Rule Question of the Week:
Situation: At position 1, Red boat has overlapped to leeward of Blue boat, within 2 boat lengths. At position 2, Red boat’s course is converging on Blue boat’s course. At position 3, Red boat hails Blue boat to keep clear.
Question:
Part 1 Who is the ROW boat and why?
Part 2 What rule(s) apply?
Part 3 Can Red boat force Blue boat to luff and keep clear at position 3?
Answers:
Part 1 Red leeward boat (On the same tack and overlapped to leeward)
Part 2 Rule 11, (Boats overlapped on the same tack)
Rule 14, (Avoid contact)
Rule 17, (ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE)
Part 3 Yes. When the boats became overlapped, Rules 11, 14, 15, 16 and 17 apply. Rule 17 prohibits Red from sailing above her proper course during the overlap within two boat lengths. Rule 17 only considers the Proper Course of the ROW boat! Since Red boat did not change her course after overlapping Blue boat, the course that she is on is presumed to be her proper course, in most cases! Rule 11 requires a windward boat to keep clear of a leeward boat and Blue must luff to keep clear of Red. The ROW boat must initialy provide room and opportunity for the windward boat to stay clear (Rule 15) and every time the ROW boat changes course, she must allow room and opportunity for the windward boat to Keep Clear.
If the leeward boat feels that her proper course is to sail higher than the windward boat’s course, it is the leeward boat’s proper course that takes precedence. A change in the wind direction or other boats and obstructions can require the ROW boat to modify her proper course and windward boat must keep clear, and if the windward boat feels that the leeward boat is sailing above her proper course, her only remedy is to protest.
Proper Course
A course a boat would sail to finish as soon as possible in the absence of the other boats referred to in the rule using the term. A boat has no proper course before her starting signal.
11 ON THE SAME TACK, OVERLAPPED
When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat.
14 AVOIDING CONTACT
A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible. However, a right-of-way boat or one entitled to room or mark-room
(a) need not act to avoid contact until it is clear that the other boat is not keeping clear or giving room or mark- room, and
(b) shall not be penalized under this rule unless there is contact that causes damage or injury.
15 ACQUIRING RIGHT OF WAY
When a boat acquires right of way, she shall initially give the other boat room to keep clear, unless she acquires right of way because of the other boat’s actions.
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, when after the starting signal a port-tack boat is keeping clear by sailing to pass astern of a starboard-tack boat, the starboard-tack boat shall not change course if as a result the port-tack boat would immediately need to change course to continue keeping clear.
17 ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE
If a boat clear astern becomes overlapped within two of her hull lengths to leeward of a boat on the same tack, she shall not sail above her proper course while they remain on the same tack and overlapped within that distance, unless in doing so she promptly sails astern of the other boat. This rule does not apply if the overlap begins while the windward boat is required by rule 13 to keep clear.