SAILBOARD
ANY TIMEIntermediate

Contact and damage

The situation

Two Optis collide at a mark and one cracks her hull. The right-of-way boat says it wasn't her fault, so she keeps racing.

The question

If there's real damage, is the Two-Turns Penalty enough?

The ruling

No. Even the right-of-way boat must avoid contact if reasonably possible (rule 14), and when contact causes serious damage or injury, a Two-Turns Penalty is not available — under rule 44.1(b) the boat that broke a rule and caused the damage must retire from the race. The right-of-way boat is only penalised under rule 14 if she could have avoided the contact and didn't. After damage there should also be a protest so the facts are heard. Avoiding contact always comes first.

Key point

Serious damage means turns aren't enough — the boat at fault retires (rule 44.1(b)). Right of way is never a reason to hit.

Play this on the board

Opens the situation on the boat-length grid — scrub it and see exactly how the boats meet. Free, no account needed.

Rules cited

See the underlying rule: Rule 14 — Right of Way but Contact.

Related cases

  • Right of way, but contact · Any Time

    Starboard-tack Green stands on, confident in her rights. Port-tack Red misjudges the cross, the hulls touch, and there's damage.

  • Right of way — and still penalized · Any Time

    Starboard-tack Green stands on, confident in her rights, as port-tack Red misjudges the cross. Green makes no attempt to avoid Red; the hulls collide hard and a boat is holed. Green protests Red and assumes she's clean.

  • You fouled someone — now what? · Any Time

    Beating upwind, Jonah on port tack doesn't quite clear a starboard-tack boat, who has to luff sharply to avoid him. There's no contact and no damage, but Jonah knows he broke the rule.

  • Getting your race put right · Any Time

    A sailor is fouled by a boat that doesn't take her turns, and the contact breaks her rudder fitting so she can't finish the race.

Related guide

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