John Ball

Even if the RC was found guilty of an improper action by hailing the recalls, the boat would not be eligible for redress due to the 'no fault of her own' condition in R 62.1. John

Yes you may hail for room to tack if you are sailing close hauled towards an obstruction at any time while subject to the racing rules and Yes a penalty applies for failing to respond as required by R 20 at any time after the 1 minute signal. John

I don't understand why you feel this way John. The skipper of B thinks a rule may have been broken - and his recourse is to protest or request redress - he may be right or wrong, but by going to a hearing, everybody may learn. In this incident, A is not breaking any rules, and B's issue is actually with the RC person. John

Hi Vinnie, First, I could not find any cases or calls which may help with your question. My opinion is that a protest against A would fail - see R 41 (c) and (d) as the information about the course was freely available to all the skippers. A request for redress against the RC for yelling out the information may be more appropriate. A redress hearing would not penalise A, but may award B points equal to first as the improper action of the RC made B's finish position worse. However the hearing may dismiss the claim. John

I hesitated to post this link of my mast bender in use as the sound is poor - I did not even know at the time that it was being recorded! One nice feature is its portability - we set it up at the pond, clamped to a (slightly shaky) fence. The last bit of the clip shows an added feature - a simple lever gauge that helps with calibration for different mast materials - I have three settings marked, one for the Easton 7075 11mm tent pole (slightly thicker wall that the French masts), one for the French 11mm tubes, and one for the Sails Etc 6061 alloy, which bends much more easily. There are more comments for its use back at the top of this thread - second post,

I ask if there has been any progress by MYA on my suggestion? I was just reading the HMS regulations for another question when I spotted this line item. HMS 1.8(d) Except where HMS 1.8(b) applies in Race 1, requests for redress under RRS E6.6 (e) and (f) may only be made in Race 2 or following races. I had not noticed this line item before- but as it stands, any regatta that runs under H MS cannot use my proposed solution unless there is a specific item in the SI that overrules 1.8(d) to allow redress in Race 1 - and this is highly unlikely as any RC would not normally anticipate such a need - and short of putting such a statement in every HMS event's SI, the better solution would be a change to 1.8(d) and add a method, such as I suggest for the calculation. I am not suggesting a programming change to HMS, just the approval and procedure to do it be added to the Regs- the calculation can be done manually. Respectfully John

Thanks Derek. John

Can anyone help identify this M? It looks like it dates from the 1980s. Its most identifiable feature is that it is a double-ender. Thanks John

Just to let you know that I have revised all the chapters to match the new 2021-2024 edition of the RRS. They may be found at https://sites.google.com/site/johnsrcsailingrulesandtactics/ I may need to make some revisions once World Sailing issues the new edition of the Case Book, and IRSA Call Book (used to be IRSA Case Book). The new versions of these articles should still apply to the current 2017-2020 period, however be aware that some rule number were changed. John

The study version of the new RRS is available here https://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/StudyVersion20212024WorldSailingRacingRulesofSailing-[26383].pdf John

Before you go spending money, ask why do I want (need) Country Code (GBR) on my IOM. You only need the country code if you are participating in International Regattas (IOM World and Continental Championships). For local and National events, the Country Code is optional. John

World Sailing has published the next edition of the RRS for 2021-2024. Here is my quick summary of the changes, especially those affecting Appendix E for RC sailing. John RRS 2021 - 2024 Changes Summary.pdf

Thanks for replying - yes, I have those measurements, but it would be much easier to have a measurement from transom to mid-band. John

I put the outer wheels 12 inches on center. One local friend made one with the wheels about 8 inches on center and it took a lot of effort to push the mast forward and back - the pressure would cause the wheels to lock and deformed the mast out of round. The effort is much reduced with the wider spacing. Pics of mine below. The wheels on mine were cut from a piece of 3/4inch oak plank (left over from a furniture project). I cut out three disks using a hole cutter. Then I chucked each disk in my drill press and spun it while holding a Dremel with a sanding drum against the disk to create a groove that serves to locate the tube. One improvement was that I added a pivoting straight edge lever across the top to act as a gauge and marked it for the correct setting for various masts (Bantock 6061, French 7075, and Easton 7075(thicker wall than French)) Works great. Easy to use and adjust - I mark the tube for center line at several points to orient the mast as I push it - it will try to twist - and mark the lower bend point, so I know here to stop. I push the mast forward once - and pull it back until it springs out of the jig - sight down the tube to see if it needs more - and adjust the nut and repeat. Just turn the top nut to increase the pressure a bit. With the wheels that you purchased, They should spin easily - but on the right (feed) wheel you may need to file down the flange on the outside so that you do not put extra pressure on the mast as you ease it into the jig. John

