VII.

RACING RULES AND THE RULE OF THE ROAD. SOME IMPORTANT POINTS THAT AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS SHOULD BEAR IN MIND.

It is gratifying to all lovers of the sport that race committees now are in the habit of starting the yachts exactly at the time advertised—that is if wind and weather permit. The old custom of waiting half an hour or so for lazy laggards to reach the line is happily going out of fashion. As a general rule, there is no plausible excuse for a yacht being late, as under ordinary circumstances arrangements can easily be made for arriving on the scene, either in tow or under sail, in good season for the start.

Nothing adds more to the popularity of a yacht club than a race committee that knows its business, starts the race punctually as advertised unless prevented by the weather, takes the time accurately of each craft as she crosses the line, sees that the racing rules are obeyed, and after the race is finished promptly posts up a list of the winners. Above all, the committee should make sure that all mark-boats are in their places before the starting signal is given. I once knew a race committee—but there, I won’t tell tales out of school.

I hope it will not be held as presumptuous on my part if I ask the race committees to treat yachting reporters with courtesy. They are sometimes seasick; they generally would feel much happier ashore. They may sometimes appear too eager and zealous for information; but their motive is good, they are anxious to “file early copy” and thus avoid their editor’s wrath. The members of the club like to see good reports of their races in the public press, and this end is rarely achieved by insulting or snubbing a newspaper man, who after all is a human being, if not of such high degree as a haughty member of a race committee. Besides, the newspaper man dissembles his wrath, bides his time; and when his opportunity arrives doesn’t he just roast his insulter?

Members of race committees should keep their eyes open all the time. They should try to become familiar with the general appearance of each competing yacht so that she may be identified without the aid of her number. They should be quick to detect any breach of the rules and should unhesitatingly punish offenders. Punctuality with the gun is a cardinal virtue, and strict impartiality is another. In this country, up to 1898, the decision of the race committee has always been final, there having been no court of last resort like the Y. R. A. of Great Britain to appeal to. I am proud to say that very few unsatisfactory decisions have come under my notice.

As yacht racing is a gentleman’s sport, it is needless to lay stress on the yacht owner’s obligation to live up to its ethics, to observe the racing rules in spirit and letter, to be sparing in the use of the protest-flag—indeed never to display it unless he is convinced that there has been an undoubted violation of the rules. After he has made his protest he should not withdraw it, but allow the race committee to adjudicate upon it. The protest must be made in writing.

A writer in the _Yachtsman_ some years ago, while discussing the whole subject of protests, suggested that a good way of checking the unsportsmanlike habit of hoisting a protest-flag without sufficient cause, would be to compel a competitor displaying the flag to deposit the sum of £1 with the sailing committee, which should be forfeited to the club fund in the event of the protest being withdrawn, and only be repaid in the event of the protest being decided in favor of the protesting party. This, in my judgment, is a capital suggestion and should be adopted whenever the time is ripe for it. The upholders of the maxim, “When in doubt, hoist a protest-flag,” should be brought up with a round turn. A better maxim is, “Be sure you are right, and then go ahead.”

There is, however, one point which I wish to make. Not so long ago it was common report that the owner of a yacht in a class where shifting ballast was prohibited, habitually carried bags of shot in his cabin and when the breeze was heavy placed them on a shelf to windward, so as to increase the boat’s stability. The charge was never investigated. Whether true or false, I know not. If true, the offender should have been expelled from the club and from the society of gentlemen generally. If false, the same justice should have been meted out to his calumniators. In my opinion, the case called for the fullest inquiry.

The practice of being measured with three light men aboard as crew and sailing the race with three heavyweights, was begun by certain unscrupulous tricksters. This was, however, stopped summarily by a hard and fast rule, defining the limit of live weight to be carried.

The race committee, if it sees any transgression of the sailing rules, should disqualify the offender, whether a protest is made or not. For the honor of our yachtsmen be it said, that, generally, if they commit any breach of the rules, such as fouling a mark, they voluntarily report the incident to the officers and thus there is no need of an accuser.

