ISSUE 104:  Mark-Room: A New Concept at Marks!

The new definition mark-room is an important addition to the 2009-2012 rulebook because it describes the space a boat must give when she rounds a mark outside or clear astern of another boat. Mark-room is similar to the preamble from the old rule 18 (see box) and also includes the concept of room (this definition has not changed from the old rules), but it’s less vague and applies only at marks!
     The new definition talks about two time periods. The first is while a boat is sailing “to the mark.” The second is while she is “at the mark.”
     The first period begins when rule 18 turns on (i.e.  the first boat’s hull enters the zone) and goes until the boat entitled to mark-room (M-R?boat) is “at” the mark. During this time, the M-R boat must sail ‘to’ the mark. While doing this, she is entitled to the amount of room she needs to make a seamanlike rounding. This is an improvement over the old rules which were less specific about what happened before the boats were actually rounding the mark.
     The second interval is while the M-R boat is “at”  the mark. This begins when she reaches a position where she can start her maneuver of rounding the mark; it ends when she leaves the mark. During this time, the M-R boat can sail a proper course around the mark (even if she doesn’t have the right of way). This allows her to make a better rounding than the old rules, which restricted her to sailing a seamanlike course.