Short answer is ‘YES’. Move a sail around to give a weight advantage on one side or another and it is ‘moveable ballast’. Clearly a sail that is in use is unlikely to be much use as ‘moveable ballast’ as most of the time the sails will be on the leeward side. So the answer is that any sail not in use should be stowed and left in its properly stowed position until racing has been completed.

New rule 51 states that sails that are not in use are ballast and hence can’t be moved. Aha! You say. In some ocean races, such as the VOR, sails are moved around, up to the windward side. So are they breaking the rules? The answer would be yes if they were bound by the standard racing rules, but with an event the size and stature of the VOR, they sometimes set their own rules and rule 51 has been re-written so that the un-used sails can be stored anywhere on the boat.

What about a Spinnaker though? Out in the Solent you are on the way up to the mark and the wind has shifted. You realise you need to set the spinnaker on the other tack. The bowman reworks the guys and sheets. He quickly swaps to the other spinnaker halyard. He expertly unclips the spinnaker bag from the rail and hauls it over to the other side, re-clipping the sheets and guys and halyard to the kite.

When the bowman moved the sail it was not in use. Is the boat in breach of rule 51?

No. The important part of the rule is that a sail that is not in use cannot be moved ‘to adjst the trim or stability of the boat’. Moving the spinnaker in order to set on the other side is being done in order to enable the boat to round a mark and set up for the right tack once rounded. It hasn’t been moved to adjust the trim or stability. In fact, with spinnakers being made from angels hair these days, they weigh next to nothing, and if anything, you could argue that having a middle aged bloke dancing around the foredeck like a drunk giraffe would be significantly more harmful to the trim of the boat than any benefit gained.

So, next question. Is water ballast? Can you move water around to give added stability or trim? No, you can’t. Not while racing at least. You can of course drain your water tanks before racing starts. It has always made me laugh that some crews who charter Sunsail yachts and race at their spring or winter series drain their tanks. If an expert crew could get a small advantage from this, then the very average charter racer would get none. Better for the scratch racer to concentrate on boat handling, not broaching on a run, not twisting the kite while madly screaming at each other, and protecting the ¬£2,000 security deposit by keeping away from the ‘T-Bone’ steak.

So you could drain your tanks before racing but you can’t move water while racing.

Or can you? There is one type of water you can move while racing (apart from your own ‘water’ down the inside of your Mustos). What water might it be then?

Related posts:

1. Rule 19 – Room to pass an obstruction
2. Rule 18 – when does it apply?
3. 3 wings better than 2 sails

Rule 19 is a brand new one and applies when the obstruction is:

• Not also a mark or ‘continuing’ obstruction
• ‘Continuing’, including if this is a mark aslo.

Part of this new Rule 19 used to be covered in old rule 18, but to be more precise about the difference between room at a mark and room at an obstruction, this new rule has been added. It is about giving room to pass an obstruction, but not room to tack at an obstruction. That has become new Rule 20, more of which in another post.

So, a right of way boat can choose to pass the obstruction on either side (provided it is safe to do so).

The outside boat must give room to the inside one, if they are overlapped. However, if the outside boat has been unable to do this from when the overlap started then they do not have this obligation. For example, if the outside boat is itself prevented because af another boat on its outside, or another obstruction. Remember a boat is an obstruction but NOT a continuing obstruction.

There is no concept of a Zone in Rule 19, so a boat could aim to overlap on the inside and demand room from the outside overlapped boat. But this only applies if there was sufficient room for the outside boat to give room at the time the overlap started. If when the overlap started, the outside boat was unable to give room for whatever genuine reason then the inside boat is not entitled to room. While overlapped the inside boat is not entitled to room and she has to keep clear.

Related posts:

1. When does the new Rule 18 NOT apply?
2. Rule 18 – when does it apply?
3. ISAF : The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2009-2012 – Amendments Effective 1 January 2010