Racing editor Mike Ingham shares his insight and expertise on how to handle puffs and shifts on a typical lake when the wind is strong.

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Over six months of thesis research and statistical analyses with professors at Yale and Harvard and the head of sports analytics at ESPN, I derived a mathematical model that predicts sailing race performance. This formula reveals which skills, such as turn rate in tacks or a boat’s VMG upwind, actually matter and to what degree they matter toward winning a sailing race.

We know this formula can tell us how to win because the numbers don’t lie. To understand the model, we first need to define the most fundamental component to winning a sailing race: crossing the finish line before your competitors. To do so, we need to have the shortest elapsed race time. With this in mind, we can produce a model to reveal which skills are the strongest predictors of a shorter race time. In other words, we can use this model to tell us which sailing skills help win races.

To guide you through this model let’s use the 49erFX during the last Olympic Quad. To get enough data to be able to make any discernible conclusions we take SAP boat tracking data from every 49erFX race sailed in every major regatta between August 2016 and August 2021. To decide which skills are necessary to win, we break down a sailing race into 38 individual skills that contribute to a boat’s performance. These are a combination of speed, VMG, time, distance, and maneuver-specific metrics, each in total and broken down for the individual legs of the race and the start. To better grasp the data behind the model let’s look at a snippet from the final data set below.

Now let’s dive into the stats. To get our race win model we can run a multiple linear regression (a statistical technique that uses multiple variables to predict the outcome) to see which skills are the strongest predictors of a faster race. We use total race time as our dependent/outcome variable and race skills as our independent/explanatory variables. In layman’s terms, we look at all the race skills to see which combination of individual skills produces a shorter race time. The model can be illustrated through the graph below.

Here, each bar represents a different skill. The length of the bar represents numerically how much a skill is correlated with total race time. The color of the bar illustrates the strength of the correlation; lighter blue indicates a strong, positive correlation and darker blue indicates a strong, negative correlation. A long, light blue bar means a skill has a strong positive correlation with total race time. This tells us as that value increases, total race time increases and you theoretically sail a worse race.

While the graph is nicer to look at, the actual model shown below is more important to us: total.time.min = 34.58 — 2.0vmg.l1 — .75dw.speed.kts — .66vmg.l3 — .39maneuvers.l4  + .35vmg.l2 — .29vmg.l4 — .22maneuvers.l1 — .17tack.turn.rate.deg.s  + .094total.maneuvers + .060distance.behind.line.bl + .0059dw_dist — .00065uw_dist

On the left of our mathematical formula we see total.time.min or the total race time. We are trying to reduce this value because less time equals a better race. On the right, we first see the number is 34.58. This is our intercept or the mean for the outcome when all of the explanatory variables are zero. Meaning, if all race skills were somehow zero, the average time it would take a 49erFX to finish a race is 34 minutes and 58 seconds. To say that race skills won’t impact race time is a ridiculous concept so we don’t need to pay too close attention to that number. What we do need to pay attention to is the value of the coefficient, the number in front of each skill, and the sign of this number, positive or negative.

The first skill to look at is vmg.l1 or VMG on leg 1, the first upwind. Vmg.l1 has a value of -2.0 which is the largest magnitude and almost ten times that of any other skill in the model. Its negative value tells us that as VMG on leg 1 increases, total race time decreases. What does all this mean? That VMG on leg 1 is by far the most important contributor to the total time spent on a race; having more VMG on the first upwind beat is worth more, ten times more, to a winning boat than any other skill on the race course.

Next, factor in distance.behind.line.b the distance behind the line at the starting signal. Its value of 0.060 tells us that the more distance you are behind the line at the start, the longer your race will be. Combine this with our conclusion about VMG on leg 1 and we see that having a good start and an efficient first beat is the most important combination to sailing a shorter race. This is something you probably knew, but the numbers confirm it is the most important factor to sailing a winning race.

Now let’s focus on maneuvers. First, glance at total.maneuvers, the total number of maneuvers. The coefficient is .094. This positive value tells us that more maneuvers equals a longer race. Again, this is pretty intuitive and you could guess that without all of the complicated calculations. However, this isn’t the part to focus on. Look more closely at the other two maneuver metrics in our model: maneuvers.l1 and maneuvers.l4—maneuvers on leg 1 and leg 4. These skills both have negative values, -.22 and -.39, respectively. Increasing either of these values will subtract a larger number from the average race time, 34.58, which decreases the total race time. What this means is doing more maneuvers on the first upwind or the final downwind decreases your total race time—sailing a theoretically better race.

