Rule 86.3 allows for the testing of new rules such as Addendum Q which provides for umpired fleet racing. These rules have been used by several fleets in Australia and New Zealand with success.

Under rule 86.3 applications can be made to Australian Sailing for approval to test rules under development. Typically, in Australia the approvals have been given for the use of Addendum Q which provides for umpired fleet racing for classes such as the MC 38 and Adams 10 yachts, and also the super successful Sailing Champions League sailed in RS21 keel boats. Approvals have also been given for the use of the High Speed Test Rules which were used by the SuperFoiler Grand Prix, and a ‘kid friendly’ variant of Addendum Q for O’Pen Skiff championship events.

Umpired fleet racing offers competitors immediate closure of protestable incidents on the water with decisions being made by umpires watching the incidents unfold. The benefits also include removing the need to protest your friends, and crews can go ashore and enjoy their post racing social activities. For juniors in the O’Pen Skiff class, it reduces the need for children to grasp complex rules and protest procedures and enables families to go home after racing. Having umpire boats on course with a mandate to be involved also changes competitors’ behaviour around the rules with experience showing they tend to place greater observance on the rules.

Use of Addendum Q and umpiring fleet races does come with its limitations. First and foremost, the event needs to use skilled umpires who are au fait with the RRS and Addendum Q, and empathetic with the needs and behaviours of the crews and the boats they sail. The umpires need to be skilled decision makers who will still be respected by the fleet after the event is finished. Another factor is umpire boats. Best practice is to have two umpire boats for up to 7 or 8 boats racing. After that as the fleet size increases the number of umpire boats need to increase. Whether this is a reasonable expense to the event, and ultimately its entrants, is up to the entrants and whether they want on water umpiring provided for.

Another issue with the use of Addendum Q is that it removes protests; only umpires make the calls there and then. This means that if there is insufficient cover of the fleet (perhaps due to a spread out fleet or simply not enough umpire RIBs for the size of fleet) and incidents are missed, there is no recourse to protesting and the wrongs cannot be righted. There is a possibility that rules could be further developed and tested to enable both umpiring and a form of ‘short and sharp’ hearings much like arbitration. Another alternative is to simply give the protest committee that is on the water a mandate to initiate their own protests as already provided for under RRS 60.3.

As Addendum Q stands now it is complex and still needs explanation to sailors and flow diagrams to show how it works. Of course, needing this level of explanation undermines the argument that it simplifies the rules. That said, it certainly achieves the outcome of closing off rule infringements on the water at the time. More work is being done by World Sailing to produce better guidance for what is practical umpiring for fleet racing.

For reports from Australian events testing rules go to https://www.sailingresources.org.au/class-assoc/test-and-development-rules/

For more information on the RRS and approving the use of test and development rules go to https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/site/l7njxnmon2hnjcry.pdf#page=53

For more information on World Sailing’s experimental rules go to https://www.sailing.org/documents/racingrules/experimental-rules.php