Page 24 - Case Book 2017 - 2020 April 18

endanger herself in order to claim her entitlement to CASE 49
room. If the outside boat disputes the inside boat's When two protests arise from the same incident, or from
entitlement to room, she must nevertheless give room, very closely connected incidents, they should be heard
and then, if she wishes, protest. together in the presence of representatives of all the
boats involved.
RYA 2017/1 CASE 117
At a mark laid adjacent to a continuing obstruction, the When three boats are on the same tack and two of them
obligation of outside boats to give room to pass the are overlapped and overtaking the third from clear
continuing obstruction continues to apply. There is no astern, if the leeward boat astern becomes overlapped
requirement for boats to give mark-room to inside boats with the boat ahead, the boat ahead is no longer an
at the mark, who may only pass the mark on the obstruction, and rule 19.2(b) does not apply. There are
required side while giving room for the continuing no situations in which a row of boats sailing close to
obstruction and, if windward boats, keeping clear.
one another is a continuing obstruction.
Rule 19.2, Room to Pass an Obstruction: CASE 124
Giving Room at an Obstruction At any point in time while two boats are approaching an
obstruction, the right-of-way boat at that moment may
CASE 3 choose to pass the obstruction on either side provided
A leeward port-tack boat, hailing for room to tack when that she can then comply with the applicable rules.
faced with an oncoming starboard-tack boat, an
obstruction, is not required to anticipate that the CASE125
windward boat will fail to comply with her obligation to When an outside overlapped boat is required to give
tack promptly or otherwise provide room. room to one or more inside boats to pass an
obstruction, the space she gives must be sufficient to
CASE 11 permit all the inside boats to comply with their
When boats are overlapped at an obstruction, including obligations under the rules of Part 2.
an obstruction that is a right-of-way boat, the outside
boat must give the inside boat room to pass between her RYA 1962/8
and the obstruction. The word ‘side’ in rule 19.2(a) (as also in rule 18.1)
refers to the side of the boat on which the obstruction
CASE 29 (or mark) is to be passed, and not to any ‘side’ that the
A leeward boat is an obstruction to an overlapped obstruction (or mark) may happen to have.
windward boat and a third boat clear astern. The boat There is no zone at an obstruction that is not also a mark.
clear astern may sail between the two overlapped boats Rule 19.2(b) does not apply when it is not possible to
and be entitled to room from the windward boat to pass identify which of two boats overlapped at an obstruction
between her and the leeward boat, provided that the is the outside boat and which the inside boat.
windward boat has been able to give that room from the
time the overlap began. RYA 1968/11
There is no zone at an obstruction to which rule 19
CASE 33 applies. A boat astern and required to keep clear is
When a boat approaching an obstruction hails for room entitled to room if she becomes overlapped between the
to tack, but does so before the time when she needs to boat that was ahead and a continuing obstruction,
begin the process described in rule 20 to avoid the provided that there was room to pass between them
obstruction safely, she breaks rule 20.1(a). However, when the overlap began.
even if the hail breaks rule 20.1(a), the hailed boat must
respond. An inside overlapped boat is entitled to room When the nature of a continuing obstruction changes
between the outside boat and an obstruction under rule because of a projection or shallows, these features form
19.2(b) even though she has tacked into the inside part of the continuing obstruction, and a boat that has
overlapping position. properly established an inside overlap is then entitled to
any necessary additional room.

CASE 41 RYA 1977/7
A discussion of how rule 19.2(b) and the definitions When two overlapping same-tack boats are less than one
Obstruction and Clear Astern and Clear Ahead; hull length apart, and when another boat clear astern is
Overlap apply when two overlapped boats on the same closing on them, the right of way boat will rank as an
tack overtake and pass to leeward of a boat ahead on obstruction to the other two boats. The boat clear astern
the same tack. There is no obligation to hail for room may establish an overlap between the boats ahead, with
at an obstruction, but it is prudent to do so. an entitlement from the windward boat to room, provided

CASE 43 that the windward boat is able to give room. When a boat
A close-hauled port-tack boat that is sailing parallel is required to act to keep clear, no rule entitles her to
and close to an obstruction must keep clear of a boat room to avoid becoming OCS.
that has completed her tack to starboard and is
approaching on a collision course. RYA 1984/11
At an obstruction, a close-hauled boat is not entitled to
room under either rule 19 or rule 20 from another

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