At first thought, these negative values seem to contradict our positive total.maneuvers value that says doing more maneuvers means a longer and worse race. However, if you think about these two values in the context of a race, they actually make a lot of sense.

The first and last legs are where boats are typically the most clustered together; either right after the start or closing into the finish line. With boats closer together, these legs give more opportunity to gain or lose boats. It’s where you might double tack to leebow a close boat or do an extra jibe onto another boat’s wind to slow them. If we go back to our model, we see it’s telling us that doing these extra maneuvers on leg 1 or leg 4 can actually improve our race—and that does make sense. So, the next time you’re racing don’t be afraid to throw in that extra tack on the first upwind or jibe on the last downwind; the math tells us these can actually help win the race.

Now, if the numbers lost you somewhere along the way, just remember the following:

How do we win sailing races? 
Sail less time

How do we do that? 
Better use and execute your maneuvers

Do fewer maneuvers over the race

Don’t be afraid to do an extra maneuver for strategic reasons on the first upwind or last downwind

Get a good start and sail a fast first beat

Be on the start line at “go”

Have better VMG on the first upwind

That’s it. If you follow the numbers, winning a sailing race really is that simple.

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Sailing World contributor Mike Ingham explains the tactical nuances of ducking as well as the basic techniques of a fast duck.

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When transitioning from racing in a smaller fleet to the big fleet of a class championship, the fundamentals of racing tactics and strategies require some adjustments.

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Roller-furling jibs, once viewed as a convenience for cruising boats, have become a real game-changer in the sportboat world. For example, in the prestart, when you want to control your speed and kill some time, furl the jib. Feeling late and need to get closer to the line? Deploy the jib. Downwind, when a jib is not useful, it’s much better to furl than to put the weight of a bowman on the foredeck to drop the jib, not to mention the resulting beating the sail takes as it is shoved into a pile on the foredeck, instead of being neatly rolled around the headstay. Furling also makes transitioning between the soaking mode and the planing mode a much simpler affair. The roller-furling jib gives you the unique ability to do all that and more. The key is to know when to furl and when to deploy.

For a Fine-Tuned Approach

The basic rule is, in light wind leave the jib out, because you need speed; in medium and heavy air, furl the jib until the final acceleration. In light air it’s easy to get too slow and end up late. Maneuvering and accelerating also are tough without the jib, especially when it’s light. In medium or heavy winds, it’s easy to generate enough speed until the final acceleration with the main only. Only unfurl the jib early if you end up behind the game in positioning or need to perform a maneuver, such as a double-tack when someone steals your hole. Let’s take a look at some common prestart situations.

Let’s say you’re doing a timed loop in medium breeze and your goal is to be at “x marks the spot” at one minute. That spot is on the layline for where you want to start, for example one-third down the line from the committee boat. Having done a few practice starts, you know you want to tack around that spot about 197 feet from the line at one minute. But if you realize you are running late to get to that spot and you’re furled, deploy the jib and beeline it to that spot.

Or, perhaps your initial timing was wrong, other boats forced you to sail extra distance, or your last head-to-wind took longer than expected. Time to deploy and get where you need to be. Once you’ve made up the lost time, furl, do your tack, and now you’re where you should have been in the first place.

Here’s another common situation. The committee boat is favored so much that there’s a general recall, and the committee calls everyone back and announces they are going to move the pin up. So the whole fleet sails to the pin like a swarm of locusts to get their pings. It’s a chaotic battle, with everyone taking their turns and trying not to hit each other. After all this, you check the bias of the line and realize the boat’s still favored—they didn’t move the pin enough to windward. Then the sequence begins. It’s a 50-boat line, and you’re thinking, “Oh no! We’ve got to get back to the committee boat end, and it’s a three-minute sail.” Deploy the jib.

In my usual starting sequence, I do a timed-loop with the jib furled; if everything’s fine, I unfurl at about 20 seconds. With any instruments that allow you to see distance to the line, the goal is to accelerate and be at full speed within 6 feet of the line at the gun. The instruments help you understand the ratio of feet to seconds with and without the jib, which helps you know when to deploy the jib for your final acceleration.

