6/1/2012 1:02:08 PM
by Andrew Alberti
You are sailing upwind on port tack and you attempt to cross a starboard-tack boat but they have to alter course to avoid you – what do you do now? At the beginning of the rules section of the Racing Rules Of Sailing, a brief section titled “Basic Principle” states, “A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.” When I first learned to sail, retiring was the only choice open to you, but today you can take a penalty and these are covered in Rule 44. The rule that you broke was rule 10, On Opposite Tacks (commonly referred to as “port-starboard”), found in Part 2. Rule 44.1 tells us that on breaking a rule from Part 2, you can take a two-turns penalty. This is commonly called “a 720” but is properly described in rule 44.2.
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