RACING RULES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 16, 20 January 1933, Page 11

RACING RULES.

OVERLAPPING AND OVERTAKING.! In view of the fact that on Regatta day there will be from 20 to 30 new boats and in most cases new owners competing, it is very necessary that a thorough knowledge of the primary rules of yacht racing should be understood by the skippers aud crews. It is a foregone conclusion, "Speedwell" hopes, that all skippers know that when they are close-hauled on the starboard .tack (i.e.; with the wind blowing on their starboard or right side), they have the right-of-way and must keep their course and speed when crossing or meeting another boat. If they are on the port tack (with the wind blowing on their port or left side) they must give way for and keep well clear of all boats close-hauled on the starboard tack. A boat running free must keep clear of a boat close-hauled on either tack. These rules have been more fully explained recently. The next important rule for the young skipper (and a few old ones, also) is the overlapping and overtaking rule. The Overlapping Rule. The overlapping and overtaking rules usually come into play soon after the start, when, for instance, a number of boats are approaching a mark for the purpose of rounding it, or when an obstruction in the course is met, such as a shoal, rock, wharf, or another boat racing which may have the right ot way. All these are counted as "obstructions to sea room. ' In such cases a boat on the inside, i.e., nearest to the obstruction, can call lor room if she is getting hemmed-in by a boat or boats sailing the same course, but, and this is the point, the boats must be sailing in the same direction. Overlapping Boats Must be on Same Course. No question of overlapping can arise or exist unless the yachts are sailing _the same course and a new set of conditioi s arise if either yacht changes her tack, or they are sailing different courses. If you are hailed for room or water, always give it at once. If you think that you have been unfairly hailed, give room, but report the matter to the sailing committee. No Interference Allowed. It is the principle of racing that after the start you must sail your course to the next mark. If you are the leeward yacht of two boats sailing along almost lev>.l and neither overtaking, you must not lull the weather boat if she is so far up with you that you would strike her aft of her main rigging or "shrouds" as the rule puts it. If a boat elects to overtake you to leeward, usually the better away, must not interfere with her getting through your lee liy bearing away and so "blanketing" her. Nor must you tack when there is no room to tack and so involve risk of collision with another boat which has the right of way or cannot get out of your way. You can tack on a boat's weather or under her lee, but not right ahead of her. This would be an interference and the rules are quite explicit against this, and many other eases where an interference is possible. In fact, the Y.R.A. rules provide ample protection against interference and penalties l'oi their infringement under almost every possible position in which competing boats can get into. So much so that '"Speedwell" has always held the opinion, shared by many.others who really know the practical side of yacht racing, that the now famous rule 3, embodied in the rules of the Sanders and Cornwell Cup conditions, is quite unnecessary, unless it is held to refer only to interference by outside craft or circumstances not usually within the control of the sailing committee.