Forum: The Racing Rules of Sailing

RRS G1.2 (a) (3) Contrasting Colour

Ewan McEwan
Nationality: United Kingdom
Certifications:
  • Regional Race Officer
  • International Judge
  • International Umpire

Festive greetings! 🌲

May I ask for some opinions on the interpretation of ‘contrasting colour?

How about some colour combinations;

- Black on White, and visa versa, is common and seems obvious
-  Red on White is common in the ILCA classes (class rules require the first two digits to be a different colour to the rest)
- Blue on White, similar

Please add other combinations you have come across and your opinion as to whether they meet the ‘contrasting colour’ requirement.

I recently came across Black on Grey. At first sight I felt that this combination doesn’t meet the rule requirement. Though I thought it useful to check with colleagues.

Look forward to hearing your views!

Created: Sun 13:01

Comments

P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
2
Wow .. interesting question.  There are an infinite number of qualitative answers .. but maybe I'd suggest that one way to quantify the answer is to look at a color wheel. 

Maximum contrast occurs when 2 colors are on the opposite sides on the color wheel .. so as colors are closer to each other, they are of less contrast.

Now .. it's not that simple .. because for any color you also have saturation and brightness.  

  • As you desaturate a color .. it goes to white. 
  • As you darken (decrease the brightness) a color .. it goes to black.

Based on above .. 

  • If you desaturate 2 colors .. they loose contrast (both get whiter)
  • If you darken 2 colors .. they loose contrast (both get blacker)
  • If you desaturate 1 color and darken the other .. they gain contrast (as one goes toward white and the other black)

Here is a color wheel I found which shows the decreasing saturation toward the center.

image.png 97 KB
Created: Sun 13:24
Craig Evans
Nationality: United Kingdom
Certifications:
  • Regional Umpire
  • National Judge
  • Regional Race Officer
1
Hi Ewan,

The White on Grey/Black can work well, but it is the placement of numbers and letters that can be an issue 
Screenshot_20241229-134746_Gallery.jpeg 609 KB
Created: Sun 13:58
Paul Murray
Certifications:
  • National Judge
2
Red on black - no
Blue on black  - no
Gray on black - no
White on black - yes

I have seen many in the above and in evening and night events the top three above are almost impossible to see.   During the day they are hard to make out 

It causes two issues
1. The signal boat/rc have a hard time identifying boats that are OCS, and identifying boats at their finish
2. It makes it difficult for other competitors to identify boats on the water at any distance. 

Does anyone have any suggested NORs or SIs that address this?  It might serve as a warning that AG 1.2 would be enforced.   (The real problem is with the sailmakers that put the red on black or other numbers that don’t conform to the rule) 

The could be made [DP] but a warning does nothing to fix the problem and most owners won’t fix it 

I could see it being a rule 2 issue if a boat or RC believe and convince PC it was done on purpose to hinder identification of the boat. This might be a big hill to climb
Created: Sun 14:02
Eric Meyn
Nationality: United States
1
I think the answer lies within the purpose of the rule. And it needs to be determined first and foremost by the person picking the colors. The colors need to contrast well enough to be easily read from the distance reasonably expected in a refereeing situation. So, for instance, pick the maximum length of a start line for your class you can reasonably expect, and make sure the contrast allows the committee boat to read them if you’re at the pin. 
Created: Sun 14:05
Ant Davey
Certifications:
  • National Judge
  • International Judge
  • Umpire In Training
2
Hi Ewan,
Black on grey really doesn't meet the rule; and I'd go with the rest of Paul's list as well. And if you've ever sat on the finish line of long distance races that finish after dusk, you'll see exactly why. Even in good daylight non-contrasting colours are difficult to read if not at or near right angles to the line of sight.
Owners will fix it once they find that they haven't been classified because they can't be identified. A strategy that has been used in a certain club that organises a large number of cross-channel races each year.
If it is made a DP and the penalty is, say, two places, owners will soon get the message when it puts an end to their season's championship placing.
Created: Sun 14:15
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
1
Writing an SI to replicate a rule already in RRS seems distinctly odd. On the other hand if a fleet has got in the habit of indistinct numbers a warning in the SIs that the rule will be enforced would be sensible. 

It's sort of a shame that the class Rule protest procedure isn't (or is it?) available for this issue since it would seem appropriate. Actually after looking at the appendix it seems to me the class rule procedure would be potentially available for all but international classes. 

Thinks, if an RC has been unable to identify an OCS boat due to indistinct numbers would they be justified in protesting every boat in the fleet that has indistinct numbers? Might concentrate minds. 


Created: Sun 14:32
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
Very interesting ... everyone is talking about a contrast caused by a difference in "luminance".. and not color (or hue).

