Page 71 - Case Book 2017 - 2020 April 18

required to retire only when it is a breach of a Part 2 and that they be given full opportunity to question the
rule that gave her an advantage. witnesses and each other. It is for this reason that the
RYA directs that the protest be reheard.
If the question means: ‘Is it still possible for a boat that
has taken a penalty to be protested because her actions Halcyon v Extension, Dalgety Bay SC
on the water gained her a significant advantage in the
race?’ the answer is ‘Yes’. The protest would be RYA 1988/1
brought under the rule of Part 2 alleged to have been Rule 14, Avoiding Contact
broken, and any two-turns penalty will be adjudged to The right-of-way boat will not be penalized after
be ineffective when the protest committee decides that contact that causes damage when there were no
she gained a significant advantage by her breach. reasonable steps she could have taken to avoid it.
Questions from Queen Mary SC
C2
RYA 1987/1 A2 C1
Rule 63.2, Hearings: Time and Place of the Hearing;
Time for Parties to Prepare C3 A1
Rule 63.3, Hearings: Right to be Present A3 B2
Appendix M, Recommendations for Protest Committees

When one boat knows that she has been protested by
another, she is under an obligation to act reasonably. B3
One party shall not be excluded while another is Wind
present during the hearing, and all parties are entitled
to hear and question all witnesses.

SUMMARY OF THE FACTS
Halcyon protested Extension over an incident at a B1
starting mark. Extension was disqualified under rule 11. SUMMARY OF THE FACTS
She requested a reopening of the hearing on the grounds When A reached the mark’s zone she was clear ahead of
that she had not been notified of the time of the hearing, B, a catamaran. C, a third boat, was outside A,
that she had not been able to see a copy of the protest, overlapping her. At the mark all three were on starboard
that only one person at a time was allowed into the tack, abreast of each other with about three feet (1 m)
protest room, thus making it impossible to question between each boat. B, followed by A and C, bore away
witnesses; that she was not given the opportunity to call to pass the mark. In doing so A gybed on to port tack
her own witnesses, and that neither party was invited to but B, instead of gybing, became blanketed by the other
make a final statement. two boats, decelerated suddenly and rapidly from her
The protest committee acknowledged that some of these previous speed of 10-12 knots and stopped immediately
statements were correct, and that procedural errors had in front of A. A struck B on her starboard side,
been made, but refused to reopen, on the grounds that approximately at right angles, and damaged her. A
Extension had been aware that there was a protest protested B.
against her but did not ask for a copy of the protest, nor The protest committee disqualified B under rules 15 and
did she indicate that she had witnesses to call. The 16.1 for not giving A room, as well as under the second
protest committee admitted that it was inexperienced sentence of rule 18.2(b) and the first sentence of rule
but said that had done its best. Extension appealed. 18.2(c), for not giving A mark-room. It also disqualified
DECISION A on the grounds that A did not take reasonable steps to
Extension’s appeal is upheld; the protest is to be re- avoid a collision. A appealed.
heard in accordance with Appendix M by a new protest DECISION
committee. A’s appeal is upheld, and she is to be reinstated.
When a boat has been notified that a protest will be The evidence and the diagram approved by the protest
lodged against her, she has a duty to act reasonably by committee confirm that A had no opportunity to take
asking for a copy of the protest in sufficient time to any action to avoid B. Therefore, despite the damage, A
prepare her defence, and to ascertain the time and place did not break rule 14, and the protest committee's
of the hearing. decision to disqualify her is reversed.
The parties to a hearing, as defined, have a right to call Jopeta v Mysterey, Guernsey YC
witnesses until they believe the facts are established to
the satisfaction of the protest committee. RYA 1988/3
Rule 20.2, Room to Tack at an Obstruction: Responding
Had these been the only issues in the appeal, it would Rule 61.2, Protest Requirements: Protest Contents
have been refused.
It is implicit in rule 20.2 that a boat’s hail for room to
However, it is an essential part of the correct procedure tack must be capable of being heard by the hailed boat.
that all parties should be present, or have the possibility Although the hailed boat is not required to take any
of being present, at the same time throughout the
hearing, except while the protest committee deliberates,
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