Page 60 - Judge Manual 2017

• Knowledge of the fleet racing tactics - to anticipate the movements of the
competitors.
• Knowledge of the characteristics of the specific boat designs - to know
what types of prohibited kinetics are most effective for that boat type.
• Taking into account the types of boats racing, Jury boats, number of
Judges, conditions, course configurations, and local geography – to
maximize the Judges’ ability to cover to whole fleet throughout the race.
• Common sense and diligent focus - to react to changing circumstances
promptly.
• On-going awareness of the positions of the other Judge boats.

While it is clearly not possible to monitor all the boats all of the time, it is an
achievable goal for the Judge boats to cover the course such that every racing
boat is aware of their presence at some time during each race. The best way
to be effective is to position your boat near the front of the fleet and motor along
at a similar speed to the competitors. The Judges should pay closer attention
to the leaders, but look with a wide vision, to scan as many competitors as
possible.

In many regattas with multi-fleets the Judges have insufficient resources to
cover all of them. If choices have to be made Judges should prioritize starts,
downwind legs, and finishing legs.

When penalizing a boat, the driver must balance the need to be close enough
to the competitor to signal the penalty clearly, while remaining sufficiently far
away to stay clear of the penalty turns that the competitor may perform.

Judges operating boats are responsible for ensuring that they minimize their
engine wash, and that they position their boat in a manner that will minimize
the effects of their wind shadow.

Judge boats should try to cross boats at right angles maintaining a predictable
course when close to competitors. Jury boats should be a minimum of five boat
lengths away when crossing in front and one boat-length away when crossing
behind. On downwind legs, be aware that in surfing conditions, competitors will
often make dramatic course changes to take best advantage of the waves. If
you find yourself too close to the boats, your best option may well be to stop
and let the competitor sail around you. When doing this, the Jury boat driver
can raise both hands up high as a signal to the competitors that the Jury boat
has stopped.

Except at the start and during the first beat, Jury boats should position
themselves so they are visible to the maximum number of competing boats.

I.8.1 Pre-Start

Rule 42 takes effect at the preparatory signal. Generally, rule 42 violations are
rare until about a minute before the start. In light air, a boat that is having trouble
reaching the starting area might use illegal kinetics after the preparatory signal,
including a tow from their coach boat, to get to the starting area. A boat wishing

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