What were they thinking?

[Guest]

So I noticed today that the 2013 - 2016 Racing Rules of Sailing are up on the ISAF website.

 

See

 

So I've been reading them to see what's changed...

 

...Rule 42 is Propulsion...

 

What were they thinking in 42.3 ( c )???

 

© Except on a beat to windward, when surfing (rapidly accelerating down the front of a wave) or planing is possible, the boat’s crew may pull in any sail in order to initiate surfing or planing, but each sail may be pulled in only once for each wave or gust of wind.

 

Honestly... who can judge and/or enforce when and where a gust starts and stops???

[Guest]

I meant to include the link...

 

http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/ISAFRRS20132016Final-%5B13376%5D.pdf

[ScottiE 174]

isn't really about clarifying that you can't pump a sail "windsurf style"? It allows the 'rapid trimming' of a sail purely to initiate planing which is legit.

[Guest]

Yes, kind of, except that 42.2 ( a ) seems to already have covered that:

42.2 Prohibited Actions

 

Without limiting the application of rule 42.1, these actions are

prohibited:

 

(a) pumping: repeated fanning of any sail either by pulling in and releasing the sail or by vertical or athwartship body movement;

 

This then covers exceptions when 42.2 does not apply... so what it is saying is that despite pumping being prohibitied, you CAN rapidly trim on to initiate surfing... but you can only do so once for each sail for each wave and each gust...

 

So how do they decide when one gusts starts and finishes?

[Jon 362]

Quite simple Bardy it will be either

1: each weather system that passes through the racing area eg, every 2 or 3 days you can do it once

2: everytime the wind speed increases by any infinitesimal amount you can go for it.

[Guest]

Will be good for the techos.

 

Now all instuments will come with a "gust-ometer" function and "sheet-in-o-sensor" so you can record that you only pumped once in a gust.

[Bogan 8]

the "pump once on each wave" limit isn't new.