Question
A and X are overlapped and beating on port tack towards the committee
boat at the starboard end of the finishing line.
X can fetch the committee boat but A, the leeward boat, cannot. A sails
up to this boat and hails for room to tack. X does not respond. A hails
a second time, luffs and passes head to wind, whereupon X tacks and protests.
What should the call be?
Answer
Penalize both.
Because X can fetch the committee boat, which is a mark, A is not entitled
to hail for room to tack. A breaks rule 20.3 by hailing, however, when
a boat hails for room to tack rule 20.1(b) requires the hailed boat to
respond to the hail. X fails to do so and breaks rule 20.1(b).