There has been a discussion that if you get caught on the ground tackle of a mark technically you have not touched the mark.

In other words, if you pass so close to a buoy on it's upwind or up-current side, that your boat's bulb or fin  becomes caught by the buoys "ground tackle" but your hull does not touch the buoy, have you "touched" the mark and need to do a turn?

Recently, at the finishing line between two bouys, one boat's skipper maintained that he had touched the "ground tackle" of one finishing bouy after he had "finished", that is that he had crossed the imaginary line that lies on the course side of the finishing marks and therefore as his hull did not touch the buoy he did not need to do a turn as he had properly finished. His opinion is that the ground tackle is not part of a mark of a course. He argued that it was "in the Rules". Is it?

 

Edited July 25, 20242 yr by Terry Connell

Here is the definition of Mark

Mark An object the sailing instructions require a boat to leave on a specified side, a race committee vessel surrounded by navigable water from which the starting or finishing line extends, and an object intentionally attached to the object or vessel. However, an anchor line is not part of the mark.

So you do not break R 31 if you touch the anchor line as long as you don't drift into the mark itself. (note a start mark and its anchor are different)

I would think that hitting the finish mark because you fouled the anchor line still breaks R 31 and so you have to do a penalty and then refinish as you have not cleared the finish.- see definition of Finish, especially (b) error at finish line

Finish A boat finishes when, after starting, any part of her hull crosses the finishing line from the course side. However, she has not finished if after crossing the finishing line she

(a) takes a penalty under rule 44.2,

(b) corrects an error in sailing the course made at the line,

(c) or continues to sail the course.

John

Thank you very much John. How is the start mark different from, say, a finishing mark?

 

The difference is stated in the Preamble to Part C

SECTION C AT MARKS AND OBSTRUCTIONS

Section C rules do not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them.

So you may not call for Mark Room at a start mark, nor room to tack to clear its anchor line (which as it is not part of the mark,  could be considered an obstruction).

John