Forum: The Racing Rules of Sailing

To be a MARK or not to be

Catalan Benaros
Nationality: Argentina
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We have 3 minutes to the starting signal so I'm racing.

If I touch the starting buoy, I violate rule 31.

But  with 3 min to start, that buoy has not a specified side to leave on......so is or not a mark ??

It sounds strange to me.
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Mark:
An object the sailing instructions require a boat to leave on a specified side

31 TOUCHING A MARK
While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting

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Cheers !!!
Cata
Created: Yesterday 21:57

Comments

Format:
P
Emmet Dalton
Hi Cata
Think you’re covered by
“44.1Taking a Penalty
A boat may take a Two-Turns Penalty when she may have broken one or more rules of Part 2 in an incident while racing. She may take a One-Turn Penalty when she may have broken rule 31….”
Take a one turn penalty and get back into your starting tactics and enjoy the race. 
Created: Yesterday 22:20
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John D. Farris
Nationality: United States
In a normal starting sequence, the race committee gives your preparatory signal, and you start racing. At 3 minutes to go, if you touch the starting buoy, you break rule 31 by touching “a starting mark … before starting.” If you touch it before your preparatory signal, you have not started racing yet, so rule 31 does not apply (though your SIs/local rules may still require you to keep clear). Even if the starting buoy has no required side at that moment, it still counts as a mark, because a mark doesn’t always have a required side: “A mark that does not begin, bound, or end the leg the boat is sailing does not have a required side.” 
Created: Yesterday 22:22
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Angelo Guarino
Forum Moderator
Nationality: United States
Deleted and Rephrasing my post ... 

RRS 31 answers the Q directly with its own starting-mark caveat.  That caveat is needed because of 2 ambiguities in the rules ...

  1. Is a boat sailing a leg of the course prior to her staring-signal?
  2. Does the starting-mark have a "required-side" a boat must "leave it" prior to the final approach a boat makes to start?

RRS 31 removes both of those by simply settling it.  If you are racing and touch, a penalty is required unless the boat is exonerated. 

Created: Yesterday 22:46
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John Allan
Nationality: Australia
Yes, a starting mark does have a specified side:  it is the 'inside' side of the starting mark, between that mark and the other starting mark.

The fact that at a particular point in time a boat is not required to round or pass a mark on a specified side does not make it not a mark.  Marks don't blink on and off like traffic lights.
Created: Yesterday 22:46
Mark Townsend
Nationality: United States
Catalan, read rule 31, there are three conditions.

While racing, a boat shall not 
  • touch a starting mark before starting, 
  • a mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she is sailing, or 
  • a finishing mark after finishing.

31 TOUCHING A MARK
While racing, a boat shall not touch a starting mark before starting, a
mark that begins, bounds or ends the leg of the course on which she
is sailing, or a finishing mark after finishing.

Rule 44 requires you take the penalty "as soon after the incident as possible"... in other words before the starting signal. 

Created: Today 00:20
Didier Greze
Nationality: France
I totaly agree with Mark Townsend’s answer. Even nothing is said about the start process in your case, it seems you are racing and RRS 31 applies and the first marks you shall not touch are the marks of the starting line. 
Created: Today 07:52
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