I am refreshing a Pikanto for a new skipper. Can someone provide me with the recommended mast rake for A rig, B rig, C rig? Thanks John

Hi Garry, thanks for the feedback and support for my theory. As the HSM system is 'owned' by the MYA, could the appropriate committee review this issue, with a view to updating the HMS documentation. Currently, it fails to provide a solution for this circumstance. That way we would all have a standard process for Protest Committees around the world. John

I received a panic message from a Regatta Director some time back - His Protest Committee wanted to award Redress to a boat in an HMS Seeding Race. There is no guidance in the HMS procedures for awarding redress in a seeding race, so what should they do? I don't remember how they decided to resolve the problem, but I gave it some thought after the fact and came up with a possible solution that may help Race and Protest Committees in the future. For normal multi-heat races, we accept a mathematical model for redress - eg AVG points for some number of races – if the incident is later in the regatta, then AVG of races already sailed - but early in the regatta, redress may be based on an average of some selected range of future races. But how to assign redress for that seeding race, where the fleet make up and size of heat are quite different from the heats of Race 2 and beyond? Here attached is a description of the problem, the logic, and my suggested solution. It has no official standing, and may generate some useful discussion on this (hopefully) rare situation. John Redress in Race 1.pdf

We have a local sailor who fits his IOM mast box in his smart car - the hull goes in a box on the roof. John

Here is a video link to a tuning video created by Designer, Builder, Sailmaker, Top Sailor and IOM guru, Ian Vickers. John

I am in Canada and have had items shipped from Europe, AUS, NZ, and USA to Canada. When they arrive they are subject to customs duties and taxes. When the package was shipped via courier (eg FedEx or UPS), there were also customs brokerage fees, but that did not occur when shipped by postal package - so ask the shipper to use the mail service and not a courier. John

It sounds like you may be touching on two points. First, if you were both on the same gybe, when he altered course, he has to give you room to keep clear - R 16.1. As weather boat, you were required to keep clear (R11 W/L). From your description, you were able to keep clear - so no rule broken by either boat. Next if there was a mark involved, he bore way just before he reached the zone to break any overlap - so he gains mark room. John

A finish mark is just like any other mark - it has a required side and a zone, and R 18 and Mark room apply. So if you have Mark Room then you are entitled to room to finish. You may want to visit my web site and read chapter 6 - The Finish (especially from page 6 on) https://sites.google.com/site/johnsrcsailingrulesandtactics/ John

Welcome to our sport/hobby. Hopefully, you may find someone local to become a mentor to help you set up your boat - it is much easier to sail a boat that is in tune, than one that is off. One problem for newcomers is steering (or over-steering), and especially if sailing directly towards yourself – as left and right become reversed – but it does improve with time and practice. Learning the rules is quite a challenge – so try to master some very basic ones first eg Port keeps clear of starboard, windward keeps clear of leeward, astern keeps clear of ahead, only tack if you are clear, give room to boats inside at marks, and when in doubt stay clear – BUT ASK AFTERWARDS to find out which rule would apply. There are some helpful sites to learn about the rules. You may find my site helpful – especially Chapter one – The Definitions. https://sites.google.com/site/johnsrcsailingrulesandtactics/ When starting to race, it can be intimidating - you don’t want to screw up the other boats’ races – so what we do with my local fleet for newcomers, is to have them start at the 30 second point – this puts them in clear water around the course, and as they get overhauled, the fleet is spaced out. So less pressure on them. As you improve, you will no longer need the head start, and will begin to start with the fleet. John

Dave I found the answer in your post - But happily Boat A protested the evil boat 11 a) Boat 11 Infringed upon Boat A by not allowing sufficient Room for A to TACK And my comment is that there is no obligation for a trailing boat to provide a leading boat for 'room to tack' except at an obstruction (R 19 and R 20). Was there an obstruction? Did A hail for 'room to tack'? John

Dave, I have a question - under which rule did Boat A protest you? John