Page 132 - Case Book 2017 - 2020 April 18

to act to avoid contact with her. That is also the moment SUMMARY OF THE FACTS
after which a right-of-way boat risks penalization if she During race 5 in a Topper class series, the windward
has not acted to avoid contact that results in damage. mark dragged out of position and was replaced by a
The RYA is satisfied that it was, or should have been, mark boat. The mark boat misheard the race officer’s
plain to Toy that Quickstep III was not keeping clear instruction and displayed flag N instead of flag M. A
while she was tacking, as evidenced by the fact that number of competitors assumed that the race had been
Toy’s avoiding action, taken immediately Quickstep III abandoned and temporarily stopped racing, losing
had reached a close-hauled course, was unsuccessful. places as a result.
Toy did not act to avoid contact soon enough, although A single request for redress was lodged by Topper
she could have done so, and, as there was contact
resulting in damage, she is disqualified under rule 14. 47390 which identified three boats as affected. The
hearing established that those boats had lost about 8, 3
Quickstep III v Toy, Royal North of Ireland Y C and 3 places, respectively, and that their actual finishing
positions had been 19 , 10 and 12 .
th
th
th
RYA 2012/3
Rule 70.1(a), Appeals and requests to a national The protest committee awarded redress as there had
authority been an improper action of the race committee.
RYA Arbitration However, the protest committee was unable to discover
how many boats might have been affected by the error
An RYA Arbitration hearing is not a protest committee and decided that the fairest result for all boats was to
hearing but an agreed arrangement between the parties leave the scores unchanged. Topper 47390 appealed.
and the arbitrator. Only full protest hearing decisions
or procedures may be appealed. DECISION
Topper 47390’s appeal is upheld. All three boats are to
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS be rescored in race 5 – as finishing positions 8, 3 and 3
Two protest forms were lodged by the appellant, one less than their actual finishing positions. No other boats’
dealing with a racing incident between Alice and Xstatic scores are to be changed.
that resulted in damage and the other being a request for
redress by Alice arising from the same incident. After The protest committee was correct in awarding redress
discussion, both parties accepted RYA Arbitration and but as the loss of places by the three boats were facts
the Exoneration Penalty as provided for in the sailing found it should have awarded improved places to the
instructions. The protestee accepted the alleged facts of boats identified as affected, whether or not they had
the incident and accepted a 20% exoneration penalty. asked for redress. Leaving all scores unchanged is not
The protestor, Alice, accepted redress in the form of as fair an arrangement as possible for all boats affected.
average points. The possibility that other boats might have been
affected is not a good reason to refuse recompense to
Alice appealed on the grounds that the protest should those boats known to have been disadvantaged by the
not have been heard by arbitration as there was damage, error of the race committee.
and that the quantum of redress was inappropriate as her
overall position in the regatta would not change. Request for redress by Topper 47390, Datchet Water SC

DECISION RYA 2013/2
The appeal is refused. Rule 76, Exclusion of Boats or Competitors
Rule 77, Identification on Sails
An RYA Arbitration hearing is not a protest committee Appendix G (as prescribed by the RYA), Identification
hearing but a mutually agreed arrangement between the on Sails
parties and the arbitrator. Under rule 70.1(a) only the
decisions of a protest committee hearing may be Rule 77 may be deleted by sailing instructions. When
appealed. Therefore, the appeal is refused as it concerns rule 77 is deleted, neither Appendix G nor the RYA
an agreement made following an arbitration hearing. At prescriptions thereto apply. A boat might break a class
the time, Alice had voluntarily accepted both the rule whether or not rule 77 applies. An organising
process and the outcome of the arbitration. She could authority may reject or cancel an entry when they know
have decided not to accept either the process or the that a boat intends to race with a sail number other
outcome, in which case a full protest committee hearing than its registered number or use a sail without any
would have been required, the decision(s) of which number. A boat may be protested for a breach of class
would have been open to appeal. rules, rule 77 or the WS Advertising Code.
Alice v Xstatic, Royal Plymouth Corinthian Y C QUESTION 1
Can rule 77 be changed by deleting it in the sailing
RYA 2013/1 instructions?
Rule 64.2 Decisions on Redress
ANSWER 1
When one or more competitors are found to have had Yes. Rule 77 may be changed or deleted as it is not a
their finishing positions adversely affected by an rule listed in rule 86.1(b).
improper action of the race committee, the scores of
those boats should be adjusted even if it is not known QUESTION 2
whether or not other boats might have been affected. If yes, does Appendix G (or any part of it) now still
apply?

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