GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR UMPIRE DECISIONS

Four general principles apply to umpire decisions:

1. 'Last Point of Certainty'

There are many occasions when umpires are required to judge the exact moment when the state of a boat, or her relationship with another boat, changes. Examples are: passing head to wind, establishing an overlap, approaching the line to start, etc.

In such cases the umpires will apply rule C2.5 (rule 7) Last Point of Certainty and assume that the state of a boat, or her relationship to another boat, has not changed until they are certain that it has changed. For example, a boat is not judged ‘beyond head to wind’ until the umpires are certain that she is so.


2. Disagreement between Umpires
Disagreement or doubt about the facts in a situation may be resolved by applying rule C2.5 (rule 7) Last Point of Certainty.

In many situations the ‘Yellow’ umpire has the responsibility to observe ‘Yellow’, while the ‘Blue’ umpire is observing ‘Blue’. In these circumstances additional weight will be given to the observations of the appropriate umpire. When disagreement or doubt remains, and there has been no contact between the boats, the umpires will display the green and white flag. However, if there has been contact, the umpires will penalize both boats (twin penalty).

3. Rule 14: Avoiding Contact
When there has been contact there is a possibility that rule 14 has been broken. However, a breach of rule 14 will not affect any decision made by the umpires in response to flag Y being displayed.

When the umpires decide that a boat required to keep clear or to give room or markroom is to be penalized for breaking another rule of Part 2, a breach of rule 14 does not result in an additional penalty under rule C6.5. When a right-of-way boat or a boat entitled to room or mark-room breaks rule 14 she is exonerated by rule 43.1(c) if there is no damage or injury. If there is damage or injury, this is subject to protest under rule C6.1.

However, the umpires will initiate a check for damage to be carried out immediately after finishing. If damage is found, the umpires may impose a penalty under rule C8.6 or, if a penalty of more than one point is appropriate, act under rule C8.4 to inform the protest committee.

4. Definition: Room, and meaning of 'in a seamanlike way''
World Sailing Case 21 states that ‘extraordinary’ and ‘abnormal’ manoeuvres are unseamanlike.

However, actions that are not seamanlike in a fleet of many boats may be considered seamanlike in a situation with only two boats. Thus, in match racing some manoeuvres might be considered normal that would be considered abnormal in other racing, and therefore ‘seamanlike way’ will be interpreted somewhat more broadly in match racing.

Any manoeuvre, however, that puts a boat or her crew at unreasonable risk of damage or injury is unseamanlike. The umpires will judge each incident on the basis of the boat's actions in relation to the conditions of wind and water that she is experiencing.