Rule 19 Room to Tack at an Obstruction
Rule C8.3 Penalties Initiated by Umpires
Question
Approaching an obstruction, Yellow and Blue are sailing upwind on the same tack.
Blue hails and signals Yellow for room to tack. Yellow believes that Blue is
not sailing a close-hauled course and she ignores the hail. Both boats protest.
What should the call be?
Answer
When the hailing boat is sailing upwind, the hailed boat must always respond
to the hail in accordance with rule 19.1(a) or (b). Penalize Yellow.
In addition, if Blue hailed for room to tack when it was clear that the requirements
in rule 19.1 were not met, then Blue broke rule 19.1. Penalize Blue.