The Rules Clarification Meeting
Sailboat racing is meant to be a self-policing sport. Lately that concept has come under pressure in conventional racing for a number of different reasons, including fewer competitors being willing to protest. This raises any number of issues and consequences, which we won’t delve into here!
In superyacht racing, abiding by the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) and Appendix SY is critical to safe racing, and safe racing is essential if this niche part of the sport is to thrive and grow. There was a time when protesting was frowned upon and even not allowed at some superyacht regattas. While this was seen by some as good for superyacht racing, it ultimately raised serious issues regarding competitive advantage and more importantly safe racing.
First, it is incumbent upon all afterguard members that collision avoidance be their top priority. Unfortunately, it isn’t always straightforward for superyacht tacticians and captains. Some yacht owners have standing orders not to protest, regardless of how serious or unsafe an incident might be. But for regatta organizers and the sport it is imperative that yachts abide by the rules and for those involved in an incident, that everyone understand after the race how the rules are interpreted, who is at fault and who is not.
For these reasons, the SYRA introduced an alternative to the formal protest a few years ago. The ‘Rules Clarification Meeting’ is an option that allows for a hearing without the formal RRS protest procedures and no consequence to scores or results based on the findings by the Jury. The afterguard of the yacht requesting the meeting only has to check the appropriate block on their Daily Declaration Form and inform the other yacht(s) in question.
The end result is that both parties learn how the rule or rules in question are interpreted by a Jury and it provides both afterguards clarity on that specific incident. An additional benefit is that the regatta organizer is apprised of yachts that are not abiding by the RRS and if there are repeated incidents, it provides them with the ability to act in the interest of safe racing at future regattas.