| Uncle Al's Racing Rules in
Pictures Rules are quoted, then illustrated and explained as seems necessary. Part 2C - At Marks and Obstructions for instant access without scrolling, click on the Rules listed below 18 Mark-Room 18.1 When Rule 18 Applies 18.2 Giving Mark-Room 18.3 Tacking when approaching a Mark 18.4 Gybing 18.5 Exoneration 19 Room to Pass an Obstruction 20 Room to Tack at an Obstruction This file is also available in PDF format. Click here to view or download. |
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I had to dig deep (1998 Wind
Bag Regatta) to
find a time when we had what the above preamble refers
to indirectly: a starting mark not "surrounded by navigable
water". Here, the RC are sitting on the mark at the starboard end of
the line - the shore!! This is the only kind of starting mark at which
rule 18 does apply. At 99.9% of start marks, rule 18 does
not
apply, hence the greeting: "You're barging!!" when someone tries to
squeeze in at the windward end. Allowing buoy room at a start would
create chaos!!!
Note though, that last little
bit of 18.1(a) which explains that "buoy
room" is only suspended when boats are approaching the line to
actually start,
i.e. you can call for "room" at a start mark with a couple of
minutes to go in the countdown (unless you sail in a class where it's
common practice to "sit" in your spot on a 100-boat line that early).
...Lastly, I am happy to report that in 55 years of racing, I have yet to encounter the situation envisaged by the sentence: "When rule 20 applies, rules 18 and 19 do not." So, I will leave it to someone else to cover that eventuality. |
| DEFINITION: MARK-ROOM Mark-Room Room for a boat to sail to the mark, and then room to sail her proper course while at the mark. However, mark-room does not include room to tack unless the boat is overlapped to windward and on the inside of the boat required to give mark-room. |
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Imagine that Geoff Edwards
(W9483) and Fred Black
(W7379) are about to round mark #4 to starboard. Fred is the inside
boat (i.e.
he is overlapped on the inside). Assuming he is entitled to mark-room,
such
room will include only enough room to sail to the mark. As give-way
boat (windward), Fred is not entitled to sail his proper course which
might well be to approach the mark wide and leave it close (a so-called
tactical rounding). Once at the mark, Fred will be entitled to sail
proper course as he rounds, and if he is still overlapped with Geoff,
mark-room will give him the right to tack at this mark. But as soon as
Fred is no longer "at the mark", his mark-room protection from the
leeward right-of-way boat ends, and he must as of that moment again
keep clear.
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Below, our former kitten (above)
- who
loved the keyboard - puts in his "two paws'
worth" and tells us what he thinks of rule 18:
"fffffffffffffffffrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff."
He now lives out in the country where he can chase real mice!!
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This photo again shows how mark-room entitles a boat
to tack as part
of the rounding manoeuvre. Note that Tanya Wharton (W6) is inside boat
and the mark-room that Uncle
Al (just to leeward of Tanya) gives her will
have to include room to tack (i.e. to swing her stern wide - so to
speak - as she tacks).
Ironically, if Tanya were clear
ahead here, she would not be immune to the requirements of rule 13 (Tacking). See also rule 18.2(c).
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A reach-to-reach tack around a
mark
(fortunately) happens once per year at best - and it didn't happen
above, either. But it was the closest picture I had, so I added a mark
(just above the lovely Lise Jonasen in W4123) to which Søren
Jonasen (W4123) and Uncle Al with super-crew, Anders Pjetursson, in Whistle
(W9355) will have to sail next. Of course this will require a
tack followed by a close reach on starboard tack. The mark-room
definition (above) indicates that
Søren, the inside
boat, is entitled to room to tack here. But
again - if Søren were clear ahead, he would ironically not
be entitled to tack as part of his mark-room.
