42. Facts found: Daymare and In Your Ear were about to round the leeward mark of a buoys-to-port course side by side. Daymare (windward) was clearly entitled to mark-room . As the boats approached the zone, In Your Ear warned Daymare that Daymare was entitled to no more than mark-room. Daymare apparently did not hear IYE's hail and made a tactical rounding, approaching the mark about a length and a half to leeward of it in an 8-knot breeze and flat water.

As both boats rounded up onto a close-hauled course, the hulls were almost touching. IYE informed Daymare that he had taken too much room and that Daymare should do penalty turns. Daymare refused to do so and In Your Ear immediately hoisted a protest flag but did not say: "Protest".

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Ruling:  In Your Ear has failed to comply with Rule 61.1(a) which clearly requires a yacht that intends to protest to hail 'Protest' As of 2001, it is no longer necessary for boats less than six metres long to "display a red flag at the first reasonable opportunity". Since In Your Ear failed to yell "Protest", the hearing cannot continue.
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If the protest had been lodged in a valid manner, it would have been heard, and the ruling would have been as follows:
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Rule 18.2(a) applied since the boats were in the zone around a mark. Since the outside boat (In Your Ear) had right of way, Daymare was entitled only to "Room for a boat to sail to the mark, and then room to sail her proper course while at the mark.", i.e. only enough space to round in a seamanlike manner without fear of hitting the mark. Since In Your Ear was required by Rule 14 to avoid a collision with Daymare and came as close as he could to Daymare without actually colliding, Daymare was not taking room freely given by In Your Ear. If that had been the case, Daymare would have been entitled to use such room (ISAF Case 63), but in this instance, Daymare broke Rule 18.2(a) and would have been disqualified, if the protest had been lodged in a valid manner.

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Case #43
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