Dial Down Jibe

[Dan McNamara]

Yellow and Blue enter from their ends. Blue elects to dial down overlapped with Yellow. Light air, Blue stars to jibe. Yellow alters course to slow down and prevent being leeward of Blue, becoming clear behind while blue is still jibing. Yellow sees that Blue's main still has not filled on starboard and holds collision course clear astern. Bow to transom contact is made before Blue's main has filled.

Questions:
1. Since Yellow altered course while Blue was attempting to gibe is Blue protected?
2. Is Blue's slow jibe an atempt to stay clear or gain Starboard leward rights (is that the same thing)?
3. If the give way boat is attempting to stay clear and the right of way boat changes course to make it more dificult for the give way boat to do so, is the right away boat giving room to keep clear?

[Hellfire]

1. Since Yellow altered course while Blue was attempting to gibe is Blue protected?

I don't recall any rules about protection while Jibing...Yellow can alter course whenever she pleases, as long as she doesn't break any rules. I'm fuzzy on just who was on which jibe when, but I reckon the only rules likely to apply are 14 - don't hit stuff, 15 - when acquiring ROW, or 16.1 - When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other
boat room to keep clear. Only question is did Blue have room to keep clear?

2. Is Blue's slow jibe an atempt to stay clear or gain Starboard leward rights (is that the same thing)?

Doesn't really matter under the rules...She's either making a best effort to keep clear, or she ain't...

3. If the give way boat is attempting to stay clear and the right of way boat changes course to make it more dificult for the give way boat to do so, is the right away boat giving room to keep clear?

Yellow has every right (and in match, perhaps almost the obligation) to make life difficult for Blue. See 16.1 again.

[bejubi]

Agreed on all counts with Hellfire. Blue doesn't just have to do something, they have to do everything. If they have to stop their jibe, so be it; if they have to turn harder, so be it; etc.