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| 18.1 When Rule 18 Applies Rule 18 applies between boats when they are required to leave a mark on the same side and at least one of them is in the zone. However, it does not apply (a) between boats on opposite tacks on a beat to windward, (b) between boats on opposite tacks when the proper course at the mark for one but not both of them is to tack, (c) between a boat approaching a mark and one leaving it, or (d) if the mark is a continuing obstruction, in which case rule 19 applies. |
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The above shot from the 1986
Wayfarer Worlds on
Lake Couchiching is the only aerial photo I have on which I can
demonstrate the re-defined zone which
has been enlarged from the old "two-length zone" (white circle above) to three
lengths (red circle) as
follows:
Zone The area around a mark within a distance of three hull lengths of the boat nearer to it. A boat is in the zone when any part of her hull is in the zone. Rule 18 no longer begins to
apply when boats are "about to" pass or round a mark which could have
been outside of the zone and which tended to be a judgment call. In the
new rules, the point at which rule 18 begins to apply is made quite
clear: rule 18 turns on at the moment when "at least one of [the boats] is in the zone".
And note that for a boat to be in the zone, part of hull must be in it
- not her bowsprit, sails, etc. The three boats on the left in the
photo above are thus subject to rule 18.
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In the photo above, Y-Flyer
2546 and W3571 (Bob
Kennedy) may well converge as they near the mark which I have inserted
and
which they had to leave to starboard. Until one boat enters the zone and turns on rule 18,
the starboard Y-Flyer may call his rights on the three port-tack boats.
If W3571 has an overlap on Y2546 when rule 18 turns on, 3571 will be
entitled to mark-room but as
give-way boat, he will be entitled only to mark-room, i.e. room to make a
seamanlike (not tactical!!)
approach to the mark followed by a proper-course rounding once he is at
the mark.
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And even if rule 18 definitely
applies, don’t
forget that if a windward boat rounds
with an inside overlap on leeward, the latter remains the right-of-way
boat (leeward). Above, Flying Scot 4921 is entitled only to mark-room
(the
space needed to make a safe, seamanlike rounding), and not the space
needed for a tactical rounding (wide and close). Above, FS4921 has
taken far too
much room and is fouling FS3387 to leeward of him.
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| "required to leave" "on the same side" refers to
the possibility that
boats from different race courses may meet at a mark which they pass on
the same side but in opposite directions - one buoys to port, the other
buoys to starboard. Then rule 18 does not apply and it's back to
basics, e.g. rule 10 and 11. ... |
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This picture illustrates rule 18.1(a): namely that rule 18 does not apply between
boats on opposite
tacks on a beat to windward. Here, Hubert Dauch (W3636) - as the
port-tack boat - is bound to keep clear of both Nick (blue hull) and
Gale (red hull).
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Quick, now! Is Judd Lather (red
spinnaker)
protected by rule 18 at a finish mark??? - Yes, he is. Bob Frick
(the
Wayfarer to leeward of Judd) has to give him room. The only
mark
at
which rule 18 (almost) never applies, is at a start mark. Of course, if
the last leg is a beat, then rule 18 still won't apply between boats on
opposite tacks at a finish mark.
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| 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. (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. (c) When a boat is required to give mark-room by rule 18.2(b), she shall continue to do so even if later an overlap is broken or a new overlap begins. However, if either boat passes head to wind or if the boat entitled to mark-room leaves the zone, rule 18.2(b) ceases to apply. (d) If there is reasonable doubt that a boat obtained or broke an overlap in time, it shall be presumed that she did not. (e) If a boat obtained an inside overlap from clear astern and, from the time the overlap began, the outside boat has been unable to give mark-room, she is not required to give it. |
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Here, Peter (W286) is the
outside boat and has
to give room to the inside boat (the Laser). Not only that, the inside
boat has right of way (leeward) so that Peter must "also keep clear"
- in so many words, the right-of-way inside boat can take as much room
as he likes! Once past the mark, the leeward boat can sail any course
he likes, also (always assuming that rule 18.4 does not come into
play!).
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In essence, 18.2(b)
freezes the action and the
rights as the first of a group of overlapped boats reaches the zone. If at that precise moment you
had rights to mark-room (i.e.
you
were overlapped inside the other boat), you
keep those rights through the rounding even if you
then lose the overlap inside the zone. If
the
other boat pulls
ahead, he must still give you room. The photo above illustrates another
common possibility: Christian Bovet (W5128) was overlapped inside Paul
Knowlson (W9116) at the moment one or the other of them first reached
the zone. Here,
Christian may well go wide of the
mark as he
gybes, tempting Paul to try to cut inside of Christian. An admirable
move - if it works. But 18.2(b) underscores the fact that a boat trying
to
cut in has no rights to mark-room
in such a situation: if Christian starts
wide here, but then cuts the mark close with Paul wedged in there, the
latter is out of luck! Penalty turns time!! It is important to note however,
that from the
moment Christian gybes to port, his rights to a tactical rouding expire
because he is now the give-way boat to both W9116 (leeward) and W4898
(starboard). From this point on, he is thus only entitled to mark-room (seamanlike course to
the mark plus a proper-course rounding once he
is at the mark) with regards to W4898 and W9116 even though he reached
the zone clear ahead
of Stephan Nandrup-Bus (W4898).
