Iceboat rules at the leeward mark

For soft-water sailors that go iceboat racing, it will be necessary to learn how the National Ice Authority (NIA) rules are different. This report discusses when boats meet at the leeward mark:

The NIA rules ignore any concept of a three-length zone around the mark. The speed at which iceboats travel makes such simple, geometric criteria unworkable. Instead, NIA rule 8 provides more flexible criteria for two situations:

1) “When approaching or rounding a MARK, an OUTSIDE yacht shall keep clear”

2) “[A] faster moving yacht approaching another yacht from the rear shall stay clear of a yacht that has started her rounding maneuver.” (see Sidebar 1 for discussion of ‘rounding maneuver’)

The NIA defines a MARK as “any object, which a yacht round or pass on a required side to properly round the course” and for purposes of rule 8 states “any yacht to the right of another yacht is the OUTSIDE yacht.” Note the NIA definition of OUTSIDE only works for courses with MARKS left to port. – Full report