Forum: Rule 18 and Room at the Mark
Leeward Gate Mark Rounding
Vince Nicholls
Nationality: United Kingdom
1
I am fairly new to sail racing so please forgive my ignorance if the answer to my question is obvious. This is not the subject of any current protest but I want to be prepared for when this situation happens again. My question involves two boats in a one design class race on a downwind leg approaching the same leeward gate mark but on opposite tacks ( so at roughly a 90 degree angle to each other as all using asymmetric spinnakers). Boat A is on starboard approaching the leeward gate which will be passed to starboard and without any need to change his course or tack or gybe until actually rounding the mark. Boat B is on port as he approaches the leeward gate intending to round the same gate mark to starboard and has no need to tack or gibe until he wants to execute the rounding of the mark but obviously will need a 180 to 270 degree rounding to get around the mark.
Boat A enters the 3 boat length zone a clear boat length ahead of Boat B. Boat A drops it’s asymmetric in readiness to round the mark safely. Boat B keeps its asymmetric flying right up to the mark and therefore comes into the mark at great speed closing the gap on Boat A.
Reading the rules it seems completely illogical that Boat B seems to have ROW and Boat A has to give mark room. When Boat A enters the three boat length zone Boat B (if they had been on the same tack) would not have had an overlap - but because they are on opposite tacks and at roughly 90 degrees to each other - Drawing a line across the stern of Boat A means that Boats even a long way behind on the opposite tack are technically overlapped. Boat B is therefore claiming that he has to be given room at the mark
Obviously his approach to the mark is dangerous and Boat A the starboard boat sailing a proper racing course is being forced to take the avoiding action and then having to make an abnormally wide rounding of the mark simply to let Boat B fly into the mark at speed and take a wide rounding.
Does Boat B really have these rights ?
Boat A enters the 3 boat length zone a clear boat length ahead of Boat B. Boat A drops it’s asymmetric in readiness to round the mark safely. Boat B keeps its asymmetric flying right up to the mark and therefore comes into the mark at great speed closing the gap on Boat A.
Reading the rules it seems completely illogical that Boat B seems to have ROW and Boat A has to give mark room. When Boat A enters the three boat length zone Boat B (if they had been on the same tack) would not have had an overlap - but because they are on opposite tacks and at roughly 90 degrees to each other - Drawing a line across the stern of Boat A means that Boats even a long way behind on the opposite tack are technically overlapped. Boat B is therefore claiming that he has to be given room at the mark
Obviously his approach to the mark is dangerous and Boat A the starboard boat sailing a proper racing course is being forced to take the avoiding action and then having to make an abnormally wide rounding of the mark simply to let Boat B fly into the mark at speed and take a wide rounding.
Does Boat B really have these rights ?
Comments
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Here are a couple of them so that when other forum members walk you through your scenario, you will have had a chance to read them.
I would recommend reading cases 75, 21, 118, 12
PS: spend a lot of time bouncing between Case 75 and 21 as they really compliment each other. In 75 it’s the ROW boat that is inside and in 21 it’s the keep clear boat that is inside.
If A had ROW and B had no mark room, where would B go? Bail out to the wrong side of the mark and into A's path?
I think we need to be specifically careful here when using the term “proper course” in this scenario. This is why I highlighted Cases 75 and 21 in my post.
In Vince’s scenario, Port-Inside never has the right to sail her proper course. She has the right to “round the mark as necessary to sail her course”.
These courses can be very different things.
If Port-Inside had the right to sail her proper course, it might be her proper course to “fly into the mark at speed and take a wide rounding” in the absence of starboard. This is the point of Case 75.
In Vince’s case, as you point out, she is only owed “room to round as necessary to sail her course”, which could be and is often times less room and doesn’t include additional room to do a tactical rounding.
"Proper course" is not a "tactical course". Port-inside's proper course IS her course to "round the mark as necessary to sail her course". Case 75 only applies to a ROW boat. Case 21 confirms my position that the give-way, inside boat is only entitled to mark-room to sail her proper course around the mark. If B takes more room than necessary to sail her proper course while at the mark, she has broken RRS 18.2 (b) per the definition of mark-room.
18.2. Giving Mark-Room
a. When boats are overlapped the outside boat shall give the inside boat mark-room, unless rule 18.2(b) applies. ⚞ 2, 59 ⚟
b. If boats are overlapped when the first of them reaches the zone, the outside boat at that moment shall thereafter give the inside boat mark-room. If a boat is clear ahead when she reaches the zone, the boat clear astern at that moment shall thereafter give her mark-room.
From Vince's post:
Boat B is on port as he approaches the leeward gate intending to round the same gate mark to starboard and has no need to tack or gibe until he wants to execute the rounding of the mark but obviously will need a 180 to 270 degree rounding to get around the mark.
Boat A enters the 3 boat length zone a clear boat length ahead of Boat B. Boat A drops it’s asymmetric in readiness to round the mark safely. Boat B keeps its asymmetric flying right up to the mark and therefore comes into the mark at great speed closing the gap on Boat A.
"reaches the zone a clear boat length ahead" does not equal "reaches the zone a boat length clear ahead".
Might have been clearer to say 'A reaches the zone one boat length before B does'
I think Eric is recalling the definition of mark-room as it appeared in the 2009 version of the rules when it was first introduced.
Mark-room no longer includes room to sail a proper course.