### Pro Tip #1

J/70 World Champ Jud Smith has a saying about furling: “Never have a bad furl, it’s like kicking your dog; you just don’t do it!” Indeed, it’s easy to put big creases in the jib when furling, which reduces the sail’s useful life. To avoid that, make sure the sheets are slack. Then, tighten the jib halyard just before furling to increase the luff tension on the sail. On the J/70, we accomplish this by bow-stringing the jib halyard where it exits the mast.

The short version is, if you’re feeling late, deploy the jib to make up the time, and if you’re feeling early, stay slow and wait to deploy. The ability to furl or deploy the jib, with the guidance of a GPS, makes it easier to get that time and distance right. The challenge is that, because the whole fleet has the same tools, everyone is that much closer to the line at the gun.

As an example, on a J/70, with the jib furled in medium wind, it’s about 1-to-1. So if you tack at 60 seconds to the gun and 200 feet from the line, and you cruise with the main only, that ratio will be going down another 3 feet per second. If you did nothing, you’d start at 0 seconds, right on the line, but with the jib furled. Of course you’d never do that. Instead, tack at 260 feet and 60 seconds, giving you 65 extra feet to work with. Now you’re marching toward the line, and the feet and seconds are still reducing at about 1-to-1. You’re watching them both go down as you’re managing your east-to-west spacing, making sure you have a hole to leeward, and dealing with threats from other boats. You know from practice runs on the start that your speed doubles when you deploy. Somewhere around 10 to 15 seconds, deploy the jib and start going 6 feet per second instead of 3 feet per second. If you get it right, you nail the start—3 to 6 feet back from the line, at full speed and close-hauled.

Some people make spreadsheets with various time-and-distance ratios for given wind strengths to help figure out how far away to set up and when to deploy.

I’ve had little success with those. The problem is that a number of other factors, such as current, sea state, bad air and line bias affect your closing speed to the line. If the pin is favored, it takes longer to get to the line from a given distance. And if the boat is favored, it takes much less time for that same distance. The more line bias, the more it affects your closing speed. Add other boats and current into the mix, and it gets complicated. I’ve found the best way to get it right is to do some practice starts, keep your eyes open to changing conditions and figure it out race by race.

For Downwind Situations

If you’re in displacement mode and sailing deep, furl. Whenever the apparent wind is forward, jib out. Another basic rule of thumb is that the spinnaker is always the first priority. If you’re having trouble flying it, furl the jib. Think of the jib as a bonus when you can use it; you don’t need it all the time.

On a J/70, the jib is mostly furled unless it’s windy. The exceptions are if you’ve overstood, or if you have to head up to defend, such as when someone behind is reaching up to roll you. Then deploy. With the wind forward, it’s faster with it out, as the jib is not blocking the spinnaker. When the jib is furled or deployed depends on the type of boat. For instance, on the Melges 20 we keep the jib out much of the time. Only in really light air, when the sheet tension on the jib goes away, do we furl.

### Pro Tip #2

It’s just before the start, and you need to go head-to-wind to do a final wind check. But with the jib furled, the main doesn’t really luff in the center of the boat that well. Solution? Unfurl just 2 to 3 feet of the jib and use that as your guide. Once finished, use it to assist in bearing off by pulling it one way or the other to backwind and help the turn. Then you can easily furl that small section of sail without having to fully bear away.

If I am unsure whether the jib should be furled, I often look at other people’s setups and VMG, then decide. I only need to know whether I’m gaining or losing. If I’m losing, I match the other boat’s sail configuration.

The jury is still out about whether to furl when jibing. If it’s breezy, and the jib is out, some crews furl, jibe then unfurl because the jib can mess up the spinnaker a bit when it’s filling on the new tack. For those who leave it out in heavy air, a standard jibe includes letting the jib luff on the exit of the jibe to help the kite fill. Once that happens, trim and you’re off and running again.

Of course, blow-through jibes require the jib to stay deployed, because it acts as a wall that the spinnaker slides around while the jib is backwinding. For those jibes, the jib is left-cleated and the skipper turns quickly, backwinding the jib and kite against it, letting the kite slide around the forestay and onto the new side.

