Team Race - CALL M 02  

Rule D2.1(a) Intention to Protest

Question 1
There is a possible incident between boats A and X, neither of which appears to protest at that time. A team-mate of A shouts 'Protest! Go ahead and protest!' As a result of that advice, A protests. Is this protest valid?

Answer 1
In order to comply with rule D2.1(a), a boat intending to protest must hail the other boat immediately and promptly display a red flag. If the protest is made in response to the advice from a team mate, it is not immediate. If there is not a reasonable reason for the delay in the hail, the protest is not valid. Signal 'No penalty'.

Question 2
A boat intends to protest, but fails to follow the correct procedure. She then continues to hail 'Umpire', seeking a decision to the invalid protest. What will the umpire do?

Answer 2
Signal 'No penalty'. Even though no valid protest has been submitted, it is appropriate to signal clearly to the competitor that no penalty will be given.