20. Facts found:  Half way up the first beat, Oxymoron (port) bore away to avoid colliding with GangGreen (starboard) as shown at left. 

Right after crossing GangGreen’s transom, Oxymoron started to tack  but GangGreen began to tack at the same time and the boats collided. There was no damage. Both protested.

Decision:  Since both boats were tacking when the collision occurred, rule 13 applied. This states that "If two boats are subject to this rule at the same time, the one on the other's port side shall keep clear." Since GangGreen was on Oxymoron's port side and did not keep clear, GangGreen is DSQ.
Rule 14 (Avoiding Contact) also applied and was infringed by both boats. Since there was no damage however, there is no penalty (rule 14[b]).

 case #21
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