Is Blue allowed to close the gap the way she does here?
Yes
No
Answer:
Yes. Preamble of section C states that rule 18 does not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water from the time the boats are approaching it to start until they have passed it. Therefore, only rule 16 restricts Blue's luffing of the red boat. Blue may luff to head to wind and close the gap left for Red provided Blue leaves Red enough room to keep clear - which she does! Before Red reached the RC boat, Blue had changed course such that she would leave no room for a boat to pass between him and the RC boat. Red had to realize and expect this, and had to react (by luffing up on the wrong side of the RC boat, for instance) before sailing himself into the impossible situation she ended up in. Now Red will force Blue to give room to avoid the collision, and in doing so, Red will foul Blue.
Rule 16 CHANGING COURSE
16.1 When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other boat room to keep clear.
16.2 In addition, on a beat to windward when a port-tack boat is keeping clear by sailing to pass to leeward of a starboard-tack boat, the starboard-tack boat shall not bear away if as a result the port-tack boat must change course immediately to continue keeping clear.
Which boat should take a penalty or will be penalized in a valid protest?
Red
Blue
Answer:
Red should take a penalty or will be penalized in case of a valid protest. She did not bear away to a close hauled course after beginning her tack. Therefore rule 13 still applies and Red should be keeping clear of Blue. But she does not.
SECTION A - RIGHT OF WAY
A boat has right of way over another boat when the other boat is required to keep clear of her . However, some rules in Sections B, C and D limit the actions of a right-of-way boat.
10 ON OPPOSITE TACKS
When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat.
Play the Rules Images are compliments of Uli and Wolfi Finckh
Good explanation of Startline rules
Situation 1: Red shouldn’t have tried to ‘barge’ in, should have known that Blue would ‘close the door.’ As for Blue, this cartoon doesn’t make it clear that Blue made his intentions clear early enough. Blue should not make Red hit either Blue or the Committee Boat. An earlier move to close the gap, accompanied by shouting something such as ‘No room!!!’ would protect Blue.
Situation 2: Red’s tack is not complete until Red reaches hard-on-the-wind, so Red is definitely at fault. However, Blue is very close to breaking Rule D.21.3,, a boat moving sideways to windward shall keep clear of a boat that is not.
I like all of them. Great graphics. I particularly like the rules graphics. Lets have more of them.
Allister