Once the kite is around, the jib trimmer uncleats the old jib sheet and trims the new sheet once the kite is full.

RELATED: 5 Tips for Better Asymmetric Speed

At leeward marks you either need to deploy the jib, then drop the chute or drop the chute, then deploy the jib. I’ve seen people try to drop the chute while unfurling the jib at the same time, and it can get ugly. Because you have a spinning furler near a loose spinnaker halyard, it’s easy for the halyard to wrap around the jib and forestay—then it’s probably race over.

If you watch a video of a 50-boat fleet in the J/70s, 48 of them will deploy the jib, drop the kite, then round the mark. Two might drop kite, start heading up then deploy the jib. There are arguments for each. I like to get the jib out, then douse, just in case there is someone reaching in to the leeward mark before you head up. Two-sail reaching is always faster than one!

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Dear Doctor Crash,

The skipper and crew of Gunga Din thank you for the lovely photograph of our vessel at zero velocity due to contact with a rock off Beavertail Point in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.

Needless to say, Gunga Din‘s placement on that rock was a total navigational error, not an iota of blame on the [New York YC] Race Committee, which did a phenomenal job during the 175th Annual Regatta, which was remedied in a matter of minutes.

As soon as the vessel went from 5 to zero knots, thanks to contact with the rock, the crew panicked and started lowering sail. The skipper, having grounded a number of times on sand in the Bahamas (primarily on the way to Spanish Wells where channel markers are frequently moved by the locals), remembered how important it is to hoist sails and heel the boat, as opposed to dropping sail, which would give it an 8-foot draft as opposed to a 3-foot draft when heeled. After reluctance on the part of the crew to follow the skipper’s orders, the spinnaker was hoisted back to the top of the mast, the sheets were strapped in and the vessel sailed off with considerably less draft than eight feet.

The next morning, a diver inspected the minor damage to the keel, patched it underwater with waterproof compound and the vessel sailed in the next races. Upon hauling the vessel after a week or so, inspection showed minimal, if any, damage to the keel.

The vessel is a Lloyd’s certified Sweden Yachts 41, built in 1988. Other vessels, particularly the more racing oriented boats might have left their keels behind on the rock.

While we don’t plan to stop on rocks in the future, it does show the quality of construction and the importance of heeling the vessel as opposed to lowering sail and increasing draft.

Sincerely yours,

The Skipper
Dayton T. Carr

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When it comes to lubricating your raceboat, let’s start with tracks and cars. I spray T-tracks and slider cars with McLube. Back when I volunteered with PACT95, we had a display with two T-tracks and slider cars, each 20 feet long. One was sprayed with McLube, and the other was not. I could send the McLube car well off the end of the track with a good push, the other one wouldn’t slide more then 8 feet before stopping. However, don’t use it on ball-bearing cars and related tracks. According to Harken, the tracks will get so slippery that the balls will skid instead of roll.

Instead, use McLube One Drop. The liquid form keeps the ball bearings running smoothly. I leave a few droplets on the side of the track and then run the car over the lubed area. I also take a rag with some One Drop on it and wipe the sides of the track down where the ball bearings make contact.

For pins and turnbuckles, use Forespar LanoCote. It lasts forever and resists water extremely well. Clean the turnbuckles with a rag, toothbrush, and acetone. Then dip the end of the stud in LanoCote before spinning the stud into the turnbuckle. I also use it on rudder pins on small boats, vang and gooseneck pins on larger boats, as well for sheave pins in the mast or boom. If I can’t get LanoCote, TefGel is also really good and very waterproof.

Below-deck roller furling systems require really getting into it with fresh water, then dripping McLube One-Drop in the area above deck while spinning the unit to ensure a real good coat under the deck.

Another good place to use One Drop is in the ball bearings of blocks regardless of size. After a fresh water rinse and some dry time, I add a few drops into any area that has ball bearings and then spin the sheave until the lube is evenly spread out.

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After a successful day of one-design racing I’m often asked: “What base numbers do you use?” and “What were your rig settings today?” These are valid enquiries, and like tuning guides, they’re a great place to start when initially setting up your boat. At the end of the day, however, consistent speed usually comes down to knowing how to adapt, on the fly, to changing conditions. It sounds pretty simple: first, identify the problem—inability to point, lack of speed—then, look critically at your setup to find a solution.

