New Cup, new rules. Stripped down and simplified, the rules of the 34th America’s Cup were designed to be easier to understand by the spectators and sailors alike. Oh, and there is that little thing about how to handle the fastest boats the Cup’s ever seen.
Marin Magazine readers were asked to put their AC rules knowledge to the test through a quiz developed by Mike Martin, director of umpiring and rules administration for the Cup. The Mill Valley resident is responsible for the development and oversight of the rules and the sailing instructions in conjunction with the Cup’s Principal Race Officer John Craig (of San Rafael) and Regatta Director and CEO Iain Murray.
Drum roll please! Our winner is Ashley Fraser of San Francisco!
Want to learn more? Visit the America's Cup Virtual Notice board for complete set. And if you want to see how you did, check out the answers below.
Basic
1.Which boat in the diagram below has the Right of way?
Answer: The Yellow Boat is the right of way boat because the boats are on opposite tacks and Yellow is on Starboard Tack (wind Coming over it’s right side) and Blue is on Port tack (wind coming over it’s left side).
2. Which boat in the diagram below has the Right of way?
Answer: Blue is the right of way boat because Blue and Yellow are on the same tack (Starboard tack) and Blue is clear ahead of Yellow.
3. Which Boat has the right of way in the diagram below?
Answer: Yellow is the right of way boat because they are overlapped and on the same tack (starboard) and Yellow is on Blue’s leeward side (away from the wind)
Intermediate
4. The Boats in the diagram below are rounding a leeward ward mark on their starboard side. Which boat has “Mark Room”?
Answer: When the first boat enters the 3 hull length zone, the boats are not overlapped so the boat which has reached the zone first, in this case Blue, in entitled to mark room from Yellow.
5. The Boats in the diagram below are rounding a windward mark on their starboard side. Which boat has “Mark Room”?
Answer: When the first boat enters the 3 hull length zone, Blue is the inside overlapped boat and is entitled to mark room from Yellow.
Advanced
6. The Boats in the diagram below are rounding a windward mark on their starboard side. Which boat has “Mark Room”?
Answer: When the first boat enters the 3 hull length zone, Yellow is the inside overlapped boat and is entitled to mark room from Blue. The America’s Cup rules are different from the regular racing rules in this situation in that it does not matter that the boats are on opposite tacks.
7. The Boats in the diagram below are rounding a windward ward mark on their starboard side. Which boat has “Mark Room”?
Answer: When the first boat enters the 3 hull length zone, the boats are not overlapped so the boat which has reached the zone first, in this case Blue, in entitled to mark room from Yellow. The fact that Yellow is clear ahead makes no difference.
Get this one and you should work for an America's Cup team.
8. The Boats in the diagram below have passed a windward ward mark that they are required to pass on their port side and have just entered the 3 hull length zone of the course limit. Which boat is entitled to “Room” on the course limit?
Answer: When yachts enter the zone of a course limit, the inside boat at that time is entitled to room at the course limit. According to America’s Umpire’s Call 12, because the proper course of both boats is to sail downwind, Yellow is considered the inside boat and thus entitled to Mark Room. Umpire calls can be found on the America's Cup Virtual Notice Board.
