Tacking and shooting a windward mark wth mark room

The Racing Rules prescribe certain things. It's wise to know them, at least the basics. This area discusses the finer points of the racing rules for sailing fast.

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Tacking and shooting a windward mark wth mark room

Postby s vernon » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:50 am

Hopefully I will soon post explanations of another couple of tricky rules situations that occurred at Elon.

Take a look at the link so you can see the illustration.

(You have to comlete the tack by falling down to a close hauled course before you can head back up and shoot the mark in this situation. Apparently this move used to be legal.)

http://www.sailingworld.com/from-the-ex ... 70515.html

The words of Dick Rose in Sailing World - If Interloper tried this move today, she would break Rule 10.3(a), but last year she would have broken no rule.

Tacking at a mark New Rule 18.3, Tacking when Approaching a Mark, differs from its predecessor, old Rule 18.3, in four respects. These are described below. None are major changes, and they will rarely affect most fleet racers.

The words "completes a tack in the two-length zone" have been replaced by "changes tack, and as a result is subject to rule 13 in the zone." This was done to eliminate a problem with old Rule 18.3. The second diagram illustrates a situation in which the problem occurs. In moderate winds and smooth seas, two keel boats on opposite tacks are approaching a windward mark to be left to port. Steadfast is fetching the mark on starboard tack. Interloper, approaching on port tack, luffs and turns past head to wind. After she passes head to wind she is on starboard tack. She does not immediately complete her tack by bearing off to a close-hauled starboard tack course. Instead she 'shoots' to windward on a course above close-hauled. If we had retained old Rule 18.3's wording, then Rule 18.3 would not apply while Interloper was 'shooting' to windward and Steadfast would have been required by Rule 18.2(a) to give Interloper mark-room, even if that required Steadfast to luff above close-hauled. This tactic could have been used last year by port-tack boats to avoid the requirements of Rule 18.3. Because of the change of wording, Interloper would break new Rule 18.3 if she used that tactic today.


If Beth elects to overlap Ajay to leeward, she must initially give him room to keep clear

By italicizing "fetching" and adding a new definition Fetching, we have clarified the meaning of the term. This was necessary because different dictionaries give different nautical meanings for the verb "fetch."=

Scott
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