Tacking in the Zone

Here's a video that I hope proves interesting. I think it illustrates some points worthy of discussion.



Regards,
Eric

It certainly does! Like, why can I suddenly access youtube from work? (thank you IT!).

From that angle, it's really tough to tell the distance from the mark for that first port boat, but the whole thing looked pretty clean to me.

Mike

nice

I'm guilty of zoning in the tack....

I'm guilty of zoning in the tack....

And repeating yourself.

Looked pretty clean to me too. I saw him wiggle his tiller a little to clear the guy by maybe a foot instead of an inch. But I would never call the first tacker for a foul as he was obviously attempting to stay below the camera boat on purpose. The second boat that he sails inside of obviously gives him plenty of room so that is not an issue. Looks like clean sailing to me.

Except for that guy in his fourties wearing a baseball cap the wrong way round, I could not see any rules being broken.

Mike,

Very good. That is precisely why photographic evidence is treated with skepticism in the protest room. It is often difficult to determine the actual position of boats from a photo, unless the photographer's position is just right.

I'll stipulate that the first starboard/port encounter took place outside the zone. Rhetorically speaking however, does that make any difference in this situation?

Nobody has yet tried to answer the questions posed at the end of the video:

• What rules apply?
• What are the obligations of each boat?

Any takers?

To make it more interesting, I'll add:

• Which of the hails (if any) are required by the rules?
• What important hail does not appear?

Regards,
Eric

None and protest.

I'm on a mobile, so it won't be easy to go into it much deeper, I'll give others a chance.

Mike

Very good. Yes, "protest" is the required hail that does not appear in this video. Given that I'm the skipper of the starboard tack boat, my not hailing "protest" is a pretty good indicator that no rules were broken.

I posted the video because I thought it would be good to see an encounter where the boats did everything right. The first port boat tacked about as close as it could and still keep clear (about 1 foot separation). At the time, I believed that I held course. The video, however, does show a little tiller movement, but not enough to constitute "avoiding action". The second port boat tacked far enough to windward, and steered wide enough around the mark for me to round and gybe cleanly.

Regarding the rules and the hails made, that is a bit of a gray area. None of them are explicitly mentioned by any rule, but there is an argument that rule 14 "Avoiding Contact" implicitly requires them. Not all judges agree, but Dick Rose (former chair of the ISAF Rules Committee) repeatedly wrote that hailing is a "reasonable action" to avoid contact. If a right-of-way boat does not hail, and if a hail could have prevented contact, then the boat does break rule 14. By that logic, the two hails of "starboard" were required by the rules.

Whether they were required or not, I still think that hailing is a good idea. When boats inform each other of their intentions, they can be prepared. Surprise maneuvers are much more likely to cause contact. The hails of "I need room" and "I'll give you room" are examples of good communication between boats. Both skippers knew what the other was planning, and knew what they needed to do.

I'll prepare a "part 2" video that covers the details of the applicable rules and the obligations of each boat.

I hope that was helpful,
Eric

Hailing is often but not always best practice, and is not required. The spin you give above would probably not hold water with the judges in my area.

When I'm in a situation like above (especially in a drifter), if I'm not on the wire I will put the Hot Stick on the rail or tramp and hold it in place with my leg. This keeps me on a very straight course, and it will be really obvious to me if I have to avoid.

Mike

Well, to be honest, I'm not in agreement with Dick Rose on this one either. Rule 14(a) states that a right-of-way boat need not act to avoid contact until it is clear that the other boat is not keeping clear. A hail is only meaningful if made before that point.

I just want people to be aware that the argument has been made by someone with authority. Therefore, I said it is a "gray area".

I have yet to encounter a situation in fleet racing where hailing a boat to enable her to avoid contact is not a good idea.

Depends what's being hailed. "GO" sounds an awful lot like "NO" in windy conditions, it would be better to say nothing.

Like I said, hailing IS usually best practice, and often helps in the room (such as, "I told him there was no overlap and no room as I entered the zone.").

I thought your hail question was a trick question anyways, intended to point out the following.

I think it speaks volumes that in each of the RC seminars, Judge workshops and North U seminars I've attended (given by no less than 4 different internationally certified officials), it's been repeatedly pointed out that the only places the word "hail" appears in the book are:
* Race Signal L when afloat
* RRS section 20 (room to tack at an obstruction)
* RRS 61.1 (protesting)
(there are additional places in the Appendices that don't apply to the racing most folks here do)

"Starboard" = not required.
"Hold your course" = not required (also pointless and holds no meaning).
"No room" = not required.
"INDIVIDUAL RECALL, 12345 and 54321" = not required.

Just sayin'

Mike

Part 2 is now available. It includes comments on boat positions, obligations, and rule references.



Enjoy,
Eric

If I understand correctly (I'm a newbie with this stuff,) Starboard was also obligated to turn at the mark reasonably quickly (which he did,) to sail his proper course. He could not, for example, continue straight and obstruct the P2 boat.

I'd like to see more videos like this. Ones where people did the right things along with explanations as to why they were right to do.

Please indicate specific rules from which you draw that conclusion.

Citing rules is a very important part of the game, not only for winning on the course and in a protest, but for learning and understanding the rules. The more times you look in the book, the better you will be.

Mike

Hmmm... The first rule I found for what I was describing is 18.4, but there is no reason to assume that the starboard boat had to gybe to sail her proper course. (She did gybe, but that doesn't mean proper course required her to.)

Ah, but rule 17 would force the starboard boat to fall off as soon as they became overlapped, because sailing on a close reach would be above her proper course, and it appears the overlap occurred very soon after the port boat finished her tack.

So rule 17 required starboard to turn at the mark.

Yes. S obtained overlap with P2 from clear astern within two boatlengths, so S may not sail above her proper course (RRS 17). In this case, her proper course at the windward mark would be to bear away or gybe.

I improved the text and added rules 15, 16, and 17 to the applicable rules.

Thanks,
Eric

Is S required to hold course after hailing starboard?

My guess is no. 16.1 says that if S changes course she must give P1 room to keep clear. That implies that S can change course.

This is different than the "rules of the road" where rule 17 explicitly requires the stand-on vessel to keep her course and speed (unless actively maneuvering to avoid collision.)

No, but if the right-of-way boat changes course, she must give the other boat room to keep clear. See rule 16.1. Also, if a starboard-tack boat bears away toward a port-tack boat after the starting signal, she must not force the port-tack boat to immediately change course in order to keep clear. See rule 16.2.

The hail "hold your course" really just means "I'm aware of you".

I often feel challenged when bearing away/setting the spin after rounding the windward mark and am looking at a variety of boats on/near the port layline. There is no offset mark, so their layline tends to run fairly close to my intended course.
These boats aren't taking my stern. They are trying go by within inches of my sides in a potential head on scenario. As I steer lower, they tend to steer lower which doesn't help alot. Because of mark fixation, they don't want to tack away. I fear the puff that causes me to bear down hard when they are several boat lengths ahead and only a foot to leeward.
I talk to people about it, but haven't been able to convert the world.

And you never will. Suicide port is just too much of a tatical advantage. What you never want to hear from someone on suicide port is "I'm close hauled I have the right of way". Those are the people we need to find and correct.

When an offset isn't used as starndard operating procedure it just leaves me scatching my head and to quit using it because people keep skipping it is just dumb.

Ah that was refreshing.