Case #64
...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Martin242 
To: uncle-al@cogeco.ca 
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 1:49 PM
Subject: Rules Questions
 

Hello, Al,

Firstly, a GREAT site; it's really helping me understand the rules and the subtleties involved (i.e. how to make them work for me...:-)

I have a question related to Case 63.  In Case 63, you make reference to rule 17 On the Same Tack; Proper Course: 

17  On the Same Tack; Proper Course
If a boat clear astern becomes overlapped within two of her hull lengths to leeward of a boat on the same tack, she shall not sail above her proper course while they remain
on the same tack and overlapped within that distance, unless in doing so she promptly sails astern of the other boat. This rule does not apply if the overlap begins while the windward boat is required by rule 13 to keep clear.

Thus the key moment in your case was the relative position of the two boats at the instant leeward established his overlap. If at that moment, he was more than two his lengths to leeward of you, then 17 would not apply and as leeward boat, he would have the right to "luff" you ..."

From this, I have a hypothetical situation which I am unclear about (I have used one of your diagrams which ALMOST covers the situations with these exceptions):  

In fairly light winds (max. 8 knots) 2 boats have been sailing on exactly PARALLEL courses on the first third of a downwind leg directly towards the leeward mark. However, Pacifier is not clear astern of OD (there is a small overlap), BUT she is 3 hull lengths off Organ Donor's beam, but faster and closing in on Organ Donor, i.e. Pacifier is NOT within the 2 hull lengths to leeward of OD's beam specified in Rule 17.  

At this point, Pacifier decides that she is going to alter her course (once) in order to put her in a converging course with OD.  She does so in such a way that she is not forcing OD to react immediately, but, instead, somewhere shortly down the course.  Pacifier rationalized this by deciding, in these light conditions, this is her proper course, in order to "hot" her speed up.  
As Pacifier continues to overhaul and close in to leeward of OD, OD tells P that she cannot continue on this "luffing course", and she must cut behind her transom or to sail a parallel course.  Pacifier responds that her course change was made outside of the 2 length zone abeam (quoted in rule 17) therefore it is not "luffing"; further, it is her proper course and that she intends to maintain this course even after they have crossed for some (unstated) distance, before gibing and hotting it up again on the other tack.  OD protests (at least with Rule 17, perhaps more?).  Pacifier tells her she will gladly meet her in the protest room and continues her course.  OD avoids, heading up, allowing Pacifier through (imagining that she breaks through). Who is right/wrong and why?  

My thoughts on this are (and I'm a novice!!) that if Pacifier is able to justify to the race committee that she had made her course change outside the 3 boat length zone, even though she was overlapped, and she could justify her "new" proper course, then she might have a reasonable defence in the protest room.  If you were on that committee, how would you see it?

Cheers.  Apologies for the convoluted nature of this question! 

Paul Nixon (Nanaimo)

Zoom-Zoom #260

....
Answer
return to Quiz Index