Asking for Time - Two Rules Allow for a Time Out

Ken Read, skipper of Stars and
Stripes called time-out on Tuesday

As the purpose of the Louis Vuitton Cup is to identify the team best prepared to tackle Team New Zealand in February, there are some rules in place one wouldn’t find in any other regatta in the world. While that’s good for the Challengers as a group, it can be confusing for those of us following the action.

There are two such rules that allow for a team to request a postponement of its match. They are designed to be used in very different circumstances. The more straightforward rule is found in the Conditions of Race, Rule 14, titled Postponements and Abandonment.

Rule 14.2 b states that the Race Committee shall postpone, “when advised by a yacht before its Warning Signal that it is requesting a postponement. Each CYC (team) is entitled to one such postponement for a period of up to forty-five minutes during each Round Robin, and the yacht is not required to give any reason for the requested postponement.” This rule is designed to give the teams a break in the event of unforeseen gear failure before a race. But as this card can only be used once per round, like a Joker card, there is an implicit assumption that it is the responsibility of each crew to arrive at the race course, ready to race.

This rule was called into play by Team Dennis Conner, Victory Challenge and Le Défi in Round Robin One. Normally this rule doesn’t force the postponement of the race to another day, unless the 45-minute request takes the start time beyond the 16:00 limit to start racing. Although if both teams in the match agree, the time limit can be extended.

The other rule under which racing may be postponed can only come into play when the Race Committee is sailing two flights of races per day. Again, the Rule implies that each team is responsible for showing up ready to race each day. Thus, Rule 8.3 a) ii. a) can only come into play before the second match of the day for a yacht and can only be used for damage incurred during the first match. The Rule states, “Should a yacht incur damage before the end of the first race on a day when it is scheduled to race in two races, that yacht may be excused from starting in the second race.” The Umpires of the first match will be called to determine the nature, extent and cause of the damage, and if the Umpires are satisfied that the yacht is not in a state of readiness as a result of unintentional damage, the team and its competitor will be excused from racing.

On Tuesday afternoon, both Luna Rossa and Le Défi radioed the Race Committee as they crossed the finishing line of their first match and demonstrated to the Umpires that they had suffered too much damage to race again. Team Dennis Conner didn’t inform the Race Committee until just before its second match of the day that it wasn’t able to race, and it wasn’t clear whether it was a requesting the delay under Rule 14.2 or Rule 8.3. The protest by Oracle BMW Racing is likely to clear this up.