Barging at the start: Last night was egregious!!! And with the pin end so favored, it was totally unnecessary. In Race 3, Steve Olanoff was close-hauled on the layline for the boat. Several boats (you know who you are) forced their way between him and the Committee Boat in violation of the rules and the safety issues of avoiding a collision. Steve wisely didn't force the issue, but he would have been perfectly within his rights had he done so.

Be warned!

From now on, the RC will automatically disqualify any barging starters at the beginning of the race at its sole discretion.

There was some (lengthy) discussion at dinner regarding overlaps. The example was the first race, when many boats did a bear away set and got far right of the rhumb line coming down the course. Then they took down their spinnakers and gybed for the mark. As they came into the area of the mark, they were entering into a potential overlap situation with boats who sailed straight down the course. The overlap rules begin to apply when boats come within two boat lengths of each other, but it is important for the "outside" boats to recognize the developing situation and the possibility that they may have to give room to boats on their left.

We talked earlier this summer about establishing an overlap from astern and the limitations on the leeward boat's rights to luff in that situation. Under the same rule, the leeward boat can sail off to leeward by more than two boat lengths, thereby breaking the original overlap, and then re-engage the windward boat with a full set of luffing rights. This rule is where I suggest the two boat length radius begins to place overlap onus on boats coming in to a mark rounding.

The key element here is "anticipation."

Cheers!
Captain Herb Motley, BHSC
617-720-0049