Again .. going for something quantitative .. you could certainly prescribe (or measure) a min difference in "luminance" in the HLS "color space" ... which is Hue, Luminance and Saturation.

Put both colors in any paint program and use the "eye dropper" tool to compare the "luminance" values.  It would be a simple thing to set a minimum delta in luminance between the sail-color and the Letter/Number-color and take the guess work out of it.
Created: Sun 14:38
Michael Moradzadeh
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
2
A pet peeve of mine. Grey on black.  Very hard to read.
Another one, seen only once, was white on black, but the numbers were stuck opposite each other on the sail so when backlit it read "88888"
Created: Sun 14:59
P
Beau Vrolyk
Nationality: United States
1

The Sailmakers are not the problem, the owners and their representatives are. I've talked to multiple sailmakers about this, they have no problem doing what they are told by the Rule Makers, but they don't want to be the one to give the owner and their representative the "bad news." From personal experience I believe obscuring sail numbers is done  intentionally aboard some boats. As a retired PRO, it is a serious problem in some fleets. (Interestingly the technology that Vakaros and Velocitec are about to announce will eliminate any need for numbers on sails for the PRO, but that won't happen for a few years.)

Just as sailmakers must sign off on a certificate guaranteeing the sail's measurements, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have the Class Rules and the Handicap Rules give them guidance so they can show it to the owners and their representatives and end this nonsense.
Created: Sun 15:27
P
Roger Wilson
Nationality: United Kingdom
Certifications:
  • International Race Officer
  • Regional Umpire
  • National Judge
1
Hi,

I have had a lot of problems with this over the years. 

In Club racing I take a picture of the yacht and send it to the owner and ask them if they know which boat it is. Many owners are very surprised at how hard their sail numbers are to read. Most change their numbers. Those who don't are scored DNC next time.

In open meetings/nationals I always publish a document called Race Management Guidelines laying out how I am going to run the event. I put in it that boat's whose sail number can not be read will be scored DNC and that boats will need to apply for redress if they were racing. I will have a video (on an iPad) of the finish and my tape will have "miss" on it as a boat with unreadable numbers crosses the line. However there is usually more than one so they have to prove which was them. 

Rarely have a problem on the second day. 


Created: Sun 15:37
Ian Morton
Certifications:
  • Regional Race Officer
  • Fleet Measurer
0
The contrasting colour wording in the rule is important, but also the opacity of the numbers on a semi translucent sail can make unlikely colour combinations work e.g. locally we have a boat with blue numbers on a mylar sail with carbon stress filaments. The numbers are easily read because they block the light passing through the sail. In theory white numbers should be used on a ‘black’ sail but in my opinion would be less effective, when viewed against the light passing through the sail.
Created: Sun 16:57
Matt Bounds
Certifications:
  • International Race Officer
  • National Judge
1
One combination that has not been mentioned is yellow on black.  Why do you think it's used on course boards and road signs?
2019-06-27 14.06.44.jpg 4.05 MB
Created: Mon 00:19
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
0
> I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have the Class Rules and the Handicap Rules give
> them guidance 

But surely they have exactly that. I suppose there may be some, but I've never come across a set of class rules that don't either specifically say contrasting or else invoke the RRS rule and appendix. World Sailing certification documents specifically mention the requirement for legibility. No-one should be in the slightest doubt that low legibility sails are illegal and surely measurers should not be passing such. 

But that does bring us full circle to Ewan's original question on what is acceptable, and it's not one that has an easy answer. We can talk about colour wheels and digital contrast, but I don't know that it helps much when you consider all the issues mentioned above. Perhaps measurers should ask themselves whether there's another readily available colour that would obviously be more legible, and if so refuse to pass the sail? Ultimately it's surely got to be down to measurement. 
Created: Mon 00:28
Michael Moradzadeh
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
0
From a race management standpoint, consider applying a weaker penalty than DSQ. This adds to the credibility that you will actually enforce it.  
Created: Mon 00:37
Matt Sargent
Nationality: United Kingdom
2
I sail a dinghy class with a translucent black mainsail.  We have a real problem with white numbers and getting CA members to understand that while white looks clear in the boat park with the light behind the sail it’s invisible.  Not helped by the manufacturer supplying white numbers for a while!  Black on our translucent black is actually as readable as white in most conditions and when it’s not it’s more readable.  My personal view is that white is the absence of colour not a colour and shouldn’t be used.   or using the logic in the first reply it’s a mix of all colours!  I’m which case it’s not ‘a contrasting colour’
Created: Mon 11:52
Ewan McEwan
Nationality: United Kingdom
Certifications:
  • Regional Race Officer
  • International Judge
  • International Umpire
0
That is hugely interesting Matt. Seems that ‘colour’ is not the only issue to ensure visibility, as emphasised by several Race Officer contributions.

