A few years back, there was a situation where a laser capsized immediately in front of the finish line, and current carried it across before the sailor righted it. There was some argument as to whether or not capsized was "in normal position", but that discussion missed the point. Take a careful read of the definition of finish:


Note the position of the first comma. "crew" or "equipment" must be in normal position, but the "hull" can be in any position. Therefore the boat in question finished when her hull crossed the finishing line, regardless of being upright or capsized.

I hope that was interesting,

I'm not so sure that noting the position of a comma in a grammatically incorrect sentence is all that enlightening.

A boat finishes when any part of her hull, or crew or equipment in normal position, crosses the finishing line...

The 2013 RRS changes rule 41(a) to allow help for a crew member who is in danger. It also adds the provision a boat may not gain a significant advantage for a crew member receiving help. If she does, she may be protested, and protest committee may impose a penalty other than disqualification.

This rule does not permit a capsized boat to receive righting assistance - only help for crew in danger.

I hope that helps,
Eric

That's a great question Bert!

My opinion would be that the righting assistance = dsq is not a penalty... it's a disqualification for a lack of seamanship. Regattas are won by the best most consistent sailor (they might never win a race!). This is the nature of the game and changing the outside assitance rule would be a fundamental change in the nature of the game.

The practical problem would be that coach and spectator boats would now be part of the racing game.... Now they are on call by the PRO for safety reasons.... With your white shark rule.... a teams personal guardian angel would shadow you up the course and then race to help you get back in the game when you screw up.

I distinguish a penalty from a dsq... A penalty is a circle on the water or a time hit on a distance race. A dsq is for events that would fundamentally change the game. (Like outside assitance)

YMMV