Moreover, if you leave the zone
again before rounding,
e.g. by going too wide, etc., you have pushed the nautical equivalent
of the reset button: your situation must be re-evaluated because any
rights you may have had, have - alas - not been saved!!
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18.2(c) is
another case of
freezing the action -
in this case with one boat clear ahead of another as she reaches the zone.
Here, John Friis (with Mary in the lime green PFD!) was clear astern of
all the other boats seen in the photo when they reached the zone.
According to 18.2(c) and
regardless of the mess that may soon develop at the mark (off
John's port bow), John must
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Note however
that the boat which is clear
ahead (e.g. Hans Gottschling, W938, in the photo above) is not entitled
to tack as part of its rounding procedure - see the last
sentence of 18.2(c): "However, if
either boat passes head to wind
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rule 18.2(b) ceases to
apply." -
which means
that rule 13 does apply
(see ISAF
Case 81)
and if Hans tacks here, he may well foul Peter Rahn (W286). The mark-room definition further
underscores this as follows: "mark-room does not include room to tack unless the boat is overlapped
to windward
and on the inside of the
boat required to give mark-room."
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Rule 18.2(d) points out
that it is up to
a boat that
claims there was a last-second change in status - overlap
gained or
broken - to prove that fact. In the picture above, Geoff Edwards
(W9483) ended up getting an overlap inside W7379 (Fred Black) near the
gybe mark. If the question of "buoy room" came to a protest, Geoff
would need to convince the committee that he had indeed established the
overlap in time. If there was reasonable doubt, see
18.2(d) above.
Also included in 18.2 - in part
(e) - is the fact that you are not entitled to mark-room if
the outside boat is unable to give room from the moment you establish
your inside overlap
- even before reaching the zone. I still recall a race
from the heydays of the June Bug Regatta at Fanshawe in the mid-80's:
The wind died right near mark 4 (about 50 metres from the shore) as we
ghosted towards it on a late Saturday afternoon run. By the time we got
near the mark, there were already 50+ boats of all shapes and sizes
wedged in between the mark and the shore - and also on the wrong side
of the mark. This was presumably an example of where we could have
gotten an inside overlap well before the zone but where the outside
boat had no hope of actually giving us the mark-room and so we weren't
entitled.
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| 18.3
Tacking when approaching a
Mark If two boats were approaching a mark on opposite tacks and one of them changes tack, and as a result is subject to rule 13 in the zone when the other is fetching the mark, rule 18.2 does not thereafter apply. The boat that changed tack (a) shall not cause the other boat to sail above close-hauled to avoid her or prevent the other boat from passing the mark on the required side, and (b) shall give mark-room if the other boat becomes overlapped inside her. |
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Here Nick is about to complete
a tack inside the zone in front of Gale (left) who is
laying the mark.
Thus, rule 18.3 applies. This means Nick will not have the protections
of rule 18.2 such as being entitled to room and freedom from the
restrictions of rule 16 (the
right to change
course as he sees fit to
round the mark). In addition, W864 (Nick)
(a) shall not cause [Gale] to sail above close-hauled to avoid [Nick] or prevent the other boat (Gale) from passing the mark, and (b) shall give room if the other boat becomes overlapped inside her, in which case rule 15 does not apply. Basically,
...(a) above leaves Nick at the mercy of Gale who can (successfully) protest Nick if Gale feels he had to sail above close-hauled because of Nick's boat being in the way, and (b) above means that Gale can shove his nose in to leeward of Nick unhampered by the restrictions of rule 15 such that Nick probably has no hope in hell of keeping clear. As you can probably tell, our rules makers are trying to discourage us from tacking in traffic near the windward mark. And they have done a good job!! I myself make it a strategic priority to try to avoid tacking in(to) the two-length zone unless there are no other boats near me. |
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This situation actually ended
up with a protest.
