changes to the racing rules 2009 produced by the royal yachting association; edited by charley cook...

Changes to Changes to the Racing the Racing Rules 2009 Rules 2009

Produced by the Royal Yachting Association;

edited by Charley Cook and Tom Duggan

Charley Cook• International Judge• International Race Office• International Umpire• Chairman, ISAF Race Officials Committee

• PRO, 2012 Olympic Regatta• PRO, 2008 Olympic Regatta• International Jury, 2004 Olympic Regatta• America’s Cup Umpire 2003 and 2007

Most Importantly, Sponsor

Although there have been many ‘tweaks’ to the rulesonly two right of way rules have been rewritten-and those rewrites make little change to the game we play.

Yes, new Rule 18.2(c) changes the match and team race games.

Yes, it was an error.No, ISAF won’t change it back.

Remain calm.

The Major Stuff in a Nutshell:

Rule 17.2 has been deleted.

Rule 18 has been rewritten into Rule 18 and Rule 19.

Rule 19 has been rewritten into Rule 20.

RULE 17, ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE17.1 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 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.

PART 2, WHEN BOATS MEET

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Old 17.2

Except on a beat to windward, while a boat is lessthan two of her hull lengths from a leeward boator a boat clear astern steering a course to leewardof her, she shall not sail below her proper courseunless she jibes.

Old D1.1(a) Team Racing Version of 17.2

Deleted ‘or a boat clear astern steering a course to leeward of her’

17.2 is now deleted completely.There is now no restriction on sailing below a proper course except the standard restrictionsof keeping clear and/or giving room.

RULE 17, ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE

dYellow's proper

course



Yellow's proper

course



DELETION OF RULE 17.2•This was not permitted

Yellow's propercourse



DELETION OF RULE 17.2•This was not permitted• It now is (as long as Yellow keeps clear)




DELETION OF RULE 17.2•This was not permitted




DELETION OF RULE 17.2•This was not permitted• It now is (as long as Yellow keeps clear)



SECTION C, AT MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONS

DEFINITION MARK-ROOMRoom 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.

‘Room for a boat to sail to the mark…’: room has its defined meaning, so,

The space a boat needs in the existing conditions, while manoeuvring promptly in a seamanlike way, to sail to the mark…

‘…and then room to sail her proper course while at the mark…’: so,

…and then the space the boat needs while at the mark, in the existing conditions and while manoeuvring promptly in a seamanlike way, to sail a course to finish as soon as possible in the absence of the boat required to give mark-room…


Note that three separate times in oldRule 18 the outside or clear astern boat was required to ‘keep clear’.

No longer………..

New Rule 18 states that the outside orclear astern boat is required to ‘give mark-room’.

This is a small change- in certain circumstances it will force a boat to roundthe mark sooner.

When?

Old Call E9 has been eliminatedJ2 answer the same- different reasons


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.


Note that ‘mark room’ only includesroom to tack for a boat that is overlapped, inside, windward- not for a boat clear ahead.

This is a change- before, if a boat started outside overlapped and then fell astern-the overlapped obligation remained and the now clear ahead boat could tack as ifshe were still inside overlapped.

No longer- now it is what it is.

If when the ahead/inside boat is ready to tack there is an overlap- she is entitled to room to tack.If clear ahead she is not- no matter how the relationship between the two was at the zone.

When does Rule 18 apply?

When ‘at least one of them is in the zone’-no longer ‘when boats are about to round’.

When does Rule 18 cease to apply?

If ‘either boat passes head to wind’or ‘if the boat entitled to mark room leaves the zone’- no longer ‘until they have passed it’.




(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 inside boat entitled to mark-room leaves the zone, rule 18.2(b) ceases to apply.

BLUE must luff to give YELLOW enough mark-room to luff to sail to the mark and then to sail her proper course while at the mark. BLUE must also keep clear under rule 11, and must still give mark-room if she becomes clear ahead


In old Rule 18 right of way kind of passedback and forth between right of way boats and boats entitled to room to round a mark.

In new Rule 18 the right of way boat is always the right of way boat. However ,new Rule 18.5 exonerates boats taking mark room to which they are entitledfrom breaking a rule of Section A.




BLUE must bear away to give YELLOW room to sail to the mark, and then room for YELLOW to sail her proper course while at the mark





BLUE tries unsuccessfully to break the overlap before the zone. BLUE must give YELLOW room to sail to the mark, and then room to sail her proper course while at the mark. If BLUE cannot now do so, BLUE breaks rule 18.2(b). BLUE must bear this in mind before deciding to luff





When RED will reach the zone, she must give mark-room to the three other boats. They are all overlapped on her. If she does not, she will break rule 18.2(b). To avoid that, she must take early action before the zone so as to be able to give mark-room. So must the two BLUE boats, to give YELLOW room. Is there any exception to this? Not here, since mark-room can be given





If RED and the BLUE boats have been overlapped for some time, RED has to be ready to give them mark-room at the zone

YELLOW, clear astern of the other three, will have to give all of them mark-room if she enters the zone after them, even if she then gybes onto starboard tack with right of way under rule 10





If RED and the BLUE boats have been overlapped for some time, RED has to be ready to give them mark-room at the zone

If YELLOW has only just become overlapped from clear astern, and the BLUE boat next to her will not be able to give her mark-room at the zone, BLUE is not required to give it. If she can then give it after zone entry, she must do so





(c) 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.

