Case 70

Here’s another interesting one…

During a race, the wind died out almost entirely, leaving part of the fleet floundering at the leeward mark in 2 knots of current moving down the course. With very little momentum, our boat tacked to give way to a starboard tack boat. In the course of the tack, we lost all momentum—no headway, no helm—and the current pushed us back into the starboard boat’s path. The starboard boat changed course to avoid us, and we acknowledged a penalty under Rule 10. (By the time we finally got our boat back, we had fouled yet another boat, and drifted down onto the mark—a whopping 1800 degrees worth of turns!!!!!)

<>We ultimately withdrew from that race. At the end of the day, another competitor asked me why we had withdrawn. I explained that I was having a hard time sailing a straight line for fifty feet, let alone sailing five circles! He suggested that I may not have violated any rules at all—that the moment we lost headway and helm, I could be considered an obstacle on the course (I certainly was that!!!!), and that the other boats were therefore responsible for avoiding me. I can’t see anything in the RRS that suggest this. What’s your opinion?

Thanks for your help,

Todd