While Paul Laderoute (W7380) rounded relaxed and in the lead, second
place was a close battle among Heider Funck (W6), Uncle Al (W3854) and
Peter Rahn (upwind of Al). Worried about completing his tack inside the
zone and too close to Peter, Uncle Al is
bearing away behind Peter instead of going for a lee-bow. Al then
tacked as soon as he could do so without hitting Peter. Heider held on
until he had to bear away behind Peter as well - about one boatlength
from the mark. W6 then tacked into the half a boatlength or so
between Peter and Al. This tack likely broke rule 13
(tacking too close) but Heider definitely infringed 18.3 because Al had
to luff up beyond close-hauled and still collided with W6.
Penalty turns were duly done by Heider.
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| 18.4 Gybing When an inside overlapped right-of-way boat must gybe at a mark or obstruction to sail her proper course, until she gybes she shall sail no farther from the mark or obstruction than needed to sail that course. Rule 18.4 does not apply at a gate mark. |
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Here, Geoff Edwards (W9483) is
"an inside
overlapped
right-of-way boat". Since the next leg is a port-tack reach, he "must
gybe" to
sail his proper course. Because that is the case, Geoff must make a proper
course rounding, i.e. he is not allowed to
deliberately take
Fred Black (W7379) far past the mark instead of sailing his proper
course. In so many words, Geoff must gybe where he would gybe if no
other boat was near by.
It should be noted however,
that if the next leg were a very broad
reach or a run, then 18.4 would not apply since it addresses only boats
who "must" gybe to sail their proper course.
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| 18.5
Exoneration When a boat is taking mark-room to which she is entitled, she shall be exonerated (a) if, as a result of the other boat failing to give her mark-room, she breaks a rule of Section A, or (b) if, by rounding the mark on her proper course, she breaks a rule of Section A or rule 15 or 16. |
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This photo illustrates a
situation where rule 18.5 might come into play.
Under normal
circumstances, rule 16.1 might
well prevent
Uncle Al (leeward boat in
W3854) from changing course towards Hans Gottschling (windward
in W938) because the two boats are so close together that a course
change by Al may not leave Hans enough room
to keep clear. But here rule 18 applies so that, as per 18.5, rule
16 does not apply to Al who is free to alter course as he feels is
necessary to round the mark. Hans must be prepared for this and make
sure he is able to keep clear despite any (reasonable!) course change
(such as luffing above close-hauled to "shoot the mark") that Al may
feel is required.
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| 19 Room to Pass an
Obstruction 19.1 When Rule 19 Applies Rule 19 applies between boats at an obstruction except when it is also a mark the boats are required to leave on the same side. However, at a continuing obstruction, rule 19 always applies and rule 18 does not. 19.2 Giving Room at an Obstruction (a) A right-of-way boat may choose to pass an obstruction on either side. (b) When boats are overlapped, the outside boat shall give the inside boat room between her and the obstruction, unless she has been unable to do so from the time the overlap began. (c) While boats are passing a continuing obstruction, if a boat that was clear astern and required to keep clear becomes overlapped between the other boat and the obstruction and, at the moment the overlap begins, there is not room for her to pass between them, she is not entitled to room under rule 19.2(b). While the boats remain overlapped, she shall keep clear and rules 10 and 11 do not apply. |
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Above, Søren Jensen (W10212) and
Sten Madsen (W9067) are overlapped
on a starboard-tack run. Both have to keep
clear of the close-hauled starboard boat off Sten's bow which
as leeward boat has right of way over both Søren and Sten, and
will rank as an obstruction
to Sten. Although Søren has right of way over Sten under rule
11, rule 19 requires that Søren give Sten enough room - as opposed to mark-room - to pass the obstruction, i.e. the right-of-way
boat (Søren, leeward) must move out of the way (only) to the extent that the give-way boat
(Sten, windward) is able to pass the obstruction
without fear of collision. As soon as the obstruction that caused rule 19 to
"kick in" has been passed, everything reverts back to the rules of the
other sections of Part 2.
