CASE 40
Pravido 46, Person in Charge
Pravido 75, Entering an Event
Unless otherwise specifically stated in the class rules, notice
of race or sailing instructions, the owner or other person in
charge of a boat is free to decide who steers her in a race,
provided that rule 46 is not broken.
Facts
In a series, A was entered by the owner, who steered her in race 1. In races
2 and 3 she was steered by another person from whom no entry had been
received. The race committee protested her, alleging that she had broken
class rule 11(e) in races 2 and 3. Class rule 11(e) reads, ‘Distribution of
duties between helmsman and crew shall be entirely at the discretion of the
helmsman, unless otherwise stipulated in the sailing instructions.’
The protest committee decided that A was a non-entrant and a non-starter in
races 2 and 3 and scored her DNS in those races, stating that class rule 11(e)
did not allow permanent substitution by the crew at the helm for an entire
race or races, since the only purpose of that would be to improve a boat’s
chances of winning a series. A appealed.
Decision
A’s appeal is upheld. The owner of a boat may appoint another person to
steer her. It is the boat that is entered in an event (see rule 75) and, unless
otherwise specifically provided in the class rules, notice of race or sailing
instructions (which was not so in this case), it is a matter for the owner or
other person in charge of her to decide who steers her at any time, provided
that rule 46 is not broken. A was properly entered in the event, and her series
score is to be based on her finishing places in all three races.
GBR 1977/2