CASE 82

Rule 62.1(a), Redress
Definitions, Finish

When a finishing line is laid so nearly in line with the last leg that it cannot be determined which is the correct way to cross it in order to finish according to the definition, boats are eligible for redress, and either direction is acceptable.

Summary of the Facts
At the finish of a race boat A crossed the finishing line in the direction, she believed, from the last mark and logged her own finishing time. The race officer ignored her finish. Hearing no sound signal, she returned across the line when the race officer logged her time and made a sound signal. A requested that her own time, at her first crossing, be taken for finishing.

The protest committee found as a fact that the committee boat was swinging either side of the leeward/windward line but believed that the race officer was watching closely to determine the correct direction for each boat to cross the line. Redress under rule 62.1(a) was denied and A appealed.

Decision
Appeal upheld. A is to be given her finishing place calculated from the time she herself logged when she crossed the line for the first time. When a boat cannot reasonably ascertain in which direction she should finish so as to conform to the definition, she is entitled to finish in either direction.

RYA 1992/1