What’s new in the new rules for 2025-28

Dave Perry is a welcomed authority on the racing rules. Long time chair of the US Sailing Appeals Committee, he is also an entertaining presenter on the rules and is available for in-person and on-line presentations in 2025. In this report, Dave helps us learn about rule changes for the new year:

The next edition of The Racing Rules of Sailing goes into effect on January 1, 2025, and will remain in effect through 2028. As usual, the rules writers have done a good job not making many significant changes to the rules, particularly the rules of Part 2 (When Boats Meet). But all sailors and race officials will want to know the new rules going into 2025.

Here’s what’s new in rule 18 (Mark-Room):

Definition Mark-Room
The definition has been shortened with no significant change to the game intended. The phrase “as necessary to sail the course” has been removed as it was a misleading use of the defined term “sail the course,” which is merely a “string test” and not a qualification on the space needed to round or pass a mark. The previous reference to not touching the mark is found in the definition Room and Case 114. Mark-room now includes room to leave the mark astern. The misleading statement about mark-room including room to tack has been removed. Once a boat entitled to mark-room passes head to wind, she is no longer entitled to mark-room (see new rules 18.1(a)(1) and 18.2(b)). This was the same under the old rules.

Rule 18.1 (When Rule 18 Applies)
The rule has been renumbered to give the last sentence its own number for easier reference. Rule 18.1(a)(4) states, “[Rule 18 does not apply] if the mark is a continuing obstruction, in which case rule 19 (Room to Pass an Obstruction) applies.” Therefore, when a mark is a large object such as an island, rule 18 does not apply; i.e., there is no zone around the mark and rule 19.2 applies between the boats.

Rule 18.2 (Giving Mark-Room)
The rule has been restructured to make it more intuitive and shorter. New rule 18.2(a) has been separated into two rules based on whether the boats are overlapped or not when the first of them reaches the zone. If the boats are overlapped, the outside boat has to give the inside boat mark-room. If the boats are not overlapped, the boat that has not reached the zone yet has to give the other boat mark-room, even if the boat that has not reached the zone is clear ahead of the one who has. Simply put, if the boats are not overlapped, the first of two boats to reach the zone gets mark-room.

Rule 18.3 (Tacking in the Zone)
The significant change in rule 18.3 is that anytime a boat tacks in the zone of a port-hand mark from port to starboard tack and is inside another boat, she is not entitled to mark-room under rule 18.2 (Giving Mark-Room), even if the other boat has also tacked in the zone. The other subtle change is that the rule now applies when the other boat is “fetching” the mark, as opposed to the boat that is tacking in the zone, which serves to add more protection to that other boat.

For more on the 2025-28 rules from Dave, click here.

Contact Dave to arrange a presentation at davperry@optonline.net.

US Sailing has a webpage dedicated to the new 2025-28 Racing Rules: click here

Dave is also the author of two highly respected books on the rules, Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2028 and Dave Perry’s 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes, which he has updated for the 2025-2028 Racing Rules of Sailing. You can purchase Dave’s books at www.ussailing.store.