YACHTING RULES

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 73, 27 March 1934, Page 8

YACHTING RULES

.fro the Editor.) * ; Sir,—-Your 'correspondent "Centreboarder" is.surely not serious :when he . sug-. gests that the nile "A yacht.running free shall keep out of the way of a yacht] close hauled." should bealtered. However; assuming he means the suggested ailtera-. tion to apply only to a., yacht with a spinnaker set, the examples, he quoted cut■' both. ways. ;. ".-■-/■•.." :'~-.■■'■'■

Suppose the fifteen or twenty yachtshe mentions have rounded the buoy and have all set their spinnakers with commend able speed, and one' poor straggler is beating across their course up;to. the bouy, what a time he is going to have and what consolation, when he has managed to keep his fourteen feet of bulk out of their way, he will have to observe their manoeuvreability <as they ■ '■;■, indulge in "blanketing" matches on the;.way to the next buoy. When I mentioned a•■"flood of protests," I had in mindthatthe sug-: gestion of. your first correspondent, F. A; Macindoe, was that the alteration of the' rule should apply only to yachts' with) the wind right aft; as that was the'particular rule he~quoted from, the'"R.ule: of the iload." -V \ : v ;. •■";::~.. . . :'::-'■■:: -~;^i ;.;.v-.K.-^

i This specific -case is not v. mentioned via' Y.R. A. rules •as >; all' yachts;; not - close hauled are running free and,;can ; hayejthe wind anywhere v from either-"-beam' to right aft. The difficulty,^then^ouldVbe to say when therewind was pght, aft and when the\prop6sed new rule: as I cannot imagine any-yach'tsmaii agreeing that."all; yachts running; free shpuld have; -right -• of -: way. If ;vthe,:rule;is; to apply to" the: close-haulfei-.ryacht, ; what about- the overtaken yacht; . f to";be consistent he.must lose his: rights too,-as he will be as an obstruction in the path of the unmanageable yacht with a spinnaker set as the close-hauled yacht; "Centreboarder," in common withnumerous other yachtsmen, seems to think that setting the spinnaker with commendable speed is the .Alpha and Omega of yacht racing, t A. skipper will get more lasting satisfaction by sailing his boat within the rules, and displaying seamanship by keeping out o£ trouble or, if trouble cannot be avoided, by getting his boat out of a tight corner than he will by the mere winning of races. Once a sport is so governed that all element of risk is eliminated then interest in it by fullblooded sportsmen will wane. It must be. remembered that the spinnaker is an extra sail and a skipper,is not compelled to carry it. When he sets it, however, he should be prepared to -take the consequences if he cannot carry it and maintain control of his boat sufficiently to observe the rule of the road. If "Centreboarder" will read my letter carefully / he will see that it was not my "wish to put the skipper in the box," and 'in any case the skipper I referred to was the close-hauled man vsho neglects to give way to the unmanageable boat running free. , ' In conclusion, I might add that I have had considerable experience in dealing with • protests" arising from fouls between yachts, but have not yet had to deal with one concerning the'case in question, and I.can assure "Centreboarder" that while I expend considerable energy in working for the good 'of .the .sport, ■ I cannot promise to extend any energy on such a fruitless task as trying to get the -Y.R.A. to alter a rule which has stood the test of tune.

I should be very interested, however, jf, either of your correspondents would irame a suggested rule to cover the case they quote not, of course, forgetting the unwritten or "courtesy" rule in yachting which requires a small yacht close hauled to give way, if necessary, to "a larger yacht running, with spinnaker set, in another race.—l am, etc., "• LEE O.