I would have hailed at about 8 boatlengths out. If he got into my comfort zone I would have tacked to avoid and protested.
yes but i thought u had to avoid a collision at all costs when you are able to...if you wer on starboard and he was on port then you had the right of way no questions asked
yes but i thought u had to avoid a collision at all costs when you are able to...
If you would have held starboard (and hailed the port tack boat of your starboard rights) you would have been in the clear, but your change of your course without immediate communication kind of makes it a difficult situation. I would still say you were still in the clear because he took quite a gamble getting that close to you on port tack but thats just my call with out seeing it on the water.
If you would have held starboard (and hailed the port tack boat of your starboard rights) you would have been in the clear, but your change of your course without immediate communication kind of makes it a difficult situation. I would still say you were still in the clear because he took quite a gamble getting that close to you on port tack but thats just my call with out seeing it on the water.
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If you held your course and he failed to keep clear and the boats touched then his fault.
Timb
I don't agree with the last part of this. At the point of collision the other boat was tacking and therefore has to keep clear. If you were disqualified for causing the collision, then the other boat must get disqualified too for failing to keep clear.As the other boat is a port tacker, his obligation is to give way to you. You also have an obligation to hold your course to so that they can take avoiding action. If you alter your course and inhibit them, then you are in the wrong. Further at the time of the collision, you were windward and had to avoid the collision.
Read AlanD's post. You were on starboard and you did not hold your course. He tried to lee bow you and you changed course and hit him. Your fault.
If you held your course and he failed to keep clear and the boats touched then his fault.
If there is no collision then he can claim he kept clear and it is hard to win a protest.
Some sailers push the rules and some don't. Most of us don't even know most of the rules or may think we do but they have changed.
Timb
I don't agree with the last part of this. At the point of collision the other boat was tacking and therefore has to keep clear. If you were disqualified for causing the collision, then the other boat must get disqualified too for failing to keep clear.
When I was racing Opti, I once was tacking onto a port tack at the starting line. The wind was blowing around 25 mph and there was some huge waves. A boat behind me tried to head up to follow the same way I was going, but hit me right as the race started. Basically, if he had held his course, we wouldn't have hit each other. In the end, he protested me (because that's what all of the inexperienced sailors at my club do) and actually won. I think protest committees should start looking more at the reasonable thing to do and less at the technical. Sure he was on starboard and I was on port, but turned that direction a few seconds before I tacked, causing it to be my fault. While it was happening couldn't possibly have 360 degree view when you I struggling to hold down the boat and get a good start. In the end, we all make mistakes. This one just ended with his boat having a chunk out of it, mine having a little piece missing, and me almost getting kicked out of the fleet for some foul language.