On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 17:28:02 UTC, Stefan wrote:

In article ,
says...

Now available online at
http://makeashorterlink.com/?L1F1215B8

There don't appear to be any major changes at first glance.

Rule 18 now applies in some circumstances when both boats tack
around a mark. (the current rule states that if the proper course
for either boat is to tack, rule 18 is out. The new rule says one
but not both.) I think this needs to be read carefully, because
at first read it appears to say more than it does. My initial
take is that this change only makes a practical difference in a
situation where two boats are on opposite tacks and the proper
course for both of them is to tack. This would seem to be an odd
occurrence (i.e. boats in different races that share a common mark).
I welcome more discussion on this - I'm not sure I've read it
correctly...

Probably just cleaning up the language: "either" can be taken to mean
"if any one of"... which does not exclude when "both". But clearly, if
both must tack, then Rule 18 should not (yet) apply. Only when they
are both on the same tack and about to round (going to windward)
should Rule 18 apply.


Would this be a relevant situation? Windward mark to be rounded to port.
Starboard tacker is short of the layline so both boats must tack. Port
tacker approaches on collision course. Under RRS2001 rule 18 does not
apply. Under RRS2005 it does. Personally I think the situation under
RRS2001 is better because it is unclear which is the "inside" boat when
close-hauled on opposite tacks.

Without carefully reading the new rules, I would not believe that
RRS2005 means what you have just stated....neither boat is "inside"
when close-hauled on opposite tacks: Rule 18 does not apply and
therefore "inside" is not relevant (except as a descriptive
adjective).

o Rule 22.2 (interfering with another boat) has been modified to
include boats on another lap or leg of the course. This is truly
new - you can't change course if your only purpose is to interfere
with a boat on another leg of the course.

I'm baffled by that one. In match or team-racing, interfering with a
boat on another leg of the course would seem entirely part of the game.

Match and team racing have their own rules, which bring back some of
the explicit rules which were dropped in 1996 (for example, when a
gybe is completed).

This rule makes it clear you cannot, for example, luff a boat on
another leg. Example: you are on starboard, on the port layline to the
windward mark, and would normally tack, but instead continue on
starboard, to luff a boat which has just rounded the off-set windward
mark, and set her spinnaker....I would call that interference.

Comments?

I find it hard to regard any of these changes as improvements.

The 1996 changes were not an improvement on the 1992 rules, and these
are merely more attempts to fix the awful language and concepts
foisted on us.

Geoff