The situation shortly after Green tacks
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Note: this quiz grows out of a mark rounding from Sunday's racing - but has been modified and embellished for educational purposes. The facts are not identical to those of the mark rounding that inspires the quiz.
In a crowded leeeward mark rounding in light 5 mph wind, the red boat rounds ahead of everyone else and starts to come close hauled. There is a sudden wind shift and Red immediately tacks to take advantage of the shift.
The Green Boat wants to be on starboard too - and tacks as well, not considering whether she has time to duck Red. Yellow, anticipating a collision with Green, has no room to tack and must take immediate action - so she does an emergency duck. Yellow protests Green for failing to provide room and opportunity to keep clear.
Purple is able to tack to starboard, but is forced to hit the mark to avoid Green. Purple also protests Green for failure to provide room and opportunity to keep clear - and doesn't do a penalty turn because she hit the mark only due to Green's action.
To make matters worse, Purple is now headed for an immediate collision with the Light Blue Boat and the Brown Boat who are within the two length zone sailing on starboard just completing their spinnaker douses and getting ready to gybe and do their turn around the mark. Purple hails "I'm Leeward on Starboard". Only through extroardinarily quick action, Light Blue avoids Purple, as does Brown. Light Blue and Brown protest Purple for failing to provide room and opportunity to keep clear. No one does any penalty turns.
Later, in the protest room, Yellow, Purple, Light Blue and Brown all argue that room and opportunity to keep clear means they should not have to take emergency action to do so - that they are entitled to the time and space needed to sail in a seamanlike manner.
Purple states that she should not be disqualified for three major reasons. First, Purple is a leeward boat on starboard and it is up to the port and windward boats to keep clear. Secondly, the fact that Light Blue and Brown did keep clear is proof that they had room and opportunity to do so. Third, Purple was forced into this situation only because Green forced her into an emergency tack. Green defends herself by saying that she is on Starboard and port boats have to keep clear. Green goes on to say that she gave sufficient room and opportunity as evidenced by the fact that the other boats avoided her. Green also states that Purple hitting the mark as part of keeping clear is not Green's problem.
The Dark Blue Boat, who was forced to the outside of the pinwheel and came out last, was sitting in on the protest as an observer and asked the question "How about the Red Boat?" Dark Blue went on to say "No one protested her, but Red started the whole problem by tacking into all these other boats. I think Red is the one that should be disqualified!!!"
If you were on the Protest Committee, how would you sort all this out? Send your analysis and conclusions to Vice-Commodore Pat Dolan. Answer these questions and provide your rationale:
1. Is Yellow's protest against Green upheld?
2. Is Purple's protest against Green upheld?
3. Is Purple disqualified for failing to do a penalty turn after hitting the mark?
4. Is Light Blue's protest against Purple upheld?
5. Is Brown's protest against Purple upheld?
6. What action, if any, should be taken with respect to the Red boat?
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