Displaced mark

[sailquinte]

Just a question....we recently held a race, where as a boat passed a mark, the mark''s anchor line got caught in the rudder of a rounding boat, thus carrying the mark further away from the next mark. WE were forced to round the boat, as the mark was still being dragged? Do we have grounds for a restart, as we were forced to sail a longer course that the other boats?
Your input is appriciated.
PS. the tangled boat dropped out of the race.

[goduke]

The rules state that, if a mark drifts or is dragged out of position, the RC should (IF POSSIBLE) replace/relocate it to its original position. Your problem was that there simply wasn''t enough time for that to happen. I think you did the right thing by rounding the mark and attached boat because you probably could not "prove" the original location of the mark. If your finish was affected by this, you probably could have filed for redress but this situation would not prompt a general recall.

[drewhultonsmith]

It is always unfortunate when this happens. One of the main responsibilities of the RC is to ensure that racing is made as fair as possible to all competitors. If the offending boat was, say, mid-fleet and the dragged mark caused you and the rest to sail a longer course, that is clearly unfair. You may be entitled to redress and be awarded a time advantage according to ISAF RRS 62.1(a) and 64.2. If the occurrence causes huge and unjust detriment to other boats, the RC may choose to abandon according to ISAF RRS 32.1(d). In my personal experience as an RO, I have always found it prudent for all RC and support vessels to have a great big ''M'' flag on a broomstick, ready to race to the position of the missing mark, drop an anchor and start signalling according to ISAF RRS 34(b). It is always wise (where possible) to have support boats near marks at roundings - apart from being exciting to watch - it also allows the RC to witness first-hand any other infringements and to deal with situations such as dragged or missing marks. Thats my $0.02.

[mikehoyt]

Related to this question.

Had a fun race last summer in a Bay with 1-2 mile legs. We followed GPS to where one of the marks should have been and it was not there. Another boat thought they saw it 1 mile off position.

End result was one boat rounded where mark should have been while the other sailed over a mile off course. Many friendly arguments ensued since this was a Guys vs the Girls match.

What is the official ruling? The Race Captain was on one of the boats so opinion may have been biased.

Regards,

Mike