Page 58 - Masthead - Salcombe Yacht Club 2019 Yearbook

56 Rules
GUIDE
LINES
The guidelines of usage of safety boats are clearly displayed in the Watch House.
Safety Boat Drivers:
• Wear the kill cord
• Wear your life jacket
• Stop engine when in contact with someone in the water
• Always beware of the propeller and look before you start the engine
RULES FOCUS
OBSTRUCTIONS
Knowing what is and what isn’t an obstruction when racing is a handy thing
to know especially when you’re in confined waters. There are also some grey areas that can cause disagreements. As ever the best place for a sailor to start is in the Definitions part of the rulebook as this tells you what an obstruction is so that you can work out what to do when you get near to one. The scope is far and wide from objects in the water up to coastlines. How you get around them, who is entitled to say which side to go and who is required to give room are all found in rule 19 (the one after Mark-Room).
The basic premise of rule 19 is that it’s a safety rule to try and make sure boats don’t hit things that could damage them or the things they might hit.
Rule 19 applies (see rule 19.1) when you get close enough to need to do something about not hitting the thing you’re trying to avoid, but there are a couple of notable exceptions such as when the obstruction is a mark and, in some situations, when the Mark-Room rules (rule 18) applies. Rule 19.1 has been updated in the 2017-2020 rulebook due to a conflict that was found with rule 18.
So now we know what an obstruction is and when the rules for getting around them starts working, how do we know who has to do what and when?
Rule 19.2 gives us the answers and it’s in three parts (a), (b) and (c).
The boat that has right of way at the time can decide which side to pass the obstruction (19.1(a)).
So if you’re Starboard (10), Leeward
(11) or Ahead (12) then you’ll be the one
to choose and if, when you get to the obstruction and you’ve chosen which side to pass it, there is an overlapped inside boat, then they are entitled to room (19.1(b).
Again there is an exception that if the outside boat is not able to give room from when the overlap began then she is not obliged to do so. Remember it’s a safety rule so late barging at an obstruction is not going to get you anywhere.
The last part of the rule, which is 19.2(c), deals with continuing obstructions and is the one worth reading through carefully
for Salcombe sailors who spend a lot of time dodging the current by getting ever closer to the beach often inside groups of swimmers and paddle-boarders.
As we’re talking about a continuous obstruction everyone is likely to be passing it on the same side so rule 19.1(a) doesn’t really come into play and so we look at who has right of way and who is ahead.
If you’re sailing downwind on starboard ahead of the other boats, you’re in a strong position with respect to the obstruction.
If you’re on port and ahead of a boat
on starboard as you sail alongside a continuous obstruction, then you’re in a weaker position.
If you’re sailing downwind, ahead, and on the same tack as another boat when you get to the continuing obstruction and the other boat becomes overlapped on the inside then you freeze the situation at that point and if there is room for the inside boat to sail through the gap then the outside boat has to give room, if not, she doesn’t.
This leads to dynamic and ever-changing scenarios as overlaps and rights of way come and go, and it can lead to some heated exchanges on the water but with some forward planning and decisive actions at key times you can use the beach to defend your lead, but remember not to lose sight of those extra gusts of wind that sit just off the beach and the risks of getting tangled up with a gaggle of kayaks or being
hit on the head by a stray cricket ball. You should also have a read at rule 20 which covers what you need to do when you need room to tack at an obstruction, but the intricacies of that rule are for a different article. Good luck and great sailing.
Craig Mitchel