The Gybe-back

 We had an interesting incident at a recent event which has me thinking about the way rule 18 switches on and off during a gybeback.  The gybe -back typically occurs at mark 4, on a standard team racing S course, just before the final beat to the finish, so ignore mark numbering in the diagrams, the wind comes from the top of the diagrams which is where the finish is. Remember that the normal rules apply inside the zone but . . .

The problem is that 43.1(b) says that "When a boat is sailing within .. mark room to which she is entitled and ... she breaks a rule of Section A of Part 2, rule 15, 16, or 31 she is exonerated for her breach"

This means that the Umpires need to note when the boat is in the corridor leading to the mark.

In this diagram at position 5 the yellow boat is still within the corridor, as her boom has to clear the mark (ignore the diagram) so blue gets the penalty. However, in the scenario below we have to penalise yellow, as at position 5 she is outside the corridor to the mark and her alteration of course did not give blue room to keep clear. (OK the diagrams are not that clear but hopefully you get the point.)

Interesting, is the idea that the provisions of 18 switch on when the boat begins to turn and use the corridor. Consider this:-

The blue boat is keeping clear and had yellow held her course between positions 7 &8 would have passed clear of yellow. Yellow clearly altered in a manner which gave blue no chance to keep clear. However, since she has not yet passed the mark and her alteration was towards the mark she was using the room to which she was entitled. There was no breach of 15 as she remained right of way, is she exonerated for the breach of 16, even if the turn towards the mark was not completed?

There is, however, a get out for the blue boat in 43.1(a) since her infringement was as a consequence of yellow breaking 16 she is entitled to exonerated for her breach of rule 10.   

These complications don't occur when the inexperienced try the gybe-back outside the zone. They fail to understand the full power of the gybe-back done inside the zone and the exonerations available when this happens. 

Recovering Capsized boats

 Sailing dinghies capsize due to the wind, once capsized they are generally too involved in recovering the boat to worry about the wind but it can have a significant effect on how easy it is to recover the boat. One can excuse powerboat drivers for ignoring it , but again if they used it life could be so much easier, and the boat would be back in use much quicker.

The most obvious use of wind comes when a boat has inverted and the the centreboard has gone up into the case. The boat will generally lie across the wind. If you get the crew to stand on the leeward gunwale, the boat will begin to right. They can put their fingers into the slot to balance, but the object is to keep their weight on their feet, on the gunwale. The wind will assist this process and as the boat drifts downwind you will generally find that the end of the boom surfaces. THIS IS A GIANT LEVER!. If you, in the powerboat, can get hold of this you can lever the boat upright by working your way along the leach to the masthead. 

Once there it is essential that you control the righting, the boat will be downwind, so if you just throw it upright it is quite likely to just go straight over again. Either try and have the crew in a position to be scooped in as per an RYA Capsize recovery, OR walk it upright, keeping hold of the shroud as you work your way towards the boat.

The rig lying upwind is a problem even if the crew are recovering the boat. The most useful thing a powerboat can do in this situation is to get the boat head to wind. To do this put your bow into the bow of the capsized boat, have your crew grab the forestay and reverse upwind, so that the boat comes head to wind. The crew can right it and it might stay upright instead of flipping straight over as it would if you left it. Having your crew in the bow will assist in keeping your transom high and reduce the water taken on board your powerboat.

If the rig is stuck in the mud you have to get it out. Generally the wind will be pushing it deeper and deeper into the mud, otherwise the crew would have recovered it.  There are two approaches, you can try and rotate the boat so that the hull is no longer upwind, but you risk bending or breaking the mast. The other method is to pull the boat upwind and have the mast come out of the mud on the same trajectory as it went in. You might put your painter around the shroud and reverse upwind but often you don't get a result, due the inability to develop sufficient power in reverse. You can try getting the line astern, but then you have to be further away from the boat or your prop might be too close to the crew in the water and maintaining the correct angle becomes more difficult.  

Another method is to put your bow into the cockpit of the boat and push it out by going ahead. This gives you much more power but you need to be aware that your propeller is close to the mast and mainsail of the boat. The main is usually lying straight down due to the weight of he boom but you need to be careful. Once the mast is out of the mud it will begin to come up alongside your powerboat. Grab the mast, go into neutral, and lift it up, working your way to the masthead. Check the wind, before you start to right it by working back towards the boat lifting the mast over your head. You should have blown round but attempting to push a rig up against the wind is not good news, it's hard. Better to bring the rig round so that it is at least across the wind, being at the masthead should mean that your propeller is well away from the crew.

Finally don't forget that you do NOT want to chop up the sailors with your propeller. If they get close to the prop the quickest and safest way is to pull the kill cord. You will, of course, have checked that it works at the beginning of the day. Be aware that this applies if you are alongside a capsized boat, feet can easily trail under the boat towards your propeller, so know where the crew are!

Umpiring Short Handed

 It is not unusual, at some events, to be on your own in the umpire boat and often the only Umpire on a three boat team race. While the Umpiring Manual has a section on this it is not very detailed.

These events are often quite "Grass Root" and as such the competitors often do things which are unexpected, also they cannot manoeuvre their boats as efficiently as the best teams, so as an umpire you need to allow more space and to be alert. 

The manual advises following the normal left hand route, it does say that this should be adjusted to give the best view of incidents. This means that as you go up the first beat you need to decide where the action is going to be. If at the front you will follow the normal route along the top of the reach. However, if it is at the back you might choose to follow the right hand track, following below the top reach. This has the advantage that you can cut across to mark 3 without having to make a lot of wake.

The last beat is often a problem as it is easy to get trapped, either out to one side or with the action catching up, behind you. It is often profitable to "hang back" as this makes it easier to observe all the boats and the crossing angles are more easily observed than when you are having to switch observations between pairs of boats.

With single boat umpiring the convention is that the umpire boat taking the race will take the pin or left front position and the umpire for the next race will assist from the committee boat or right rear position, assuming they get back from any previous races. With a 3 minute sequence the second boat will return to their start about 1minute after the start.

If there is a "Floater" it may be possible to identify critical matches and they can join that race for it's entirety or until it is clear that the action is over, or it may be possible for them to pick up the race at Mark 3 and follow to the finish. The way they join this race depends very much on the timing of their arrival, which is often dictated by the action in the previous race and the way the race has spread out. Ideally, there will be a pair at the rear that they can pick p as they go into mark 3. However, it is often the case that there are four boats fighting as they approach mark 3. In this case they might pick up the leading pair, probably as they approach mark 4. What is important is that they act clearly and decisively so that the race umpire knows that he can leave decisions in respect of those boats to the Floater. 

Unfortunately, radio is not a lot of use in these circumstances, as you are on your own, driving the boat and trying to signal, so don't have a spare hand for the radio.

Finally, it would be nice if the Umpire Manual 14.3, made some reference to ensuring the comfort of fellow Umpires. Having the opportunity for a comfort break, or ensuring that hot drinks are delivered can make a big difference if working in a cold climate.