Changes in this version – December 2024 v2

RRS rule number changes to comply with the RRS 2025-2028.

Changes as a result of the revised definition of obstruction.

Previous guidance notes ‘Protecting boats before the start’ and ‘Protecting committee boats’ have been merged into this single note.

V2 – amended following urgent change to Definition Obstruction.

Background

The Racing Rules of Sailing offer two methods to protect boats before their start from interference from boats that have been racing or intend to race in a later start

• Rule 23.1, which always applies and applies on all parts of the course, noting that a boat is racing from her preparatory signal, says: “If reasonably possible, a boat not racing shall not interfere with a boat that is racing.”

• The definition of obstruction has been changed for the 2025 RRS and it states “An Obstruction is’…(d) an area or a line in a rule that boats are prohibited from crossing.” It would be possible therefore to put a rule in the notice of race or sailing instructions that defines the prohibited starting area and states, For example: Boats whose warning signal has not been made shall avoid the starting area during the starting sequence for other races.

This should be sufficient in most instances; some race committees have adopted alternative rules to achieve the same objective.

Note that rule 23.1 and the rule suggested wording above deliberately do not use the term ‘keep clear’. Rules intended to protect boats before their start must take care not to use this term because in any situation there must be only one right of way boat, and therefore only one ‘keep-clear’ boat. No rule in the notice of race or sailing instructions can change a primary right of way rule (rules 10 to 13). The correct approach is to place a restriction on the right of way boat or to place a further obligation on the keep-clear boat.

Recommendations if further protection is thought to be needed

Give the race committee the power to penalize a boat without a hearing, for instance with a rule in the notice of race or sailing instructions such as:

When the race committee sees a boat breaking rule 23.1 it may, without a hearing, [disqualify her from her nearest race] [penalize her in her nearest race with a xx% scoring penalty calculated as stated in rule 44.3(c)], notifying her in the race results. This changes rules 60.5(b) and A5.1.

A rule in the notice of race or sailing instructions may prohibit boats whose warning signal has not been displayed from entering a defined area which includes the starting line. For example:

Boats shall not enter the area bounded by the following Navigation Buoys until [n minutes before] their Warning Signal: [e.g., West Bramble, South Bramble, Prince Consort and Gurnard.]

Note: These measures can be effective only against boats that have been racing or are intending to race. Other boats that stray into the starting area are subject to the rights as well as the obligations of the IRPCAS or local navigation rules.

Protecting committee vessels

It is common practice for organising authorities and race committees to borrow vessels for use as committee vessels. Many owners lend their vessels but are aware that there is a substantial risk of collision and resultant damage to the vessel, particularly during the starting sequence. Therefore, the race committee often protects the committee vessel with objects such as fenders, dinghies or RIBs, sometimes securing them with a long line.

Definition Mark

From January 2021, the definition was revised and was unchanged for the 2025 RRS, and now reads:

Mark An object the sailing instructions require a boat to leave on a specified side, a race committee vessel surrounded by navigable water from which the starting or finishing line extends, and an object intentionally attached to the object or vessel. However, an anchor line is not part of the mark.

The underlined words were new for the 2021 RRS.

Attachments to a committee vessel

A committee vessel becomes a starting or finishing mark under the definition Mark when it is surrounded by navigable water and when a starting or finishing line extends from it. The 2021 revision to the definition is clear that any object, such as a dinghy, inflatable or patrol boat, that is tied or otherwise secured to the committee vessel is part of the mark. Conversely, a dinghy or other vessel that has become entangled in the anchor line of the committee vessel is not intentionally attached and therefore is not part of the committee vessel or the mark.

Whilst the definition Mark refers to objects intentionally attached; it will be helpful to competitors to describe in the sailing instructions any attachment intended to protect the committee vessel.

Additional starting marks

At the start, it is common to protect a committee vessel and at the same time to offer clear wind to all boats and a safe exit for a boat barging, by laying a limit mark. Such limit marks are usually positioned on the starting line, ideally on or on the course side of the line, and at some distance from the committee vessel. However, there may be circumstances when limit marks are quite properly laid some distance on the course side of the starting line, for example to protect a long overhang or an anchor chain that is only just below the surface. To comply with the definition Mark sailing instructions must state not only that an inner limit mark will be laid but also the side on which it is to be passed.

A suitable sailing instruction is:

When a [description] [dinghy/RIB/buoy/other] is laid near the committee vessel [and line vessel] [approximately on the starting line], it is a starting limit mark that shall be left on the same side as the nearby committee vessel [and line vessel].

A dinghy, RIB or buoy attached to the committee vessel on a long line is not recommended as it is likely to move around substantially and independently of the committee vessel. However, if such a device is considered necessary, it should be described as an attachment to the committee vessel. It must be noted that a limit mark laid more than one boat length from the starting line, on its pre-start side, may not have a required side and may be ineffective.

Protecting the committee vessel after the start

A race committee may decide, particularly in confined waters, that protection of the committee vessel should apply at all times whilst racing. It is possible to achieve this by including the following sailing instruction:

RRS 31, Touching a Mark, is changed to:-

While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting, a mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she is sailing, or a finishing mark after finishing. In addition, while racing, a boat shall not touch a race committee vessel that is also a mark.