-----
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:
"17.1
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 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 17.1 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
17.1.
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 17.1) 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
17.1 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)
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