Race Rhumble: Mark Room!
Jim Snair


Welcome to 2009! Every four years, the sailors in our families get to
readjust their brains as the rules of racing undergo slight and
purposeful modifications. For our upcoming season, this is all
happening again.




If you’re a racer that remembers “Mast Abeam” and have had
trouble getting that one out of your on the water vocabulary...
another challenge has presented itself. Remember last season,
driving towards a mark, the puff of wind seemingly pushing
your boat faster than all those around you. Your boat surges and
during the last 200 metres you start reeling in competitors. Your
crew is quick to point out this is a port mark and you want to “go
inside.” And so it goes... within 60-80 feet (two boat lengths),
you ask for “Buoy Room” of your slower neighbours. And, like
all racers, they comply and yield to your request.




They let you “in” and you round the mark headed towards
the next mark, smiling and thanking the wind Gods and your
competitors for letting you get ahead.




That was then and this is now. Don’t try that this year or next…
more specifically, don’t ask for “Buoy Room” because starting
this year, there isn’t any! The rule guys have rewritten that rule
and its now about “Mark Room”. There are a number of subtle
changes to the rule that allows local race committees to alter the
size of the “zone.”




Remember last year it was a two boat length circle? Not
anymore. The size of the “zone” is now three hull lengths.
Sprit boats should be mindful of this downwind... it’s not the
overall length of your boat and sprit... just your hull length.
Race committees can alter the size of this mark zone from two to
four lengths depending on their anticipation of crowded mark
roundings.




The mark zone “circle” must be well understood by the crew
on your boat. If you’re one of those boats that loves to barrel into
the windward mark on port, flip at the last minute, round the
mark and launch a kite, you may want to rethink strategy for this
season. If you’re tacking onto starboard in front of a starboard
layline boat and your tack forces her to sail above close hauled or
prevents her from rounding the mark, a red flag is likely to appear
and a protest might follow!




And yet there’s more... if the inside boat needs room to manoeuvre
the outside boat (if overlapped) will have to make room before the
zone so as not to restrict the movement of the inside boat. This is an
important change; have your crew discuss it, draw it out if necessary
and make sure that the bow, the middle and the back of your boat are
all on the “new” page.




So we’ve rounded that mark... whew. It’s all good except for one
more thing. When exiting the mark, normal right of way rules apply
if you are approached by a boat not yet around. So be careful about
gibing onto port as there could be a starboard boat, a bit low on
the layline. Eyes on your boat should be forward and aft on mark
roundings!




I’ll go one step further and recommend you and your crew do
some pre launch reading. Check out Bryan Willis’ book 2009-2012
The Rules in Practice as it contains the new rules in full plus diagrams and summaries of the changes.




In the meantime, take a look outside, the rumour is that spring
is headed our way, the ski hills are closing and the winter covers are
about to disappear. Bring on spring!