Now I Can Cut You Off

The 2009-2012 rules delete rule 17.2. This is the rule that currently prohibits a boat to windward or clear ahead of you from bearing off to cut you off and prevent you from passing to leeward. Since there's only about four weeks left on it, I won't bother with further explanation. It's enough to say there's a new move in the game. First, let me describe the subtle differences, then the new move.

After rounding a weather mark to sail the run, often boats stack up on starboard tack, unwilling to gybe with a row of starboard tackers blocking their wind behind them. As the leg progresses, some boats try to sail lower, avoiding getting sucked up into the parade behind them. This leads to clear astern boats trying hard to get in to leeward, creating an overlap and preventing the weather boat from sailing down on them. The weather boat wants to prevent this and maintain her ability to gybe away from the pack behind when a puff or a shift convinces her to do so. The jockeying continues. Today, the boat ahead is limited to sailing her proper course when a boat astern within two lengths is attempting to pass to leeward, and if overlapped with a leeward boat, must also keep cleat. In January, the proper course restiction is gone. As long as she keeps clear of a leeward boat, she can sail the course she pleases, even cutting off the boat clear astern trying to hook her with a leeward overlap (so long as the right of way clear ahead boat gives the give-way boat astern room to keep clear under 15 and 16).

Where this really gets interesting is approaching a leeward mark. Today the boat ahead can't dive down blow her proper course to prevent the guy astern from getting the overlap at the two-length zone. In January, she can. Most likely, this will only have application in the top end of light planing-dinghy fleets like Lasers, when pulling up the board and a gentle weather heel slides the boat to leeward, a lateral move with a little rudder kick added to angle the stern a bit and prevent the overlap. Even in larger boats, when a slower boat ahead is being pursued by a fester one astern, just diving down before the new three length zone to prevent an overlap, then heading up again when breaching it, will lead to some interesting conversations between players.

Confused? Feel like just ignoring all this? You're nor alone. Speaking with one of the memebrs of the British rules committee that helped draft the rules changes, he told me the biggest reason 17.2 was abandoned was that no one really obeyed it anyway. There was, and is, enough mutual confusion over 17 in general, that the details of 17.2 got lost in the game. And if no one gets it or folows it, there's really not that much use for a rule. Though it means a few small game changes, good riddance.