Sailing Racing Rules
Conundrum 1
Facts
Two boats, Yellow and Blue, were sailing directly downwind towards a leeward mark to be left to port. They had been overlapped for several lengths with Yellow inside and slightly ahead. As Yellow entered the zone, she decided to make a wide and tight tactical rounding. As her bow came abreast of the mark she bore away to gybe, and there was contact, but no damage or injury. Yellow protested Blue under rule 10 (On Opposite Tacks) while Blue protested Yellow under rule 18.4 (Mark-Room: Gybing).
The protest committee disqualified Blue for breaking rule 10. Blue appealed, asserting that she had given Yellow mark-room and that Yellow had broken rule 18.4 by not sailing her proper course.
Was the protest committee wrong in disqualifying Blue and if so why/why not?
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Answer
TBA
