How would you decide this?

Dave Perry’s 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes highlights specific aspects of the racing rules in a fun format designed to help you become more familiar with The Racing Rules of Sailing. Here is one of the quizzes:

Quiz 54

Boats A and B are reaching up the starting line on port tack with 30 seconds to go to the starting signal. There are no boats astern of B. As A approaches Boat S, on starboard tack, A hails, “Room to Tack!” B responds, “No way, you’re not close-hauled!” A bears away, sails astern of S and hails, “Protest!” B sails for two lengths and tacks to leeward of S.

You are on the protest committee…how would you decide this? Answer below.

Quiz 54 Answer:
Both boats A and B are disqualified. Boat A broke rule 20.1(b), Room to Tack at an Obstruction; Hailing. Boat B broke rule 20.2(b), Room to Tack at an Ob- struction; Responding. S had the right of way over both A and B under rule 10, On Opposite Tacks; therefore, S was an obstruction (see the definition Ob- struction). Rule 20.1 permits a boat to hail for room to tack at an obstruction if she is approaching the obstruction and will soon need to make a substantial course change to avoid it safely. However, rule 20.1(b) says that she shall not hail unless she is sailing “close-hauled or above.” Because A was not sailing close-hauled when she hailed, she broke rule 20.1(b).

Rule 20.2(b) says “A hailed boat shall respond even if the hail breaks rule 20.1.” Rule 20.2(c) states the two possible responses: the hailed boat can either tack as soon as possible, or immediately reply, “You tack” and then give the hailing boat room to tack. B did neither. She did not hail, “You tack” and she sailed for two lengths after A hailed her. If B thought A’s hail was not allowed under rule 20.1, she should have either replied, “You tack” or tacked as soon as she could have after the hail, and then she could hail, “Protest!”

Source: US Sailing