Forum: The Racing Rules of Sailing
Drifting leeward mark reset while boats heading towards it
Paul White
Nationality: Australia
0
Situation (not subject to a hearing or proceeding)
A windward - leeward course with a leeward gate in light variable winds. Due to a strong current, one of the gate marks had drifted to leeward on the same bearing from the windward mark.
The mark-drift was noticed by the race officer as the fleet rounded the windward mark. A mark-boat was deployed to reset the mark in its original position which was completed when the fleet was half way down the leeward leg.
After racing, a competitor suggested that the proper process for moving a mark (sound warnings from a boat at the previous mark with a board showing the new bearing and/or distance) was not followed.
Question:
Should the race officer have warned of a course change when resetting the mark to its original position?
A windward - leeward course with a leeward gate in light variable winds. Due to a strong current, one of the gate marks had drifted to leeward on the same bearing from the windward mark.
The mark-drift was noticed by the race officer as the fleet rounded the windward mark. A mark-boat was deployed to reset the mark in its original position which was completed when the fleet was half way down the leeward leg.
After racing, a competitor suggested that the proper process for moving a mark (sound warnings from a boat at the previous mark with a board showing the new bearing and/or distance) was not followed.
Question:
Should the race officer have warned of a course change when resetting the mark to its original position?
Comments
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In practice, when I'm writing the SIs, I put in a provision to the effect that if 2p or 2s is missing, the other is to be rounded to port. Then the mark boat (and RO) has the option of just pulling out the drifting mark, which can be done faster than re-positoning the drifting mark.
34. If a mark is missing our out of position while boats are racing, the Race Committee shall, if possible:
a) replace it in its original position, or replace it with a mark of similar appearance.
There is no requirement in r34(a) for any sound signal or flags. In rule 34(b) when replacing the mark with a mark or object of dissimilar appearance (often a mark boat) the object replacing the mark needs to have Flag M attached to it and repetitive sound signals need to be made, but at the mark not the previous mark.
If you start by asking whether boats' scores were made worse, you seem to be making an assumption about the impropriety.
If any one condition is met then there are no grounds for redress.
It doesn't matter how improper the RC's actions were, if the actions did not affect a boat's score then there is no redress.
In some cases it satisfies the initiator of a request for redress that the PC concludes that the RC made an improper action, but that did not make a boat's score worse so no redress. All the initiator wants is for the PC to recognise that the RC got things wrong.