Page 88 - Case Book 2017 - 2020 April 18

RYA 1996/5 cartridge. It was the practice of the race officer to give a
Rule 18.1(c), Mark-Room: When Rule 18 applies warning when a gun was to be fired such as ‘gun firing,
ten seconds.’ CD, in Optimist 3777, was at the end of
When a boat is clear ahead of another when she enters the line nearest to the committee boat in a good
the zone at a mark and is then leaving the mark when position. When the starting gun was fired, the wad hit
the other boat enters the zone, it is only the rules of him between the eyes, his eyes were filled with dust and
Sections A and B of Part 2 that apply between them his nose was cut. As a result Optimist 3777 was late in
when they meet. Rule 18 does not apply.
starting and claimed redress under rule 62.1(a). Redress
was refused to her on the grounds that the race
A2 A1
A3 committee had made no error. She appealed.
DECISION
Wind
Appeal upheld; Optimist 3777 is to be given redress by
the protest committee.
A4
Firing a gun over the stern of a committee boat when
B5 competitors could be expected to be in close proximity
A5 To next mark
was a badly-judged action of the race committee that
injured the helmsman and made his score significantly
B4
worse as a result. Clearly, no fault lay with the
competitor.
B3
Race committees using cannons for sound signals are
advised to locate any cannon on the bow on the opposite
side from the starting line, and, before firing and when
B2
firing, the sound signaller should observe along the line
of fire. If a boat or sail is close by and on the firing line,
B1 the guns should not be fired. Rule 26 allows for the
absence of the sound signal of a starting signal.
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS Request for Redress by Optimist 3777
Two boats, A and B, approached a windward mark on
starboard tack with A well ahead of B. A rounded the RYA 1996/8
mark, gybed onto port tack and made contact with B, Rule 61.1, Protest Requirements: Informing the
still sailing close-hauled for the mark. B protested. A Protestee
was disqualified under rule 10. Rule 62.1(b), Redress
Rule 63.1, Hearings: Requirement for a hearing
A appealed on the grounds that rule 18 applied at the
time of the incident; therefore, although she was on port The phrase ‘an incident in the racing area’ covers the
tack and B was on starboard tack, she was entitled to period envisaged by the preamble to Part 2 when boats
mark-room under the second sentence of rule 18.2(b) as are subject to the racing rules.
she had been clear ahead when she entered the zone. A protest committee must hear a valid protest, even if
there is no prospect of a boat being penalized.
DECISION
A’s appeal is dismissed. A boat that is seeking redress for having been
physically damaged by a boat required to keep clear in
At the moment when avoiding action became necessary, an incident before she is racing is advised to protest as
after A4-B4, A was already leaving the mark. well as to ask for redress.

Rule 18.1(c) states that rule 18 does not apply between QUESTION 1
such boats, and A was correctly disqualified for failing, Does the phrase ‘an incident in the racing area’ in rule
as a port-tack boat, to keep clear of a starboard-tack 61.1 mean that the requirement to display a red flag
boat. applies to a boat that is not racing? Is a boat intending to
race, but not yet racing in the defined sense, required to
Chalkhill Blue v Jagga, Brighton Marina YC
hail and display a protest flag when she wishes to
RYA 1996/6 protest?
Rule 62.1(a), Redress ANSWER 1
When a competitor is injured or hindered through no Yes, except that a flag need not be displayed by a boat
fault of his own by race committee equipment, his boat of hull length less than 6 metres.
is eligible for redress. QUESTION 2
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS When there is an incident that occurs after a boat’s
Two fleets of about 65-70 Optimists each were to be preparatory signal, as a result of which she does not
started at five-minute intervals. The wind was force 3/4 start, when may she lower her protest flag?
with a slight sea. The committee boat, stationed at the ANSWER 2
starboard end of the line carried two small cannon, one When she takes action to retire, such as by leaving the
on each quarter facing aft, loaded with blank shotgun vicinity of the course.

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