An owner above all should make it his business to see for himself that the taxable length of his yacht is never increased. Remembering the unhappy Dunraven episode, he should not make charges against his opponent which he is not prepared to substantiate by most convincing evidence. A gentleman is as chivalrous concerning his antagonist’s honor as he is about his own. If not, he ought to be. At the same time, if he observes any “sharp practice” on the part of a competitor, it is his duty to expose it in the interest of true sport.

A racing skipper should have the racing rules at his fingers’ ends. For instance, if his yacht is sailing in the annual regatta of the New York Yacht Club, he must take care that the vessel’s private signal and her number are displayed according to the rule; that no more persons are on board than permissible by Rule 8; that a boat and two life-buoys are on deck.

I remember having been a guest on the cutter _Mayflower_ in her race against the _Volunteer_ for the Goelet cup, when a mistake was made about a boat, which, if it had not been rectified in time, might have led to our disqualification. We carried a small boat on deck, but finding it rather in the way when working ship, we passed it down the skylight into the main saloon. One of Commodore E. D. Morgan’s guests pointed out that the rule stated plainly that the boat must be carried _on deck_. In a jiffy the offending boat was lugged up out of the cabin and placed where it rightfully belonged.

The skipper must study the sailing instructions with critical care; he must not forget that, the preparatory signal once made, the yacht is amenable to the racing rules until the end of the contest; that a yacht going free keeps clear of a yacht close-hauled; that a yacht close-hauled on the port tack keeps clear of a yacht close-hauled on the starboard tack; that when going free on opposite tacks, the yacht with the wind on the port side keeps clear; that when going free on the same tack the windward yacht keeps clear; that a yacht with the wind aft keeps clear of all others; that when yachts which overlap are rounding a mark or passing an obstruction, the outside yacht must give room to and keep clear of the inside yacht.

He should remember that a yacht on the port tack can be disqualified if she strike or be struck by a yacht on the starboard tack, also if the latter luff, tack or bear away to avoid being struck. This is a most important rule, because if a breach of it occurs, the yacht responsible for it is not only disqualified but is liable for any damage that may result.

When yachts approach an obstruction close-hauled, and the leeward yacht cannot tack and clear the windward yacht, the helmsman of the leeward yacht should hail for room and the two yachts must then tack together. An overtaking yacht must keep clear of an overtaken yacht, which may luff but must not bear away out of her course to obstruct the passage of her competitor to leeward. If a yacht runs ashore, or fouls a vessel or other obstruction, she may use her own boats and gear to get clear, but she must take them aboard again, and is forbidden to accept help except from the crew of the vessel fouled. This rule is, however, qualified by another, which declares that when accidents occur competing yachts must assist to save life.

A yacht must be propelled by sail alone after the preparatory gun. If she is late and is being towed toward the starting line when the preparatory signal is given, she may be disqualified. Tardy owners and skippers should keep tab on this. A yacht may anchor during a race, but she may not slip. She must not warp or kedge, or make fast to a buoy, pier, vessel or other obstruction. The government regulations regarding lights and fog signals, shall be observed by day and by night.

These are the principal rules which the skipper should never forget if he desires to achieve or maintain a reputation. One thing I want to impress upon him is that in any emergency when his vessel may be in peril, it is his imperative duty to follow the regulations of the rule of the road at sea, as prescribed by international law, and disregard any racing rules that in the slightest degree conflict with a literal interpretation of this rule. If he fails in this duty his owner is responsible for any and all damage incurred by his vessel or by the vessel he collides with. In an admiralty court the racing rules of a yacht club or a yacht-racing association are disregarded. The case is judged by standard rules of law that prevail among all seafaring nations. Those who break the law must pay the penalty thereof. I cannot impress this little legal maxim too strongly on both owners and skippers.

[Illustration: [Ship’s wheel]]

[Illustration:

“VIGILANT.” ]