Lots of great points by so many very experienced people - thank you.

Would be great if we could draft a proposal to submit in order the change the rule to improve the situation. Remember we need to be a ‘broad church’ as there are so many different forms of the sport to be included!

If any one wants to suggest a prospective text please do - thank you.
Created: Mon 12:31
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
0
I am yet to be convinced this is a rule problem, or one that can be fixed by writing more rules. The subject, including legibility in adverse conditions, is covered in Appendix G and in the measurers guide https://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/Guidetocertificationcontrol2017-[21967].pdf - to quote:

RRS Appendix G - 1.2(a) requires, amongst other things, the national letters and sail numbers to be "clearly legible". Determination of this requirement will be relative and is not strictly a matter of measurement but at least it should be taken to mean legible to the RC and Jury under adverse situations. It also specifies that acceptable typefaces are those giving the same or better legibility than Helvetica (Figure G.2.6.1)

Is there any doubt such sails are already illegal and should not have passed measurement? In which case it's an enforcement problem more than a rule problem. 

It would be interesting to have input from sailmakers who have delivered such sails and measurers who have passed them. 
Created: Mon 13:12
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
1
Ewan, proposed language would depend whether we think WS would accept a quantitative measure or only qualitative one.  (Being a Measurer and engineer by nature and training, you can guess what direction I'd prefer .. :/). )

Beau's article is very helpful. There is a quantitative test which will result in a contrast ratio #.  Maybe state a minimum "contrast ratio".

PS ... this article is even more descriptive and include the tool. It also discusses "alpha" which is the transparency of a color when layered over another (very familiar to all us Photoshop users as the "alpha channel"). At least having the discussion of alpha gets us closer to the effects of transparent sails. 


Created: Mon 13:13
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
... and to the idea that the use of the word "colour" in the rule is maybe distracting from what is actually important ... this article makes the point that 

"..contrast is a measure of the difference in perceived "luminance" or brightness between two colors (the phrase "color contrast" is never used ..". 
Created: Mon 13:53
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
1
Here is an example of G1.2 that is reworded quantitatively

To REALLY do this right .. we should have contrast ratio added to the ERS .. as the ERS already uses "contrasting" (undefined) in "ERS C.4.7 Limit Mark".  In doing so, the ERS could specify the method of contrast ratio measurement (shown below as "some-defined-method-TBD") .. either in the def or as a separate entry in ERS Section H.

So ..  add to ERS Section C.4 a new definition: "Contrast Ratio"

ERS C.4.10 Contrast Ratio
The numeric-value of the difference in perceived "luminance" (or "brightness") between two colours as measured by some-defined-method-TBD.

.. and then use it in a new G1.2 ...

G1.2. Specifications (with ERS term bolded, and additions in [ ]'s)
   
  1. National letters and sail numbers shall be
    1. [be] in capital letters and Arabic numerals,
    2. [be] of the same colour [and material],
    3. of a contrasting colour [have a minimum contrast ratio of ####] to the body of the sail, and
    4. [be] of a sans-serif typeface. 
      In addition, the letters and numbers identifying the boat shall be clearly legible when the sail is set.
Created: Mon 15:24
P
Niko Kotsatos
Certifications:
  • Judge In Training
1
The Rule of Tincture may be applicable here, as everything old is new (and why re-invent the wheel).

here is a (publicly available) image showing the issue of white on charcoal and how it sometimes shows and other times doesn't:
n5YGwTRA.jpg 33.2 KB

jcKtQR7Q.jpg 30.3 KB


Even times that the reverse-side numbers can be viewed more clearly than the front-side numbers:
Z6MryiCg.jpg 31.1 KB
Created: Mon 15:50
Michael Moradzadeh
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
1
I like the "Arabic Numerals" rule. We have one boat in the local fleet with sail number "XX"
Created: Mon 16:09
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
1
Michael re: " We have one boat in the local fleet with sail number "XX""

It it were "XXX" .. would we call that a "sporty" boat? ;-) <gd&r>
Created: Mon 16:24
Rene Nusse
Nationality: Australia
Certifications:
  • Club Race Officer
  • Club Judge
  • Umpire In Training
1
1. Looking at the examples above, is there really an issue? It would be hard to argue that some of these sail numbers satisfy G1.4.
2. A qualitative test is nice, but because of the issue's complexity (as demonstrated in this discussion), it will constantly be confronted with unexpected objections. These are then settled through case law and, over time, eventually come to a workable solution. Looking at some photos above, I wonder whether a “reasonable person” test will settle this more effectively as the evidence is black and white (no pun intended). 

