As you are probably aware, the wording of RRS 60.4(a)(2) in The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2025-2028 makes an unintended change to the validity of third-party protests. As currently written, the rule makes a protest invalid if it comes from a boat that witnessed but was not involved in an incident.
The World Sailing Case Book Working Party has a draft case that will say that the correct interpretation of this rule is that a protest is invalid only if the protesting boat both did not see the incident and was not involved in the incident. We do not know when that case will be published.
In the meantime, US Sailing strongly recommends that every NoR and SI change the rule as follows:
1.x - Rule 60.4(a)(2) is changed as follows: (2) if it alleges a breach of a rule of Part 2 or rule 31 and is from a boat that was not involved in, and did not see, the incident, or
We have posted a brief document on both the Racing Rules page and the Judges page of the website explaining this change, which we encourage you to share with anyone writing or reviewing race documents.
I'm interested to see how they think they can fix this with an interpretation and not a rule change. Not much wiggle room as I see it. I hope so though.
Popcorn in the microwave...
Aren't the two apostrophes (after "in" and "see") redundant (or could be open to further debate as to whether the two criterion are co-joined or separate)?
I'd love to understand why they don't just put in the US sailing correction directly in an RRS 2026 corrections doc.
As I think I suggested in an earlier post, or maybe just thought it, my preference for the change would be : ...from a boat that was neither involved in the incident nor saw it, or... That would, I think, satisfy the intent and remove any ambiguity.