In Case 75, the inside boat gets to sail her proper course because she is starboard tack right of way, not because she is entitled to mark-room.
If you want to talk about 'tactical' roundings, the Appeal that discusses this term is US Sailing Appeal 20
'Proper course' is defined to be the courses a boat would sail to finish as soon as possible. That would usually mean her fastest course, and, indeed that is the sense in which 'tactical' is used in Appeal 20. In the Case 75 scenario where the inside boat is also the right of way boat she can come in as fast and as hard as she likes, and round as wide as is necessary for her to sail fastest. Appeal 20 is closer to the OP scenario in that the inside boat is NOT the right of way boat, so is certainly not entitled to make a 'tactical' rounding.
There is, of course, another meaning to 'tactical', that is, the sense of advantageous in terms of inter-boat tactics with respect to other boats, but I don't think we need to discuss that here.
Eric, by the way, a boat does not break rule 18.2 by taking more room than she is entitled to at a mark: she just loses her entitlement to exoneration if she breaks a right of way rule or rule 15 or 16.
Phil,
It's very risky to make assertions about the purpose of the rules.
it's likely to lead to inferring all sorts of things into the rules that aren't there.
Just apply the rules as they are written.
I add to Phil:
If A takes avoiding actions while B is on port 10 aplies unless 21 aplies
If it happens while B is not sailing to the mark 10 or 11 aplies
If B sails too far from the mark 10 or 11 aplies
If B hit the mark she may be exonerated by 21
If contact occurse A may be exonerated under 14, B may be exonerated only by 64.1b
[I'm writing what follows as if talking to Vince, who ID'd as new to racing rules]
First, whenever I think about "proper course" or someone brings up that term, I try to remember that "proper course" requires a rule using the term to be applicable in the situation being considered [emphasis added below]
So the first thing I do when I hear "proper course" is ask "What rule are you referring to that uses the term?". If there isn't a rule using the term that applies in the situation, then proper course isn't applicable.
Vince, you will hear lots of racers yelling 'proper course' on the race course or bringing into discussions at the bar, so it's important to know the rules that actually use the term. This is a great exercise for you! .. read carefully through Part 2,3,4, Definitions and write down all the rules that use "proper course" ... you may be surprised how few there actually are.
In this scenario, there is no Part 2,3,4 rule that applies that uses "proper course". What we do have is a reference to "proper course" in the definition Mark Room (which is a "rule") ...
So, "proper course" is used in a rule that is applicable, BUT it is used indirectly as a "test", the test being ... If the boat's proper course is to sail close to the mark, she gets room to sail to the mark, but importantly it doesn't give her room to sail her proper course while doing so.
OK .. so in your scenario we do have a "proper course" use .. so we do need to determine what is B's proper course for the test.
Here's the 2nd part .. when determining a boat's proper course it is done, ".. in the absence of the other boats referred to in the rule". In this case, we have 'mark-room' using 'proper-course' and the mark-room is between boats A and B, so you remove A from the scenario and determine what course would B sail without A in the water. If that course would take B close to the mark, then B gets room to sail to the mark.
What's important to note here is that you do not remove other boats that are not referred to in rule between them using “proper course”. If there were boats ahead of B for instance that did not owe B mark-room, you do not remove them when determining what B's proper course would be. Therefore, these other boats might influence the determination of B's proper-course, as her proper-course includes her obligations to other boats under other rules. This is when and why I was using "tactical" in my previous post (which is how I think about it).
In summary, first .. ask yourself (or others) .. is there a rule using 'proper course'?. Next, if you find a rule, ID "the other boats referred to in the rule', make them disappear in your mind, keep other boats that are not referred in the rule, and then figure out the boat's proper course.
B is a keep clear boat entitled only to pass between a ROW boat and the mark.
I believe that 'Proper Course' is the only definition that includes the phrase, " ... in the rule using the term.", so I thought it might be helpful.
I think there might be few other defined-terms where having a rule-index might be handy .. for instance maybe Start, Finish, Fetching ....
Please take a look at the mini rule-index for Proper Course and lets us know if you think it'll be useful. If so, we'll add it to some other defined terms.
PS: If you like or dislike the mini-rule-index on ‘Proper Course’, use the thumbs-up/down on this comment unless you would like to comment. You can also send me a private email.
Ang
Like you I have found it a common occurrence in the "room" that many sailors either haven't come to terms with the Definition of Overlap or simply can't understand the concept of boats on opposite tacks approaching a leewerd mark can be overlapped - a diagram usually resolves the issue.
So as to an inside overlapped give-way boat with Mark-Room at a leeward mark as in Vince's question;
1) Boats on opposite tacks sailing more than 90% from the true wind are overlapped when neither is clear astern of the other.
2) Rule 18.2 [Giving Mark-Room] begins to apply between boats when the first of them reaches the Zone.
3) Blue in the diagram above must continue keeping clear of Yellow as Yellow is ROW under rule 10,
4) However, Yellow is obliged to give Blue Mark-Room which in the above illustration is:
(a) room to sail to the mark and
(b) room to pass the mark on the required side in a seamanlike manner.
Cheers,
Phil.
For clarity, when writing the original post I'd probably have used the words 'one length before' rather than ahead. But when we get to writing the facts found it would be something along the lines of: 'When Y entered the zone, sailing on STBD, she was overlapped outside B, sailing on PT.'
Once there's an overlap established as the first boat enters, the fore and aft distance between the boats becomes irrelevant.