But there’s a lot more to it than that.

Let’s start with one basic principle: a boat is either looking for power, in perfect power, or overpowered.

You must be able to recognize which is the case in order to figure out which changes to settings must be made to improve your speed or VMG. From there, you must understand action and re-action: “If I adjust this, then that happens.”

Make sure you’re clear about what each control does and how it affects the sails, the boat’s balance, and thus VMG. Remember, for the most part, only very small adjustments are needed to make a change.
Following the keep it simple, stupid, here’s a quick guide we use on our Etchells, but much of it is applicable to other boats.

Traveler: Changes power by adding or reducing heel and changes weather helm. It can add drag to the sail plan if too high.

Mainsheet: Changes power by adding or reducing heel and weather helm. Also tightens the forestay, as the mainsail’s leech shares some load with the backstay.

Cunningham: Depowers the mainsail as it pulls the draft forward and thus flattens the sail aft. Generally reduces drag and removes “overbend” wrinkles from excessive backstay.

Outhaul: Changes the mainsail cambers down low. Increases or decreases power and drag.

Backstay: Changes the mainsail cambers more uniformly. It also changes the twist in the mainsail leech as the mast bends. It can rapidly affect power which is helpful when increasing or reducing heel. It also tensions the headstay which controls power in the jib.

Jib sheet: Changes leech tension while also slightly changing the cambers. Be careful not to ease the sheet too much or you can make the top flatter with twist while keeping the bottom to full.

Jib lead: Changes depth and power in the jib, mostly in the bottom two thirds. It changes twist, so make sure you check the jib leech after adjusting the leads.

Jib halyard: Similar to the cunningham, it changes the draft position and the overall depth of the sail. Beware that as you tighten the jib halyard, the leech can get tighter, reducing twist.

Inhaul: Changes the proximity of the jib leech to the mainsail while also changing the angle of the jib to the wind, letting you to point higher when used. If you are overpowered and the mainsail is depowered to the point that it luffs, let the inhaul off until the main settles down.

Jib tack: Tightens luff by pulling draft forward and flattens the back of the sail slightly. It can also create a small amount of twist.

Mast ram: Changes the cambers of both sails. It bends the mast down low. In the mainsail, it affects fullness in the lower sections, and in the jib, it affects headstay tension. Letting the mast bend further causes the headstay to sag further.

Now, let’s take a look at these adjustments in action on the course. You’re going upwind shortly after the start in a tight lane, and you need to sail a little higher to hold that lane. Accept that you will go a little slower by sailing higher. If it’s windy and you are overpowered, you can generally sheet a little harder on both sails. That increases power, but by sailing higher to the wind you are reducing power. Generally it will be a small net loss in VMG as you sail slightly higher and slightly slower but you will hold your lane, which will net gain you VMG later.

In some cases, such as in flat water where there is little chop or waves, you can simply sail higher and flatter to achieve this mode without changing anything. While you decrease power in the sail plan by sailing higher into the wind, you also reduce leeway, since the boat will be sailing flatter. If the power is perfect and the boat feels balanced, a very small pinch in on the jib and either a tad of traveler up or mainsheet tension will do it. Pulling the traveler up or tightening the mainsheet adds power to the back of the sail plan, making it easier for the boat to head up.

In chop or waves, mainsheet on often works well, but when it starts to get bumpy, traveler up is better, as you often need twist in the main to help reaccelerate after hitting a waves.

If the boat is underpowered, ease the backstay. This will round up the sail plan in both sails, creating more weather helm, making it easier to head up. As the backstay is eased, the main leech gets tighter and the sail gets fuller. It also adds sag to the headstay, which results in additional shape and power in the jib. Pro sailor, Steve Hunt, a four-time Etchells champion, cautions that the backstay and mainsheet always go hand-in-hand; if you adjust the backstay, immediately consider adjusting the mainsheet.

