After reach across between the windward mark and the seperation mark the boat on the inside decides to do a gybe to port, at the seperation mark to sail the lefthand side of the run. In doing so she hits the mark, does that gybe constitutes part of the pently turn (1 gybe &1 tack or 1 tack & 1 gybe)?

In doing her tack after the gybe she tangles up with following boats that have gybed to port, at that point the boat doing the PT is on starbord tack and the other boat are on the port gybe.

At what point of the turn has she completed her turn, is it when she is back on course heading the bottom mark?

I know that the boat in the wrong has to sail clear which maybe the case when she is in the first group of boats and is clear to take her penalty, but when the second wave of boats come around the mark and fan out for the run she is not clear.

Ok so this is what I think.

1) No whilst you hit the mark by Gybing and impacting the mark, this is not part of your turn. The rule states you must now sail clear of all boats and take your penalty turn as soon as possible. Whilst taking your turn you have no rights and if you infringe another boat or boats you will need to take another turn. 
so what you have explained is two seperate infringements so two penalty turns.

Basically I agree with David.

When things go wrong at a mark rounding, and a boat starts to take a penalty, the rules that may apply change quickly.

Here are some rules that may apply.

21.2 A boat taking a penalty shall keep clear of one that is not.
23.2 If reasonably possible, a boat shall not interfere with a boat that is
taking a penalty, sailing on another leg or subject to rule 21.1.
However, after the starting signal this rule does not apply when the boat is sailing her proper course.

These are the obvious ones - the boat needing to take the penalty has to get clear before starting the penalty. If they go off to the left and other boats have not yet rounded the mark, that sounds ok. However the trailing boats have a responsibility to not interfere with that penalty.

What may be more difficult to see is that as soon as the penalty is completed (after the gybe or tack, which ever is last), the boat may suddenly be ROW relative to the other boats - (could be R10,11 or 12)  and under R15 has to provide room for them to keep clear.

Once R 15 is satisfied, the penalty completed, the boat now wants to alter course to get back on track - and as ROW, is now subject to R16.1 and again required to give room.

These factors make it clear that the need to get well clear before starting the penalty is not only required, it is sensible.

John

Some suggested reading on the issues of penalty turns and getting clear.

I write about these topics on my web site, see Chapter 9 The Penalty Turn, (Note the advice from Gordon Davis about getting clear) and  my Appendix B Depth Perception - when things go wrong.

https://sites.google.com/site/johnsrcsailingrulesandtactics/

John

Edited March 3, 20251 yr by John Ball

Our rules are at least 'clear' and defined at great length, compared with maybe F1.

Mostly makes sense, on calm considered reflection, on a Monday night. But in the heat of the moment on the weekend..... 🙄

(Yes, there's no ideal lol)

The boat hits the mark while gybing.

She is required by RRS 44.2 to get well clear of other boats as soon as possible after the incident. The gybe is part of the incident so it is not part of the penalty.

The boat then tacks and there is contact between her and other boats. I would argue that this demonstrates she has failed to get well clear of other boats so she has not started tacking her penalty.

Also, as tacking boat (13) or starboard tack boat initially required to give room as she has acquired right of way( 15) or RoW boat changing course (16) she has broken another rule in a separate incident.

The boat should take 2 penalty turns for the two infringements.

 

A boat starts taking a penalty when, after getting well clear, she begins to turn to either tack or gybe. From this moment; RRS 21.2 applies and she shall keep clear of boats not taking a penalty.

A boat finishes a penalty when she has completed  the last tack or the gybe. The rules do not require that the boat turns a full 360° ( in part because there were vexatious protests alleging that the boat had only turned through 350°