Francois,
US SAILING Rule 50.2 clearly requires whisker or spinnaker pole to be
attached to mast. I think you will lose the argument at protest that you are
using a boat hook not a whisker pole and therefore it doesn't have to be
attached.... but maybe not.
J length maximum pole restriction is a phrf restriction, not US SAILING, but
it is a limitation in most phrf regions. I see Lake Lanier has maximum
spinnaker pole length of J unless original equipment boat came with is longer
for that class. Maybe you don't have limitation on whisker pole length or maybe
it would be interpreted as limitation on all pole lengths. Don't know.
Bill Walker
CnC 36
Pentwater, Mi.
Sent from AOL Mobile Mail
On Friday, August 5, 2016 Jean-Francois J Rivard via CnC-List
<cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:
The boat hook: We only do it in really light winds 0-4 knots, were talking
glassy water on the lake. It's a cinch do undo and it's a cinch to hold.
We do sail under US Sailing rules and there are no stipulation whatsoever about
the length of the pole, it's attachment to the mast, or position of the crew as
long as we are inside the lifelines. I'm not trying to argue against local
rules as I have seen rules for other areas on the web where there were mentions
of attachment to the mast etc. On the lake, we don't use local interpretation
of the rules, we go strictly by the US Sailing / ISAF document.
Here's the actual rule from the ISAF 2013- 2016 document:
Rule 50.3 Use of Outriggers
(a) No sail shall be sheeted over or through an outrigger, except as permitted
in rule 50.3(b) or 50.3(c). An outrigger is any fitting or other device so
placed that it could exert outward pressure on a sheet or sail at a point from
which, with the boat upright, a vertical line would fall outside the hull or
deck. For the purpose of this rule, bulwarks, rails and rubbing strakes are not
part of the hull or deck and the following are not outriggers: a bowsprit used
to secure the tack of a sail, a bumkin used to sheet the boom of a sail, or a
boom of a boomed headsail that requires no adjustment when tacking.
(b) Any sail may be sheeted to or led above a boom that is regularly used for a
sail and is permanently attached to the mast from which the head of the sail is
set.
(c) A headsail may be sheeted or attached at its clew to a spinnaker pole or
whisker pole, provided that a spinnaker is not set.
Important part being part "C" Spinnaker pole or whisker pole but no mention of
it's description, attachment, or position of the crew. I guess someone could
argue that a boat hook is not a proper whisker pole. Quite a few of us do it
on the lake and no one cares. As long a I don't get a protest: In 0-3 knots I
don't see any great danger, you can hold it one handed.. It's simply a matter
of convenience and ease of use. Also it's much quicker / easier to change the
depth / angle of a portable pole instead of a heavy thing attached to the
mast, especially in extremely light winds where any sudden move of the crew can
upset the sailplan and kill your ever so slight apparent wind.
Just to be clear, here's the actual rule on the crew:
CREW POSITION; LIFELINES 49.1 Competitors shall use no device designed to
position their bodies outboard, other than hiking straps and stiffeners worn
under the thighs.
49.2 When lifelines are required by the class rules or the sailing instructions
they shall be taut, and competitors shall not position any Part 4 OTHER
REQUIREMENTS WHEN RACING 28 part of their torsos outside them, except briefly
to perform a necessary task. On boats equipped with upper and lower lifelines,
a competitor sitting on the deck facing outboard with his waist inside the
lower lifeline may have the upper part of his body outside the upper lifeline.
If the class rules do not specify the material or minimum diameter of
lifelines, they shall comply with the corresponding specifications in the ISAF
Offshore Special Regulations.
No mention of holding sails or anything else..
As I learned racing my Mustang.. Reading the rules very carefully and knowing
how to interpret them in a fair is just another item on the long list of what
makes the difference between the guy out front and the rest..
Here are the rules:
http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/ISAFRRS20132016Final-[13376].pdf
-Francois Rivard
1990 34+ "Take Five"
Lake Lanier, GA
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