Luffing in Rum Races

[Bob H]

Just a friendly reminder that we did away with the restriction on luffing for the Icicle and Rum Races, and the Sailing instructions no longer have the words describing that restriction.
The Board discussed this at length last year and found that we had a difficult time understanding all the cases where the luffing restriction would or would not apply and so we decided we should just adhere to the RRS as written.

If you are not that familiar with the Racing Rules of Sailing, please educate yourself! There are many good publications and websites out there that can help. We also have many people  in the area who are very knowledgeable and love talking about the subject.

That being said, please exercise discretion with your luffing during these races especially with boats that are not in your fleet. Rapid course changes near others can alarm people and create hard feelings. We tend to get competitive out there, even though this is supposed to be a "fun" race. We're here to have fun and make friends, not enemies.

Thanks,
Bob H.

[USA74]

If this is true, I believe it's a poor (and unfair) decision, and I strongly urge it to be reconsidered. A pursuit race is based on the assumption that each boat has a representative and competitive rating, and if each boat (and its sails) were in equal condition and sailed a perfect and unobstructed race, they would all hit the finish line at the same time. Of course this is never the case, because no rating system is perfect and sailing conditions change over the course of a pursuit race, which might favor earlier starters over late starters one day and vice-versa another day.

All that being said, by removing the luffing restriction, than means that each and every slower boat has the opportunity to unfairly impede the fair competition of lower rated boats that may a) be in better condition, b) have made wiser strategic decisions, c) have better crew, or d) have "won the coin toss" and benefitted from preferable conditions on that particular race.

Further, luffing between dissimilar boats can be dangerous. What happens when an asymmetrical boat running a reaching kite decides to luff a boat carrying a symmetrical spinnaker? The symmetrical spinnaker boat broaches!

[Bee]

This is all true JD, but many of the competitors did not read the no luffing rule or even care about it.  I don't know how many times a symmetrical thought he could keep me from passing over the top.  The result was usually a disaster for him but he did it anyway.  I have to admit that when I started running the Rum Races, I also did not realize that there was a no luffing rule.  Took me a while to do my best to avoid situations where luffing was an issue, but there is no question that an A-Kite is much more capable of doing this then a symmetric.

I just got a nice lesson from Nicole on why I should not have taken her up but then I needed to pass as quickly as possible.  To be friendly, I should have gone high but my feeble old brain just did not do the proper calculations.

I am quite sure the GBCA board discussed this at length and finally thought they had no alternative.  Let's just all agree to go by the RRS and see how it works for a while.

[Tye Dyed Gary]

  The Luffing rule was put in place back when it was strictly a Friday night race, when first starters were around 1830. And, the finishes were mostly after dark. It was a much discussed safety measure because of the late hour.
  Again the Fleet Capt. and the board did not remove the Luffing rule on a whim. There was much discussion around it and because we are starting earlier and finishing earlier it is easier to see what the boats around you are doing and how well they are being driven.
  As it is, the slower boat already impede the faster boats. The faster boats coming from behind have to give the slower boat room as to not cause themselves to sail a longer distance or fall into there bad air.       
  Also, if you have been out for more then one Rum Race, you know as well as I do who are the novice / experienced / or just out to go around the course with a few hundred of your friends and see how you do with no pressure.
  This being said, I do understand your concern for the safety of smaller boats being luff, with a new/novice crew not being able to recover as quickly. With the day light it is not the hazard it was after sunset.   

[ShakenNotStirred]

If this is true, I believe it's a poor (and unfair) decision, and I strongly urge it to be reconsidered. A pursuit race is based on the assumption that each boat has a representative and competitive rating, and if each boat (and its sails) were in equal condition and sailed a perfect and unobstructed race, they would all hit the finish line at the same time. Of course this is never the case, because no rating system is perfect and sailing conditions change over the course of a pursuit race, which might favor earlier starters over late starters one day and vice-versa another day.

All that being said, by removing the luffing restriction, than means that each and every slower boat has the opportunity to unfairly impede the fair competition of lower rated boats that may a) be in better condition, b) have made wiser strategic decisions, c) have better crew, or d) have "won the coin toss" and benefitted from preferable conditions on that particular race.

Further, luffing between dissimilar boats can be dangerous. What happens when an asymmetrical boat running a reaching kite decides to luff a boat carrying a symmetrical spinnaker? The symmetrical spinnaker boat broaches!

Was it unfair when a faster boat rolled a slower boat to weather (outside 2 boat lengths of course!), and the slower boat had to sail in dirty air or alter course while the faster boat sailed on unobstructed? 

In mixed fleets that start together (non-pursuit), rarely do the "slower" boats get to choose which way to go in order to sail in clear air. The faster boats influence the course of the slower boats shortly after the start.  Opposite is true for a pursuit race. Seems fair to me.

And I'm sure you are not suggesting that a faster rated boat is likely in better condition, makes better decisions, and has better crew than a slower rated boat. 

[Funk]

Speed makes you look smart.

[Bee]

Speed makes you look smart.

In all cases