J/24 Fleet 26 Tuesday Night Arbitration Process
(Interim rule 8-14-2104)
1) Protesting party must fly the protest flag, and must notify the other competitor per Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) # 61.1
2) Protesting party must notify the race committee at the end of the race when the incident happens
3) Parties have the right to a formal protest or go through the J24 Fleet 26 arbitration process. However – if there is damage done, then the Fleet arbitration process is not binding and a formal protest must be done
4) Each party will be given 3 minutes to tell their side. Diagrams are optional. Then each party will have a one minute rebuttal. Then the judges will have 3 minutes to discuss and make a ruling. If the judges find fault a penalty will be issued at 20% of the number of boats in the race added to the finish of the offending party (similar to RSS 44.3), and the race officer will be informed.
5) To initiate the arbitration hearing – the parties to the arbitration will locate one of the current fleet captains who will organize the location and judges. Judges will be other senior/experienced fleet members that are in no way involved in the incident or any related history. Since there is no formal club house – it will be helpful to communicate the intent to arbitrate via radio while still on the water so things can b sooner organized.
6) It is still best to settle things on the water. Offending parties often know they are at fault and should do the right thing and take the one turn penalty as soon as possible.
Acknowledged offenses (except where there is damage) can be exonerated on the water with a one-turn penalty per CYC Sailing Instruction 12.8.
Arbitration is a next step to resolving rules disputes, between acknowledgement and penalty turns on the water and a formal protest hearing. It can be a great learning tool for the fleet. There is nothing wrong with going through this process.
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