We had some questions about how to protest correctly, so here’s a guide with some handy rules from the Racing Rules of Sailing.
60 RIGHT TO PROTEST; RIGHT TO REQUEST REDRESS OR RULE 69 ACTION
60.1 A boat may
(a) protest another boat, but not for an alleged breach of a rule of Part 2 or rule 31 unless she was involved in or saw the incident;
(b) request redress; or
(c) report to the protest committee requesting action under rule 60.3(d) or 69.2(b).
- 1 (a)
- Part 2 Rules (RRS 10 – 24) are “when boats meet” – Port / Starboard, mark-room through to not interfering with another boat, RRS 31 is touching a mark.
- Note: you can protest another boat but you can’t protest the Race Committee.
- Note: You can protest a boat, but the rule does not allow you to yell or scream at it.
- 1 (b)
- Requesting redress is a topic in itself – if you are keen, check out RRS 62
- 1 (c)
- If the allegation is about a support person (coach, parent, sail maker etc.. ) breaking a rule or a person committing misconduct – you can report the matter and the Protest Committee will decide whether to call a hearing.
61 PROTEST REQUIREMENTS
61.1 Informing the Protestee
(a) The protesting boat shall inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity. When her protest will concern an incident in the racing area, she shall hail “protest” and conspicuously display a red flag at the first reasonable opportunity for each. She shall display the flag until she is no longer racing. However, ….
- Hail “protest” and display red flag at first reasonable opportunity for each.
- If you get engaged in other conversations before hailing protest, then you have not hailed it at the first reasonable opportunity.
- Having a go at another boat is not on – if you think they broke a rule, hail “protest” – that’s it
- A boat needs to be prepared to display the flag – it needs to be immediately accessible to conspicuously display – a hat is not a flag.
- There are some reasons why displaying a flag immediately is not the first reasonable opportunity – being committed to a tack, gybe or spinnaker hoist, having to avoid another boat because of the incident or recovering from a capsize.
Let’s look at the other Howevers….
(1) If the other boat is beyond hailing distance, the protesting boat need not hail but she shall inform the other boat at the first reasonable opportunity;
- The first reasonable opportunity to inform might be when crossing paths on the race track.
- After finish a real effort should be made to inform the other boat.
(2) If the hull length of the protesting boat is less than 6 meters, she need not display a red flag;
- Optis don’t need to display the flag
(3) If the incident was an error by the other boat in sailing the course, she need not hail or display a red flag but she shall inform the other boat either before or at the first reasonable opportunity after the other boat finishes;
- There are some choices here, but after finishing a real effort should be made to inform the other boat.
(4) If at the time of the incident it is obvious to the protesting boat that a member of either crew is in danger, or that injury or serious damage resulted, the requirements of this rule do not apply to her, but she shall attempt to inform the other boat within the time limit of rule 61.3.
- Pretty common theme – safety first, an attempt to inform before the end of the protest time limit.
OK – So you have validly informed the other boat – What next?
61.2 Protest Contents
A protest shall be in writing and identify
(a) the protestor and protestee;
(b) the incident;
(c) where and when the incident occurred;
(d) any rule the protestor believes was broken; and
(e) the name of the protestor’s representative.
- Note that there is no special form, it just needs to be in writing – any piece of paper will do.
However, if requirement (b) is met, requirement (a) may be met at any time before the hearing, and requirements (d) and (e) may be met before or during the hearing. Requirement (c) may also be met before or during the hearing, provided the protestee is allowed reasonable time to prepare for the hearing.
- (b) So as long as the incident is identified, the form can be lodged.
- (a) The boat you are protesting only needs to written down prior to the hearing
- (c), (d), (e) Where and when it happened, rules broken and who will represent you can all occur before or during the hearing.
- Lots of events have online forms – so do we.