Now that you’ve held your lane, you’re free to go anywhere. The left side of the course is favored, so you need to sail “fast forward” to the left. This is accomplished by sailing slightly lower but faster through the water. A similar VMG to the mark but gets you the positioning further to the left side of the course. If overpowered, add backstay and let the traveler down. Just “lay” on the jib slightly, making the leeward telltales start to dance. Easing the traveler and pulling the backstay on reduces power and drag in the back of the sail plan, allowing the boat to bear away slightly without heeling more, resulting in a faster lower mode. If the power is perfect, only the smallest change is needed. Ideally, keep the same amount of heel. If the power is perfect, you likely don’t want to change the backstay and negatively affect the jib. In this situation, a little traveler down works well. Simply bear away and reduce the drag in the main ever so slightly.

If you are underpowered, try bearing away slightly. The boat will heel slightly and likely accelerate. Make sure the jib isn’t sheeted too tightly or it may stall. A small ease of the mainsheet can also help; it will help increase head stay sag thus powering the jib up even further.

Andrew Palfrey, a two-time Etchells World Champion, Star Olympian, and AC, TP52 and 44Cup coach, offers these tips for better upwind speed:

Balance and power, in harmony, are key. Keep in mind the vertical distribution of power, particularly when over-powered. For example, in higher true-wind speeds, keep depth and driving force low in the sail plan to get through waves, while ensuring the upper part of the sail plan is all about reducing drag.

Develop a tuning guide specific to your boat. Every boat will have a slightly different balance due to the slightest difference in the underwater foils.

Invest time (and even some money) on the basics of accurate foil and mast alignments. This is the building block of consistent performance. This is my primary focus when I am involved in a new build. It is getting easier these days to quantify fast sails (and even rig to foil alignment) digitally. If you are high and fast, take a photo of both sails and the major controls like backstay, traveler, and inhaul. Simple apps to analyze sails such as The SailCloud are available for a fee. (*Another simple and free app can be found here).

It is no longer only the realm of the sailmaker or pro coach. This will really help when you get your next new sail. Compare the two scans and you are in a much more informed position to make any changes to mast set-up or to discuss things with your sailmaker. Facts and data, before opinion!

When moding one way or the other, too often people over react. If moding fast-forward in a boat like an Etchells, aim for only a 1- to 2-percent increase in forward speed – i.e.: 0.1kt. This is the slightest press into the jib, with the major controls sympathetic to the mode. Otherwise the resultant heel and change in balance will have a negative effect.

Keep asking questions—that is what the best sailors do.

The post A Prescription for Better Upwind Speed appeared first on Sailing World.

If you race near a major commercial port, you’ve probably encountered a Traffic Separation Scheme. A TSS is essentially a two-lane highway for maritime traffic. A TSS enhances safety and allows commercial shipping to function alongside recreational boating. A TSS is not delineated by buoys, but charts show its two lanes and the direction of travel within each. There is a separation zone, or sometimes just a ­separation line, between the lanes.

Most TSSs are administered by a Vessel Traffic Service. The VTS serves a role for the TSS similar to that of air traffic control for an airport. The U.S. Coast Guard is usually responsible for organizing and staffing the VTS in domestic waters and use an Automatic Information System, which enables all vessels are equipped with AIS to view the locations and motions of other vessels in the AIS on a digital chart.

Traffic schemes are established in international waters by the International Maritime Organization. In the International Regulations for Prevention of Collision at Sea, Rule 10, Traffic Separation Schemes, sets requirements that apply to any vessel within or near a TSS adopted by the IMO. For a TSS in the inland waters of the United States, Rule 10 in the Inland Rules applies. Rule 10 in the Inland Rules is identical to Rule 10 in the IRPCAS, which requires a sailboat using a TSS to proceed in the appropriate traffic lane in the general direction of traffic flow for that lane; to keep clear of a separation line or zone; when joining or leaving a lane, to normally do so at as small an angle to the direction of flow as practicable; when obliged to cross a lane, to do so as nearly as practicable at right angles to the general direction of ­traffic flow in the lane; when not using the TSS, to avoid it by as wide a margin as is practicable; and, most importantly, not to impede the safe passage of a power-driven vessel following a traffic lane.

The Coast Guard and local law ­enforcement agencies enforce the IRPCAS and the Inland Rules. By law, any sailboat, racing or not, is subject to Rule 10. In The Racing Rules of Sailing, Rule 48.2 requires a boat that is racing to comply with IRPCAS Rule 10 and, for that reason, a boat racing can be disqualified for breaking that rule.

