Part 4 - OTHER REQUIREMENTS WHEN RACING

When rule 40.1 is made applicable by rule 40.2, each competitor shall wear a personal flotation device except briefly while changing or adjusting clothing or personal equipment. Wet suits and dry suits are not personal flotation devices.

Rule 40.1 applies if (a) flag Y was displayed afloat with one sound before or with the warning signal, while racing in that race; (b) flag Y was displayed ashore with one sound, at all times while afloat that day; or (c) a rule in the class rules, notice of race or sailing instructions states that it applies.

Except when permitted in rule 42.3 or 45, a boat shall compete by using only the wind and water to increase, maintain or decrease her speed. Her crew may adjust the trim of sails and hull, and perform other acts of seamanship, but shall not otherwise move their bodies to propel the boat.

Without limiting the application of rule 42.1, these actions are prohibited: (a) pumping: repeated fanning of any sail either by pulling in and releasing the sail or by vertical or athwartship body movement; (b) rocking: repeated rolling of the boat, induced by (1) body movement, (2) repeated adjustment of the sails or centreboard, or (3) steering; (c) ooching: sudden forward body movement, stopped abruptly; (d) sculling: repeated movement of the helm that is either forceful or that propels the boat forward or prevents her from moving astern; (e) repeated tacks or gybes unrelated to changes in the wind or to tactical considerations.

(a) A boat may be rolled to facilitate steering. (b) A boat’s crew may move their bodies to exaggerate the rolling that facilitates steering the boat through a tack or a gybe, provided that, just after the tack or gybe is completed, the boat’s speed is not greater than it would have been in the absence of the tack or gybe. (c) When surfing (rapidly accelerating down the front of a wave), planing or foiling is possible, (1) to initiate surfing or planing, each sail may be pulled in only once for each wave or gust of wind, or (2) to initiate foiling, each sail may be pulled in any number of times. (d) When a boat is above a close-hauled course and either stationary or moving slowly, she may scull to turn to a close-hauled course. (e) If a batten is inverted, the boat’s crew may pump the sail until the batten is no longer inverted. This action is not permitted if it clearly propels the boat. (f) A boat may reduce speed by repeatedly moving her helm. (g) Any means of propulsion may be used to help a person or another vessel in danger. (h) To get clear after grounding or colliding with a vessel or object, a boat may use force applied by her crew or the crew of the other vessel and any equipment other than a propulsion engine. However, the use of an engine may be permitted by rule 42.3(i). (i) Sailing instructions may, in stated circumstances, permit propulsion using an engine or any other method, provided the boat does not gain a significant advantage in the race.

• (a) When as a consequence of breaking a rule a boat has compelled another boat to break a rule, the other boat is exonerated for her breach.
• (b) When a boat is sailing within the room or mark-room to which she is entitled and, as a consequence of an incident with a boat required to give her that room or mark-room, she breaks a rule of Section A of Part 2, rule 15, 16, or 31, she is exonerated for her breach.
• (c) A right-of-way boat, or one sailing within the room or mark-room to which she is entitled, is exonerated for breaking rule 14 if the contact does not cause damage or injury.

A boat exonerated for breaking a rule need not take a penalty and shall not be penalized for breaking that rule.

A boat may take a Two-Turns Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2 in an incident while racing. She may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken rule 31. Alternatively, the notice of race or sailing instructions may specify the use of the Scoring Penalty or some other penalty, in which case the specified penalty shall replace the One-Turn and the Two-Turns Penalty. However, (a) when a boat may have broken a rule of Part 2 and rule 31 in the same incident she need not take the penalty for breaking rule 31; (b) if the boat caused injury or serious damage or, despite taking a penalty, gained a significant advantage in the race or series by her breach her penalty shall be to retire.

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 number of turns in the same direction, each turn including one tack and one gybe. When a boat takes the penalty at or near the finishing line, her hull shall be completely on the course side of the line before she finishes.

(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.

A boat shall use only the equipment on board at her preparatory signal.

No person on board shall intentionally leave, except when ill or injured, or to help a person or vessel in danger, or to swim. A person leaving the boat by accident or to swim shall be back in contact with the boat before the crew resumes sailing the boat to the next mark.

Competitors shall use no device designed to position their bodies outboard, other than hiking straps and stiffeners worn under the thighs.

When lifelines are required by the class rules or any other rule, competitors shall not position any part of their torsos outside them, except briefly to perform a necessary task. However, on boats equipped with upper and lower lifelines, competitors sitting facing outboard with their waist inside the lower lifeline may have the upper part of their body outside the upper lifeline. Unless a class rule or any other rule specifies a maximum deflection, lifelines shall be taut. If the class rules do not specify the material or minimum diameter of lifelines, they shall comply with the corresponding specifications in the World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations.

(a) Competitors shall not wear or carry clothing or equipment for the purpose of increasing their weight. (b) Furthermore, a competitor’s clothing and equipment shall not weigh more than 8 kilograms, excluding a crew harness (as defined in The Equipment Rules of Sailing) and clothing (including footwear) worn only below the knee. Class rules or the notice of race may specify a lower weight or a higher weight up to 10 kilograms. Class rules may include footwear and other clothing worn below the knee within that weight. A crew harness shall have positive buoyancy in fresh water and shall not weigh more than 2 kilograms, except that class rules may specify a higher weight up to 4 kilograms. Weights shall be determined as required by Appendix H. (c) A crew harness shall allow the competitor, at any time, to easily disconnect the harness from the trapeze or attachment to the boat.

Rules 50.1(b) and 50.1(c) do not apply to boats required to be equipped with lifelines.

When headsails or spinnakers are being changed, a replacing sail may be fully set and trimmed before the replaced sail is lowered. However, only one mainsail and, except when changing, only one spinnaker shall be carried set at a time.

Only one spinnaker pole or whisker pole shall be used at a time except when gybing. When in use, it shall be attached to the foremost mast spar (as defined in The Equipment Rules of Sailing).

No sail shall be sheeted over or through any device that exerts outward pressure on a sheet or clew of a sail at a point from which, with the boat upright, a vertical line would fall outside the hull or deck, except: (a) a headsail clew may be connected (as defined in The Equipment Rules of Sailing) to a whisker pole, provided that a spinnaker is not set; (b) any sail may be sheeted to or led above a boom that is regularly used for a sail and is permanently attached to the mast from which the head of the sail is set; (c) a headsail may be sheeted to its own boom that requires no adjustment when tacking; and (d) the boom of a sail may be sheeted to a bumkin.

For the purposes of rules 54 and 55 and Appendix G, the definitions of ‘headsail’ and ‘spinnaker’ in The Equipment Rules of Sailing shall be used.

When so equipped, a boat shall sound fog signals and show lights as required by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (IRPCAS) or applicable government rules.

A boat shall comply with rule 10, Traffic Separation Schemes, of the IRPCAS.

When a rule requires a boat to be equipped with an Automatic Identification System transponder or any other tracking device, it shall not be turned off or its effectiveness intentionally reduced.