Very often, when it comes to the Racing Rules of Sailing, we tend to focus most of our energy on the rules of Part 2 – “When Boats Meet.” After all, most of the on-water interactions that we have are with other boats. However, I will always contend that there’s really only one rule in Part 2 that you absolutely have to know – Rule 14 – “Avoiding Contact.” If you aren’t sure you’re right… don’t put yourself in a potentially bad situation. Even if you do know that you’re right… don’t put yourself in a bad situation.
The rules of Part 3 – “Conduct of a Race” are actually a lot more interesting. These are rules that, if you don’t understand them, you can very likely be disqualified from a race. They are pretty straightforward, but as with all of the rules in the RRS, they have their idiosyncrasies.
Over the next couple of months, I plan to explore these rules, one by one. They appear to only matter to the Race Committee, but the RC doesn’t get disqualified for not complying with them, boats do.
– Steve Harris, US Sailing National Race Officer