Covering a rival is legal — so when does it cross the line?
When you abandon your own race purely to wreck someone else's. Covering an opponent to win your race is completely legal. In World Sailing Case 34 a boat over the line early didn't return to start correctly — instead she tack-covered a rival up the whole beat just to stop that rival finishing well, then retired. The protest committee disqualified her under Rule 2 (Fair Sailing). A Rule 2 penalty is a DNE — Disqualification, Not Excludable — so it can't be dropped as a discard, and the hindered boat was entitled to redress.
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<p><a href="https://sailing.kiwi.nz/v/ntkDYqTTsLs/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>Go deeper: books and gear
- The Sail Racing Bible — A complete guide to dinghy racing.
- Tactics Made Simple by Jon Emmett — Racing tactics, explained simply.
- BLUESTORM lifejacket — A lifejacket for time on the water.
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