Rule C7.3: Penalty Limitations

Section C — Match Racing Rules

Match races shall be sailed under The Racing Rules of Sailing as changed by this appendix. Matches shall be umpired unless the notice of race or sailing instructions state otherwise.

Note: A Standard Notice of Race, Standard Sailing Instructions, and Match Racing Rules for Visually Impaired Sailors are available on the World Sailing website.

C7.3

Penalty Limitations

(a) A boat taking a penalty that includes a tack shall have the spinnaker head below the main-boom gooseneck from the time she passes head to wind until she is on a close-hauled course.
(b) No part of a penalty may be taken inside the zone of a rounding mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg the boat is on.
(c) If a boat has one outstanding penalty, she may take the penalty any time after starting and before finishing. If a boat has two outstanding penalties, she shall take one of them as soon as reasonably possible, but not before starting.
(d) When the umpires display a red flag with or soon after a penalty flag, the penalized boat shall take a penalty as soon as reasonably possible, but not before starting.

Definitions in Context

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.

Mark

An object the sailing instructions require a boat to leave on a specified side, a race committee vessel surrounded by navigable water from which the starting or finishing line extends, and an object intentionally attached to the object or vessel. However, an anchor line is not part of the mark.

Start

A boat starts when, her hull having been entirely on the pre-start side of the starting line at or after her starting signal, and having complied with rule 30.1 if it applies, any part of her hull crosses the starting line from the pre-start side to the course side.

Zone

The area around a mark within a distance of three hull lengths of the boat nearer to it. A boat is in the zone when any part of her hull is in the zone.