Hi Jim,

There are several different issues in this topic.

The string rule is irrelevant. The start/finish line marks do not begin
or end the leg in question, and they do not have a required side.
Therefore they are not "marks" according to the definition. The string
rule does not prohibit multiple roundings of a required mark, and it
says nothing at all about objects that are not marks.

The prohibited area is clearly an "obstruction" if the prohibition is
properly written into the sailing instructions. Typically this sort of
sailing instruction would be used to prevent potentially dangerous
shortcuts, avoiding commercial traffic, and so on. If written carefully,
with particular attention to the definition of the exact prohibited area
and the time in which the prohibition is in effect, it should be
possible to use this approach.

The prohibited start/finish line, or closed gate as it is sometimes
called, is full of problems. It potentially makes life easier for the
RC, but it creates strategic headaches for the competitors. It is not
allowable for the RC to simply toss a violator unless the rules are
modified. Rule A5 requires a protest hearing to "worsen a boat's score"
for all but a couple of specific reasons. The rule modification is
possible, but it requires adjustments to at least rules A5, A4.1, 63.1,
and 28.1.

It does not make a lot of sense to have a prohibited area that can be
violated and then "un-violated" as you seem to indicate. If the area is
prohibited for good reason, then protest and toss the perps. If the
transgression can somehow be undone by unwinding the course, then it
would not appear that the prohibited area made much sense in the first
place. The rules are generally unforgiving with regard to "innocent
mistakes".

Been there, done that, got burned, learned, etc.

Regards,
Gene Fuller

ProjectPro wrote:
Our club prohibits crossing the start / finish line except to start or
finish. The entire area, including nearby extensions of the start /
finish line, are navigable. Our sailing instructions do not modify
RRS 28.1 (the "string" rule) in this regard, so "unwinding" is
permitted.

A handful of sailors had a lively discussion over beer one night
regarding whether the prohibited start / finish line ranks as an
obstruction. It is clearly not a mark - boats can (and do) leave this
area to either side depending on individual polars or tactical
circumstances.

The RRS definitions state that an obstruction is "an object that a
boat could not pass...", but the line is not an object. Further, the
definitions state that "...an area so designated by the sailing
instructions (is) also (an) obstruction...".

Does the prohibition of crossing the line in the sailing instructions
make the "area so designated by the sailing instructions" an
obstruction, or would the SIs have to specifically state that the line
ranks as an obstruction?

Thanks,

Jim Williams
Willoughby Racers
Norfolk, VA