The Race Committee has issued its ruling on the protests on Cork and Hull & Humber following both teams’ contravention of the sailing instructions for Race 1. The findings have an impact on the results of Race 1, dropping Hull & Humber back from third to sixth position and Cork from second to third.
Race Director Joff Bailey explains, “In the Race Office, we are able to track the boats closely and overlay their track on our digital SeaPro charts. In doing so, we were able to clearly see that both Hull & Humber and Cork entered an exclusion zone stipulated in the Sailing Instructions for Race 1. This was a clear contravention of the rules and the Race Committee had no option but to protest both yacht entries. I have a team of experts including Clipper Chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Janet Grosvenor, who has a wealth of experience organising and running high profile yacht races, including the Fastnet Race, for the Royal Ocean Racing Club, winning Clipper skipper, Simon Rowell, and previous Clipper Race Director, Tim Hedges. I interviewed both skippers and prepared a report for the race committee, all of whom have examined and deliberated on the facts in this case.”
The harshest of penalties would have been disqualification of both teams for not sailing the correct course – a fundamental requirement for all competitors to allow fair yacht racing. However, the Race Committee opted to apply time penalties. With a matched fleet of 68-foot yachts which often finish within minutes of each other, time penalties can be extremely costly. The scoring system is similar to that used in the Formula 1 Grand Prix series, so losing points for rule infringements could be the difference between lifting the Clipper Trophy and going home empty handed when the fleet returns to the Humber on 17 July next year.
The Race Committee’s ruling on its protest against Hull & Humber also takes into account the racing mark that Hull & Humber passed on the wrong side within the Humber on Sunday 13 September, as per the race declaration. Taking into account the seriousness of the breaches and any advantage gained, the Race Committee has awarded a 135-minute time penalty to Hull & Humber which has been added to their finish time.
After the announcement a subdued Piers Dudin, Hull & Humber’s skipper, said, “I think the penalty is fair in relation to the size of the offence and the duration of the three-day race. It’s pretty much what I was expecting. I was expecting one and a half to two hours and it’s two hours 15, so it’s all about how many boats came in during that time. Spirit of Australia, Cape Breton Island and Jamaica all came in within that time penalty so it means we lose three places.
The Race Committee is a very established group of top sailors and race directors so the result is fair.”
Deliberating on the protest against Cork, the Race Committee found that by flouting the sailing instructions they gained an advantage over other competitors. A 75-minute penalty has been applied to their time.
Cork’s skipper, Richie Fearon said, “Considering what we did it’s the best we could have expected. We kept the podium position and that’s what we set out to do – get on the podium all the way round.
“To get demoted to fourth, fifth, sixth or even disqualified would have been very disappointing and it could have been a lot worse. We breached the rules and the Race Committee would have been well within their rights to disqualify us.”
Joff explains, “The Race Committee opted not to disqualify the two teams as there was no hugely significant advantage gained. In fact, Hull & Humber actually sailed more miles by infringing the rules. Cork gained six minutes and has lost 75 after the penalty has been applied. Applying a time penalty or docking points is a common practice in long distance ocean racing and we’re satisfied that we’ve dealt with this in a manner appropriate to the infringement.”
The outcome of the protest means Spirit of Australia moves up to second place. Skipper, Brendan Hall, says, “To be honest I’ll take the points however they’re given. We sailed a good race and it would have been nice to beat them on the water. But this is a full point race and to take nine points from it is great.”
Debates among the crews will undoubtedly continue throughout the day and long into the night as the teams enjoy an unexpected extra 48 hours in La Rochelle thanks to their fast race to the French port.
They will have to put it out of their minds and apply their thoughts to preparing for the first long ocean race, across the Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro. The race starts at 10am local time (0800 GMT) on Tuesday 22 September.
Information from Clipper Round The world Race
RSS FEEDS
| BANNERS