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  3. Rule 44.3

Part 4 — When Boats Meet

Section A — Right Of Way

A boat has right of way over another boat when the other boat is required to keep clear of her. However, some rules in Sections B, C and D limit the actions of a right-of-way boat.

44.3

Scoring Penalty

(a) If specified in the notice of race or sailing instructions, a boat takes a Scoring Penalty by displaying a yellow flag at the first reasonable opportunity after the incident. (b) When a boat has taken a Scoring Penalty, she shall keep the yellow flag displayed until finishing and call the race committee’s attention to it at the finishing line. At that time she shall also inform the race committee of the identity of the other boat involved in the incident. If this is impracticable, she shall do so at the first reasonable opportunity and within the protest time limit. (c) The race score for a boat that takes a Scoring Penalty shall be the score she would have received without that penalty, made worse by the number of points stated in the notice of race or sailing instructions. When the number of points is not stated, the penalty shall be 20% of the score for Did Not Finish, rounded to the nearest tenth of a point (0.05 rounded upward). The scores of other boats shall not be changed; therefore, two boats may receive the same score. However, the penalty shall not cause the boat’s score to be worse than the score for Did Not Finish.

Definitions in Context

Committee

The protest committee, the race committee or the technical committee.

Finish

A boat finishes when, after her starting signal, any part of her hull crosses the finishing line from the course side. However, she has not finished if after crossing the finishing line she

  • (a) takes a penalty under rule 44.2,
  • (b) corrects an error in sailing the course made at the line, or
  • (c) continues to sail the course.

After finishing she need not cross the finishing line completely. The sailing instructions may change the direction in which boats are required to cross the finishing line to finish.

Protest

An allegation made under rule 60 by a boat or a committee that a boat has broken a rule.

Rule 44.2

After getting well clear of other boats as soon after the incident as possible, a boat takes a One-Turn or Two-Turns Penalty by promptly making the required num...

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