CASE 106
Definitions, Sail the Course
Rule 28.2, Sailing the Race
When the string representing a boat’s track lies on the
required sides of finishing marks or gate marks, it is not
relevant that, when drawn taut, it also passes one of those
marks on the non-required side.
Facts
As boats approach a downwind finishing line, a tidal current takes one of
them outside one of the finishing marks. She sails beyond the entire
finishing line, rounds the other finishing mark, and then crosses the finishing
line from its course side.
Has the boat complied with rule 28.1?
Answer
Yes. When the course requires boats to pass between two marks at a
finishing line or at a gate, a boat complies with rule 28.1 if the string
representing her track when drawn taut passes between the marks from the
direction of the previous mark (see the definition Sail the Course). She
complies with rule 28.1 even if the string also passes one mark of the
finishing line or gate on the non-required side. In this case the boat passed
the buoy serving as a mark of the finishing line on the non-required side
before passing it on the required side.
See Case 90, for a discussion of a similar incident at a starting line.
GBR 2004/4