Thus you can trim the sails to the wind, but not pump.
Pumping is disallowed by a seperate article, i.e :
(a) pumping: repeated fanning of any sail either by pulling in and
releasing the sail or by vertical or athwartships body movement;
So either "(2) repeated adjustment of the sails" is redundant or refering to something else.
Either way the wording of the rule is far too vague (open to intepretation) to be enforced.
If you were to allow pumping then some boats would just pump all the way around, totally changing the nature of the sport.
Who determined that pumping is "unnatural" to the sport of sailing ?
I think a very good argument can be held to the contrary or do we really believe that ancient mariners just sat motionless on the gunwhale like an English lord holding a brandy and being a good sport ?
Wouter