...If Søren had so desired and had acted early enough, he could have chosen to sail high and pass in front of the leeward (beating) boat, as provided under rule 19.2(a). |
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The obvious continuing obstruction that springs
to my mind is a shore along which the boats
are sailing - such
as the
east side of Fanshawe Lake above. Let's pretend that here Kevin
Biskaborn (yellow Laser) came up from clear astern in trying to pass
his brother, Brad (blue
Laser). Under rule 19.2(c), Kevin
was entitled to room only if
at the moment he established his overlap
between Brad
and the continuing obstruction (the
shore) there was room for
him to pass between them.
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R.I.P.
A
right-of-way boat sailing along beside you used to rank as a continuing
obstruction, so that line-sitters like the Wayfarers above were
protected from interlopers coming from astern under what is now rule
19.2(c). But the revised obstruction
definition now rules that out: "A vessel
under way, including a boat racing, is never a continuing obstruction".
This may well affect our start line strategies since a boat coming up
from astern can now shove his nose in to leeward of your transom even
if there is not room for his boat to fit between you and a boat to
leeward of you. The way new rules read, the windward boat must take
evasive action the moment leeward establishes an overlap. At that point, the only
feasible evasive action may well be for you to speed up and cross the
line early. Stay tuned!!
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20 Room
to Tack at an
Obstruction When a boat is taking room to which she is entitled under rule 20.1(b), she shall be exonerated if she breaks a rule of Section A or rule 15 or 16. 20.3 When Not to Hail A boat shall not hail unless safety requires her to make a substantial course change to avoid the obstruction. Also, she shall not hail if the obstruction is a mark that the hailed boat is fetching.
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Here, Roger (W7700) is just
completing a tack to
starboard and will now be sailing along just to windward and astern
of Brian (W9235). If Brian is worried about hitting an obstruction (the shore),
but is likely to foul Roger by tacking, rule 20.1 lets Brian ask Roger
for "room to tack".
Brian must do this on the early side because
In the photo above, the following sequence of events might typically occur:
Note that rule 20
applies only where the boat asking for
"room to tack" cannot tack and then keep clear of the other
boat, i.e. if Brian (9235 above) can tack and then bear away to keep
clear of the starboard boat (7700), Brian must do so without
invoking rule 20.
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In the photo above on the left,
1305 (starboard)
is an
obstruction to 1131 who is on port tack. Therefore 1131 would have had
the
right to hail 171 for "room to tack", had he done so well before the
moment captured here. Having not hailed, 1131 is now blissfully
sailing into a situation where he is sure to foul the starboard boat
(1305) since he's left it too late to bear away, or he will foul the
boat to
windward of him (171) by doing a crash tack (see photo on right) to
avoid 1305.
...There are usually two possibilities for the leeward boat who can hail for room to tack, or pass astern of Starboard. If Leeward opts to call for "room to tack", then Windward cannot claim room to pass astern of Starboard, since the Section C preamble states: "When rule 20 applies, rules 18 and 19 do not." Note however, that unless Leeward has to make "a substantial course change" (rule 20.3) to pass astern of Starboard, rule 20 (Room to Tack) is not available to him. If, on the other hand, Leeward chooses to pass behind Starboard, rule 20 is not being applied. Therefore Leeward must - under rule 19 - allow Windward (AY171 in this case) room to pass astern of Starboard, also. |
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This picture tells the story of
why 20 cannot
be allowed to apply at a starting mark, even if that mark (the RC boat
in this case) is large enough to qualify as an obstruction.
Imagine the
absolute mess that would be created if Peter Rahn (286) for instance,
got wedged in
towards the RC boat and could now request room to tack!!! Which is why
the Section C preamble states: "Section
C rules do not apply at
a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line
from the time boats are approaching them to start until they have
passed them."
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Rules
in Pictures index
Definitions
Defintions
PDFI have also made PDF's of the five items below - for those who want to print the material or work off line. These PDF's will not have the many links included in the on-line version, however. Part 2A Part 2A PDF Part 2B Part 2B PDF Part 2C Part 2C PDF Part 2D + penalty turns 2D PDF Photo-based Rules Quiz - 1 Photo-based Rules Quiz - 2 |