Page 65 - Case Book 2017 - 2020 April 18

W did not comply with the requirement of rule 20.2(c) RYA 1982/10
to tack as soon as possible after the hail. Her own Rule 28.2, Sailing the Course
evidence that she luffed 'gradually and progressively' Rule 62.1(d), Redress
does not accord with the requirement of the rule.
A boat that has been forced the wrong side of a mark is
She also broke rule 13, and rule 21 did not exonerate not exempted by any rule from sailing the course, nor is
her, since it was L rather than W that was entitled to redress normally available to her.
room. Indeed, rule 21 exonerated L for breaking rule SUMMARY OF THE FACTS
16.1 by bearing away into the collision, since L was
taking room to which she was entitled. At a mark, I was overlapped inside O before the zone
was reached, and was therefore entitled to mark-room
L broke rule 14 as she could have avoided contact, but under the first sentence of rule 18.2(b). There was a
is exonerated in the absence of damage or injury. collision just before the mark, and I, having no room to
pass between O and the mark, left it to port, instead of
Phantom Spinner v Early Bird, Ranelagh SC
to starboard as required by sailing instructions. She did
not subsequently return and pass it on the correct side.
RYA 1982/7 She protested O. The protest committee disqualified
Rule 26, Starting Races
Rule 90.2,(c), Race Committee; Sailing Instructions; both boats, O under rule 18.2(b) for not giving mark-
Scoring: Sailing Instructions room, and I for failing to sail the course. It concluded
Race Signals that O’s breach had been careless rather than deliberate.
I appealed.
A signal comprises both a flag (or object of similar
appearance) and a sound signal, unless rule 26 applies. DECISION
Unless the sailing instructions state otherwise, sound I’s appeal is dismissed.
signals without visual signals have no particular There is no racing rule that exempts a boat from
significance under the rules. complying with rule 28.2. Even had she returned,
When oral instructions are not provided for in sailing unwound if necessary and then rounded on the correct
instructions, instructions so given may be ignored. side, she would not have been entitled to redress for
places lost, since none of the grounds in rule 62.1 was
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS applicable. Rule 2 had not been broken, nor would a
Several unidentified Lasers were on the course side of hearing under rule 69 have been appropriate, so no
the starting line at the starting signal, and the race request for redress under rule 62.1(d) in particular could
officer decided to recall the start. He made two sound have succeeded.
signals but failed to display flag First Substitute. A hail
of ‘General Recall’ was made over the address system. Merlin 2666 v Merlin 2043, Goring on Thames SC
L61772 had heard the hail, but, in the absence of the
flag, chose to ignore it, She did not believe herself to RYA 1982/13
Definitions, Start
have been on the course side of the starting line at the Rule 28.2, Sailing the Course
starting signal. The rest of the class returned and the
race was restarted. A boat that has not left a starting mark on the required
side will start if she later crosses the starting line in the
There being no time limit for a boat to start, L61772 correct direction, provided that the starting line
was recorded as having started when she then remains open.
completed her first round. She then sailed the same
number of further rounds as the rest of the fleet and was SUMMARY OF THE FACTS
th
recorded as having finished in 6 place after she had An incident at the start resulted in Jessie passing the
completed one more round than the boats that had wrong side of the ODM and thus failing to start
restarted. She requested redress, claiming that her correctly. She sailed two rounds of the course and then
performance in this and other races showed that, boat retired. Jessie won a protest against her concerning the
for boat, she was likely to have had a better score had starting line incident, but was scored DNS by the protest
there been no race committee mistake. When the protest committee. She appealed on the grounds that she should
committee refused her request for redress, she appealed. have been shown as RET (which resulted in a better
score under the scoring system in force) because she
DECISION started correctly when she began her second round.
L61772’s appeal is upheld. The case is returned to the There was no time limit for starting.
protest committee to decide the redress to be awarded.
DECISION
Sound signals without visual signals have no Jessie’s appeal is upheld: she is to be scored RET.
significance in the racing rules. A hail is not a sound
signal – see case RYA 1977/1. On its own, the hail of Initially, Jessie did not start. She then sailed once round
‘General Recall’ would have been effective only if the the course, at the end of which she crossed the starting
sailing instructions amended the requirement in rule line (and now started), sailed round the course for a
29.2, General Recall, to display flag First Substitute. second time, and then retired. She had effectively sailed
This was not the case. one round of the prescribed course. Jessie is therefore to
be scored RET. A boat starts when she first crosses a
Request for Redress by Laser 61772, Derwent SC
starting line after her starting signal, within any time
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