The preamble to Part 2 of the racing rules states that, when a boat sailing under the racing rules meets a vessel that is not governed by the racing rules, she shall comply with the IRPCAS or government right-of-way rules. Given that, you might ask why we need both the preamble to Part 2 and Rule 48.2.

The answer is simple: only the sixth requirement in IRPCAS Rule 10 (listed above) applies when a boat sailing under the racing rules meets a vessel that is not. All of the other five requirements apply to a single boat in or near a TSS whether there are other vessels near her or not.

Why does any of this matter? Traffic Separation Schemes serve an important safety function that everyone on the water in any boat should recognize and applaud. However, the presence of a TSS that boats racing must, or might, pass through during a race can create safety issues for large, difficult-to-maneuver vessels using the TSS lanes that must contend with a fleet of boats. The Coast Guard requires any organization hosting sailboat races to obtain permits to conduct such races. If boats in a yacht club race create unsafe situations for large commercial or naval vessels in a TSS, the host club, or maybe all clubs in the area, might have trouble securing permits to run future races. For this reason alone, and for the obvious reason of safety, it’s important the leaders of our sport take great care to deal prudently and cooperatively with the authorities involved in enforcing IRPCAS Rule 10 or the identical Inland Rule 10.

Also, Rule 10 presents a few knotty issues of interpretation for protest committees. If you study Rule 10’s requirements listed above, you will see several imprecise or “fuzzy” terms, including “practicable,” “general direction” and “normally.” These terms make it difficult for protest committees to make consistent decisions regarding Rule 10.

Rule 10 is not a rule that any of us involved in sailboat races can simply change. Changing it would require an international agreement negotiated between governments. Race officials, therefore, can’t just rewrite Rule 10 with a sailing instruction to make it clearer. However, IRPCAS Rule 1(b) does permit local authorities to make “special rules” and such rules could modify Rule 10. One club, the St. Francis YC, has negotiated with the local VTS to use a special sailing instruction for races held right off their clubhouse on San Francisco Bay just east of the Golden Gate Bridge. St. Francis has a challenging situation for its racecourse. Any race it might conduct in front of its clubhouse would most likely require boats to sail across a narrow stretch of water frequently used by larger ­commercial vessels.

The following two paragraphs summarize the St. Francis YC’s sailing instruction:

Commercial Traffic: The race ­committee may deploy boats on the racecourse equipped with signal flag V. If a race committee member in one of these boats signals a racing boat to change course—by making a sound with a horn or whistle and pointing flag V at her—that boat shall promptly comply unless compliance would create an unsafe condition. If the boat fails to comply, the race committee shall protest her. The protest committee shall assume that the course change would not have created an unsafe condition, and the protested boat shall have the burden of proving otherwise.

Also, if a commercial vessel makes five short, rapid blasts on its whistle (a danger signal, see IRPCAS Rule 34(d)) at a boat that is racing, and/or the vessel or the Coast Guard is subsequently able to identify the offending boat, that boat may be protested; if so, the protest committee shall assume that she has impeded the commercial vessel’s passage or otherwise violated Rule 10, and the protested boat shall have the burden of proving otherwise. If the protest is upheld, the boat shall be scored DNE: disqualification that is not excludable. St. Francis YC shall cooperate with and provide relevant information to the Coast Guard or other governmental authority regarding investigations of boats impeding ship traffic or violating the Inland Rules.

Other organizations have adopted a much simpler way of dealing with a TSS in or near the racing area. For example, the sailing instructions for the Fastnet Race simply designate several TSSs as obstructions—as permitted by the definition Obstruction—and state that boats shall not enter areas designated as obstructions. Of course, this approach is feasible only if it is possible for boats to sail the course without entering any of the separation schemes.

There are now more than 100 TSSs and the racecourses for most ocean races pass through or near one TSS—or, sometimes several. For this reason, World Sailing has established a committee to make a proposal for dealing more comprehensively with TSSs in The Racing Rules of Sailing. The committee is chaired by Stan Honey, Chairman of the World Sailing Oceanic and Offshore Committee, and, in writing this article, I have benefited from research that Stan has done on TSSs.

E-mail for Dick Rose may be sent to rules@sailingworld.com.

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