This is the second in a series of blogs on the new Section C rules that come into effect January 1, 2009.  In these blogs, I’ll refer to the 2005-2008 Racing Rules of Sailing as the “old rules” and to the 2009-1012 version as the “new rules”.  

In the last blog, we looked at the changes in the game due to the new, larger zone and examined the new definition “Mark-room”, which says  “Room for a boat to sail to the mark, and then room to sail her proper course while at the mark …”.  I argued that the first part, about sailing to the mark, is pretty much what we all thought was required by the old rules, even though they didn’t actually say it.  Then I claimed that the second part, about proper course, doesn’t actually give a boat entitled to mark-room any more freedom than the current rules do.  

But there is one situation where the change from “room to round” in the old rules to “proper course” in the new rules will make a game change; and, ironically, it’s a place where the boat entitled to room gets less rights under the new rules than she did under the old ones.

Game Change 2.  Let’s picture the situation where boat A is clear ahead of boat B at the zone, with nobody outside A.  Under new rule 18 (Mark-Room), B will owe A mark-room throughout the rounding.   If she’s smart, A does a “tactical rounding”, i.e., she starts wide, planning to come in close to the mark at the end of her turn.  (The only time A will not be able to do a tactical rounding is if B has right of way and is able to establish an outside overlap on A inside the zone.  In that situation, A must sail directly to the mark.)   The tactical rounding is faster for most boats than a “seamanlike” rounding because most boats slow considerably when they turn sharply.  Not only that, but a wide approach allows the boat to come to the mark already on a close-hauled course, so she gets to take a higher line on the next leg.  But there’s often a third reason for A to do a tactical rounding – she secretly hopes that B will take the bait and try to go inside her and she plans to “shut the door” on B at the end of her turn.  Because A is entitled to mark-room, she’ll be exonerated for breaking the basic right of way rules and rules 15 and 16 as well, as long as she is sailing her proper course to round the mark.  If she’s smart, A plans to make this move in such a way that contact with B, if any, is minimal; that way, A can’t be penalized for breaking rule 14 (Avoiding Contact).  

But what happens if A misjudges her turn and sails too deep as she approaches the mark?  Under the old rules, if she wanted to close out B badly enough she could luff up above close-hauled, maybe even head to wind, to close the door; this usually breaks rule 16 (Changing Course) because B has the mark alongside her at that point and doesn’t have room to keep clear of A.  Under the old rules, A was exempted from rule 16 because she’s turning to round the mark. Under the new rules she’s only exempted (“exonerated”) if she’s on her proper course around the mark.  Since sailing head-to-wind is hardly her proper course, under the new rules her last-minute desperate maneuver to close the door on B breaks rule 16 and if there’s contact either between the boats or between B and the mark, A will undoubtedly be protested and either have to do her turns or risk disqualification.

In passing, note that in addition to breaking a rule, A is sailing slowly for no good reason when she luffs head to wind.  If A were to simply sail her proper course, even if B goes in there A will have better speed and it will be a very short time – maybe seconds – on the windward leg before B will feel the effect of A’s backwind and have to tack away.  And A will not have lost distance on the boats ahead.