› Racing Rules Discussions › Finishing Mark 9/6/22 traffic jam at pin › Reply To: Finishing Mark 9/6/22 traffic jam at pin
Rich… Here is Dave’s commentary on the situation. This is all based on the drawing I provided him (included near the top of this thread), which was based on the scuttlebutt I heard on Tuesday, so the drawing is not a complete picture and may have errors. Also, Dave’s comments are based on the official RRS Rule 18 (not the test rule), so some adjustment needs to be made for the changes brought in by the test rule, and Tim covered those in his assessment.
Looking at your diagram:
1) When the first of Blue or Green’s hull entered the zone (was “in” the zone), you freeze the picture and ask one question: are the boats overlapped?
Clearly, whether Blue or Green’s hull entered the zone first, the boats were “overlapped”.
Note, rule 18 applies when at least one of the boats is “in the zone” (see rule 18.1). Rule 18.1 contains some exceptions for when rule 18 does not apply. None of those exceptions apply in your diagram, so rule 18 applies.
The definition Clear Astern and Clear Ahead; Overlap says that boats on opposite tacks are considered “overlapped” when rule 18 applies. So even if Green was on port tack when the first of the two boats entered the zone, they would be considered “overlapped”.
2) Now we know that rule 18 applied between the boats, and that they were overlapped when the first one entered the zone. Rule 18.2(b) requires Blue (the outside boat) to give Green (the inside boat) mark-room.
“Mark-room” is the space Green needs to sail to the mark, if her proper course is to sail close to the mark, and the space she needs to round or pass the mark. “Room” is defined as the space a boat needs while maneuvering in a “seamanlike way.”
3) Would Green’s proper course bring her “close” to the mark. Yes. Using the angles you have shown for all the boats throughout the drawing, Green would pass the mark within a length, probably much closer. “Close” in the definition M-R(a) has never been interpreted, but most judges are pretty lenient on what “close” means.
Note, this does not mean Green gets to sail her “proper course” as part of mark-room. Mark-room never includes room for a boat to sail her proper course. “Proper course” is only a test to see if Green gets “room” to sail to the mark. “Room”, again, is just enough space to sail in a “seamanlike way,” which might include sailing below her proper course.
4) Now we know Green was entitled to the space she needed to sail to and past the mark in a seamanlike way, which includes not touching the mark. She was trying to do that, but Blue restricted her space to the point where Green could not sail in a seamanlike way. In other words, Green was forced to either hit Blue or the mark. Therefore Blue did not give her mark-room and broke 18.2(b). Blue’s claim that she gave Green mark-room because Green could have luffed and gone astern of her is incorrect. Blue was required to give Green the space Green needed to sail to and past the mark in a seamanlike way. Had Blue not been there, Green would have been able to do so. Blue denied her that space and broke rule 18.2(b).
5) Green broke rule 31 (touching a mark), and rule 10 (port/starboard) because based on the diagram it is clear that S has a need to take avoiding action at pos 3. However, P was sailing within the mark-room to which she was entitled, so she is exonerated for her breaches of rules 10 and 31 by rule 43.1(b), Exoneration.