguish between “room to tack” from “room to pass”.

So, what I’m saying is that IMO the hailer is taking a huge risk using that term.

Nick, no. You may not protest a boat for hailing "water" any more than for hailing "bazooka," or anything else.
However in radio sailing the PC must absolutely invalidate his protest of you, if he protests only for failing to tack or respond with "You tack."
Anything else he may protest you for is the usual toss-up.

Hi Philip 
Sorry for the misunderstanding.  
What I was trying to say in my conclusion
Under sailing rules 
"Can you protest a boat for hailing “water”? = "No" for Sailing rules. 
Under radio sailing rules. 
"Can you protest a boat for hailing “water”?  = "Maybe"  in radio sailing rules by E1.3(b). 

As Angelo said " The only 2 prescribed hails with defined meanings are “protest” and “you tack”." which is true for Sailing. 
But Radio Sailing adds to rule 20.1 "(E1.3(b))Hails under rules 20.1 and 20.3 shall include the words ‘room’ and ‘tack' and the sail number of the hailing boat, in any order." which i would have thought that make 3 prescribed hails in radio sailing. and hailing boat would be obligated to use the prescribed hail apposed to "Water" or anything less.

I am surprised that 2 responses have never heard the hail "water". It could be more that they sail in open water than river or pond sailing.

Hope that clears it up.

Thanks Nick Taylor



 

Nick .. I've heard "water" used in the context of more words .. like "I'm running out of water" .. or "I'll need some water" .. but just "water" by itself meaning precisely "room to tack"?  No .. I haven't heard that.

Ang

Hi Ang, Nick, Regretably, I have heard nothing except "Water" with never anything else (except once, when the skipper thought he was doing it right, but called the boat number he was hailing - not his own). When you are sailing, actually in a boat, and you hear a call from someone, you can reasonably believe it is directed towards you. But in RC racing, the hailing skipper might be in a different part of the Control Area. And hails of "Water" (usually refering to request for Mark Room) fill the air!! It is a sore point with me!

Serious question - do those whose native language is not English, also use the word "Water"? Or their own language for "Water"? Or some other all-oncompassing call for Mark Room, Room to Tack etc?? And are the Rules written in their own language? And do they use "00 Room to Tack" or their own language for "00 Room to Tack"?

Not all English speakers speak the same English.

Growing up sailing in the UK and Ireland, the hail was always for water.  Can't say I could tell you when it changed to a hail for room.

 

The rules are very good, they were made by sailors many decades ago. They are based on paradigms of self-compliance, respect and knowledge of them, camaraderie, amateurism, and fair play. 

They must always be observed from the perspective of a boat and not from outside it, and with their regatta experience, not simply reading the book. 

As in all marine vocabulary, their voices must be very few and specific and those acquired by tradition in actions will always be the best. 

So the rules work very well when the competitors comply with them in an effort to have an honest race and not to look for a hole in them to pass. 

In Argentina, AGUA (WATER) is used, and in relation to the rule 20 more generally “espacio para virar” that indicate “room to tack”. 

So, when a boat hail according rule 20, several things accompany it and it is easily understood because it always hail towards a boat that is close, overlapped to windward or clear astern, when it is sailing close-hauled or above  and needs to make a substantial course change to avoid an obstruction. (this is something that both boats can evaluate so the hail in most cases will be obvious to the called boat). So, it is clear this substantial change course, to windward, sailing close -hauled will be to tack!. "A good listener few words" 

In Match Race the movement with the arm in both boats is added to the call, pointing the one who hail to windward and who responds pointing himself, it is not a bad habit and of course it can be done in any regatta, and it seems more eloquent than adding words. 

Having raced and sailed in Australia and New Zealand, I have heard "Water" called as a hail for "Room to Tack" quite consistently. I have never heard it used in the US, except by x-pat Kiwi and Aussie sailors.

As someone who races up the rocky north shore of the City of San Francisco to avoid the tidal flow quite regularly, there are numerous calls for "Room to Tack" or "Room" in each race. Often, these hails force multiple boats to all tack nearly simultaneously, as the St. Francis YC starting line is set right off the rocks and the front row of boats are impacted by the arrival of the boat that won the pin-end of the start at the rocky shore. 

This often brings up a key question regarding regarding how much room the hailing boat gets to take. Some sailors believe that they have a right to tack over to port and hold their on-the-wind course, making no attempt to duck the starboard tack boat they had hailed. In response, some competitors have taken to turning on a video recorder as soon as they say "You Tack", to show that the hailing boat made little to no attempt to duck after tacking following a call of "Room to Tack". There is a good example of this attitude during the maxi boat start of the Sydney to Hobart race this year. 

To add to Beau's comment, rule 20 is the most broken and abused rule on the SF City Front.  It also has a huge effect on the boat positions as it generally gives a huge advantage to the boat calling for room and control changes and they wind up ahead rather than behind the other boats.

My experience is the in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand they call “Water”

In Europe they pound on the deck.