After the contact I didnt know if I was in the right or the wrong. Thats why I yelled protest like 3 times. What I learned from college sailing is that whoever yells "protest" the quickest, loudest, and most confidently, normally coerces the other boat into doing turns first.
Be very careful about bringing lessons from collegiate sailing into regular fleet racing. ISSA "class rules" change several racing rules (particularly RRS 42). Also, some college coaches teach the sailors to play it a little "fast and loose" with the rules. I've seen multiple sailors get into trouble after coming out of college sailing programs.
Particularly, if a sailor believes he has broken a rule, or doesn't know whether his or the other boat has broken a rule, but tries to intimidate the other boat into giving way or taking a penalty, then he breaks Rule 2 "Fair Sailing".
Welcome to the forum, and please take the above as advice, not criticism.
Regards,
Eric
US Sailing Judge
Chair, SAYRA Appeals Committee