But if instead RED and the BLUE boats had overhauled YELLOW, they will have no excuse for not giving mark-room, and should already have started to ‘move over’ to be able to give that room





BLUE may try to shake off YELLOW’s overlap, before the zone is reached. If BLUE succeeds, she may sail for the mark knowing that YELLOW must now give her mark-room. This is at the risk of failing to shake off the overlap. If YELLOW is still overlapped at BLUE’s zone entry, nothing exempts BLUE from her obligation to give mark-room





Ideally, both boats would like to hold their course under spinnaker into the zone – it would be a proper course for both of them





Ideally, both boats would like to hold their course under spinnaker into the zone – it would be a proper course for both of them

They cannot. YELLOW, the right-of-way boat, on starboard tack, must give BLUE , the inside keep-clear boat, room to sail to the mark

BLUE cannot continue as far as she would like before gybing, and must take only the room she needs to sail in a seamanlike way to the mark




(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…

However, if an inside right-of-way boat wants to take more room than just room to sail to the mark, she may do so (subject to not delaying her gybe beyond her proper course), and the outside boat must keep clear

No change, since rule 11 still applies



18.4 GybingWhen an inside overlapped right-of-way boat must gybe at a mark to sail her proper course, until she gybes she shall sail no farther from the mark than needed to sail that course. Rule 18.4 does not apply at a gate mark.

The new last sentence means that YELLOW can belatedly decide to sail for the other gate mark and is not required to gybe at the one being passed



18.5 ExonerationWhen 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.

GREEN was not giving RED mark-room and will be penalized. Rule 10 is not disapplied by rule 18, but RED is exonerated under rule 18.5(a) for breaking rule 10. Note however that there is no exoneration for RED for breaking rule 14 if there is avoidable injury or damage






Rule 18.2(b) requires YELLOW to give mark-room to inside overlapped BLUE. YELLOW breaks the overlap inside the zone. YELLOW must still give mark-room (Rule 18.2(c)). She does not. BLUE is rounding on her proper course. BLUE is exonerated under rule18.5(a) for breaking rule 12






Before the mark, BLUE is (just) keeping clear. At the mark, YELLOW bears away hard, but on her proper course, and does not give BLUE room to keep clear. YELLOW breaks rule 16.1 but is to be exonerated. BLUE breaks rule 11 by now not keeping clear – she must expect YELLOW’s bear-away



RULE 19, ROOM TO PASS AN OBSTRUCTION19.1When Rule 19 AppliesRule 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.



RULE 19, ROOM TO PASS AN OBSTRUCTION

19.2Giving 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. {CALL B8}

(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.


SECTION C, AT MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONSRule 18, Mark-Room

Applies at all marks, inc. marks that are obstructions, except a mark that is a continuing obstructionThe room to be given and taken is is Mark-Room, as defined There is a zone, at which rights and obligations are often fixedThere are built-in immediate exonerations for breaking several rules, especially rule 16

Rule 19, Room to Pass an ObstructionApplies at all obstructions that are not marks, and at continuing obstructions that are marksThe room to be given and taken is ‘ordinary’ room, as definedThere is no zone. It all depends on whether room can be given when it is neededThere are no built-in exonerations, though exoneration via rule 64.1(c) may be available in a protest



BLUE, with rule 11 right-of-way, has to decide whether to pass the obstruction to windward or to leeward

If she decides to pass it to windward, then when she changes course to do so, she must give YELLOW room as required by rule 16, Changing Course, to continue to keep clear under rule 11

If she decides to pass it to leeward, she must give room for YELLOW to do likewise



Because there is no ‘zone’, BLUE’s obligation to give room depends on whether she can do so when an overlap begins near an obstruction



When boats are approaching an obstruction off-wind on opposite tacks, they are overlapped, because the definition Overlap (which normally confines that term to same-tack boats and opposite tack boats at marks) extends it to boats sailing more than ninety degrees from the true wind

GREEN, on starboard, decides which way to pass the obstruction. If she bears away, she must give room to RED, and if she gybes to port she must now keep clear of RED under rule 11



Another vessel that is not racing can always be an obstruction to other boats (no change)

A boat that is racing can be an obstruction to other boats if they are required to keep clear of her, give her room or mark-room, or (under rule 22) avoid her (no change)

If none of the above applies, a give-way boat cannot be an obstruction as defined (no change)

BUT –a vessel under way, including a boat racing, is never a continuing obstruction (CHANGE). YELLOW is an obstruction to GREEN and BLUE, but NOT a continuing obstruction to which rule 19.2(c) applies. If GREEN catches YELLOW and BLUE, rules 12, then 11, 15, 17 and 19.2(b) apply. If GREEN becomes overlapped to leeward of BLUE, BLUE must now give room under rule 19.2(b) and keep clear under rule 11, if she can


Highlights of new Rule 19

There is no longer a ‘zone’ aroundan obstruction- this changes Call B8

A boat is now never a ‘continuingobstruction’.

Highlights of new Rule 20Room to Tack at an Obstruction

With the exception of the start- a hailed boatmust now always tack- and protest later if shedisagrees with the hail.

Rule 23 is a change, also.

Old Rule 22.2A boat shall not change course if her onlypurpose is to interfere with a boat making a penalty turn or one on another leg or lap ofthe course.

New Rule 23.2Except when sailing her proper course, a boatshall not interfere with a boat taking a penaltyor sailing on another leg.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• ISAF Q&As*• ISAF Case Book• US SAILING Appeals• ISAF Call Book – Match Racing• ISAF Call Book – Team Racing• ISAF Rapid Response Calls * www.sailing.org ; “Officials”; then

“RR Q&A Service”

changes to the racing rules 2009 produced by the royal yachting association; edited by charley cook...

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