Top 5 Rules Changes for 2013

As the summer season begins for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it is an especially good time to brush up on the Racing Rules of Sailing.  ISAF makes revisions to the rules every four years, and 2013 is a “new rules” year.  There are a number of small changes, and a few big ones.  Here are my picks for the 5 biggest changes this year:

·       Don’t hit that “keep off” mark!  Due to a glitch in the old rules, the “keep off” floats frequently attached to the back of race committee boats were not technically part of the race committee boat and thus there was no penalty for hitting them.  They were not “marks” because they were attached only temporarily to the “mark” (i.e., the committee boat).  ISAF has fixed this bug by tweaking the definition of “mark” to remove the word “temporary.”  Remember – you are not entitled to mark-room at the committee boat – or the keep-off float – when approaching it to start, until you have passed it.

·       Mark-Room:  The definition of “mark-room” has changed again. Here is the biggest change: there is a new test for whether a boat entitled to mark-room gets to sail a course to the mark: she is entitled to do so only if her proper course would be to sail “close” to the mark.  This means that if, for example, you round a mark so wide that your proper course is to sail to the next mark, not the one you are rounding, you don’t get to “close the door” on boats rounding the mark (unless you have right of way over them and don’t break rule 16.1 in doing so).

·       Room: The definition of “room” has also been tweaked to make clear that when you owe someone room (such as when they are a keep clear boat and you alter course while you have right of way) you must give them room to honor their obligations under the rules of part 2 and rule 31.  So, for example, if you luff a windward boat quickly, and in her effort to keep clear of you, she fouls someone else, the fault lies with you!

·       Outside Help: Rule 41 is expanded so that you can receive outside help if one of your crew is in danger, such as when a crew member falls in the water.  You can still be penalized if you gain a significant advantage from the help, however.

·       Trash:  Rule 55 is new.  It states “a competitor shall not intentionally put trash in the water.”  This has often been a Sailing Instruction, and now it is a rule.  Like all rules, each sailor has a duty to self-police with respect to this rule.


There you have it – my top 5.  As always, feel free to contact me with questions (matt@unrulyracing,com) and check out my rules blog at unrulyracing.com

Team Knowles: Swimming with Sharks

With the Worlds starting in a little less than 5 days, SB sailor Matt Knowles has been down under in Belmont, Australia running a strong practice regiment for Worlds preparation, rig, sail, swim, fix, sail, swim, fix and repeat. Practice conditions in Belmont have been exciting, with steady breeze, sunny days, warm weather and water and the occasional shark siting. Nonetheless, Matt has been trucking along with his US teammates and new Aussie Moth friends, with the Pre-Worlds starting Jan. 5th, and an expected 115 Moths on a single start line, this tale is going to get a little more interesting.

Matt is keeping us well informed though, with his Worlds Blog, where you can get daily updates from his adventure down under, and as we get more media content from Matt and his team, we will continually post what will be some of the most exciting, fast and aggressive sailing footage seen in a long while, stay posted.

SB Announces sponsorship of US Moth Sailor Matt Knowles

Sound Boatworks is proud to announce our newest member of the SB Team, US Moth Sailor Matt Knowles !!! We are very excited to welcome Matt aboard, former Harvard Sailing Team member and member of the US Sailing Racing Rules Committee, Matt is a great addition to the SB sponsored teams. Currently Matt is preparing for what will be one of the fastest single handed events of 2011, the Moth Worlds in Australia. In addition to Matt's high speed sailing, he also hosts "Unruly", a blog on the Racing Rules of Sailing, of which SB is also proud to sponsor and will be giving away prizes for the winners of Matt's Rules Quizzes.

We will be covering Matt's adventure down under in the coming month so check back with us for awesome photos, videos and much more. Also, check out Matt's blog, Unruly, and test yourself to see how well you know the RULES !!!




Photos courtesy of Winston Yan