Created: Yesterday 04:26
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
1
I was just reading the RYA rules dispute procedure, and in particular the section on advisory meetings. It's at 

https://assets.rya.org.uk/assetbank-rya-assets/action/directLinkImage?assetId=29070

It occurs to me that something on those lines in SIs could be appropriate, it's a sort of mash up of the RYA process and bits of RRS60.

Y. Sail Number Advisory Meeting
In the event of the RC having difficulty in reading a sail number or numbers it may request an advisory meeting and notify any boat they consider to have indistinct numbers together with photographic evidence.
An adviser will then call a meeting to evaluate the insignia and will state
whether any of the relevant rules appear to have been broken, and by which boat.
Affected boats should not race again until any such deviations have been corrected unless there is, or has been, no reasonable opportunity to do so.


Created: Yesterday 07:58
Matt Sargent
Nationality: United Kingdom
1
I want to confine this to the white on translucent black issue for now.

Niko’s post exactly captures my point about the Class I sail.

RenĂŠ say’s ‘It would be hard to argue that some of these sail numbers satisfy G1.4.’.  But I think that needs modifying ‘It would be hard to argue that at times some of these sail numbers satisfy G1.4.  And equally hard to argue, at times, that they fail to satisfy G1.4’

The simple solution to this would be to add ‘for the purposes of this rule white is not a colour’.

Created: Yesterday 09:41
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
A "sail  number advisory meeting"???  Really?  We want to have committees coming together to then trying to apply "a reasonable person" standard?  IMO that's making it WAYYYYY too complicated and squishy.

How I see it ... the issue is not with the competitors.  They order sails from sailmakers.  Sailmakers make sails to either an OD specification/rules or some other limits based on the class.

So .. to me ... it comes down to:
  1. Sailmakers make sails
  2. They make them to VERY detailed measurable specifications
  3. These specifications include measurable attributes of:
    1. materials, 
    2. dimensions (multiple)
    3. components like battens, hard points, attachment points, etc.
    4. total bag weight
  4. Sometimes the sails can only be made by a single manufacturer
 
With all the above, adding a measurable specification on the sail numbers is not a heavy lift or burden on sailmakers as long as we are specific on what is required.

I've seen this first hand in my function as a Fleet/Class Measurer.  Sailmakers try their best to build sails to spec.  When their processes result in a sail out-of-spec, they remedy it and then that information is fed back into the build-process.

If we give sailmakers a measurable standard, they will quickly learn what materials and hues are acceptable over different substrates/colors of sail materials.  Once that is learned ... that will then be incorporated into the "build profile" for that style of sail.

PS: Matt ... for translucent sails .. it seems to me the solution is that the numbers must be highly opaque.  Opacity to light transmission, again, is something that can me measured and specified.
Created: Yesterday 13:11
Jim Champ
Nationality: United Kingdom
0
There are two aspects aren't there, prevention and cure. It's evident from photos above that there are classes with a major problem with observance of the relevant rules. Of course it's always open to an RC to protest such boats, but I should think few RCs wish to DSQ a chunk of the fleet without some kind of opportunity for rectification. I was trying to find something to put in SIs that would give the opportunity for rectification. 

On prevention, owners shouldn't ask for such sails, sailmakers shouldn't deliver them and measurers shouldn't pass them. But would an enormously complicated set of rules or guidelines about opacity, hues and colour balance really help much? As a former drafter of class rules it sounds like a major challenge, and in my classes we were always trying to take complexity out of our rules. Or could it go another way and simply require sail numbers to be as strongly contrasting as possible? That should deal with the most obvious abuses I've seen like pale blue on black or yellow on white. It's interesting on the above photos and others of that class that the red class logo seems readily visible on all the questionable sails. 

Created: Yesterday 13:58
P
Angelo Guarino
Certifications:
  • Regional Judge
  • Fleet Measurer
0
Jim ... what I'm suggesting is that ... for instance ... with an OD class that uses translucent mainsail material as in the photos ... specifying the color, material and thickness (and thus the opacity) of the letters isn't a heavy lift.

There is no need of variation since all the other measures for that sail are being held constant. 
Created: Yesterday 14:07
Mark Townsend
Nationality: United States
Certifications:
  • International Race Officer
  • International Umpire
  • International Judge
0
 As others have noted, the problem lies in enforcement rather than in the rules.  A certain club that organizes a large number of cross-channel races each year seems to have the solution: boats with illegible sail numbers that don't contrast with the sail's body color can't be given a finishing place.

Rule Britannia!
Created: Yesterday 15:29
[You must be signed in to add a comment]
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more