Hi,
I'm OK with most of the racing rules as I raced dingies before I got into Kiting but I have some questions about the application of sailing rules to kite course racing that I hope an experienced Kite racer can shed some light on.

What do you use instead of the 2 boat length zone when determining if the inside boat/kiter can reqeust room to round from the outside boat/kiter.

2 kite lengths could be 90m which supper yaughts wouldn't get and 2 board lengths would be gone in a flash.

Thanks
Tom

MARK-ROOM
When Rule 18 Applies [B3.1(a)]
Rule 18 applies between kiteboards when they are required to leave a mark on the same side and at least one of them is about to round or pass the mark until they have passed it. However, it does not apply
(a) between kiteboards on opposite tacks on a beat to windward, (b) between kiteboards on opposite tacks when the proper course
at the mark for one but not both of them is to tack,
(c) between a kiteboard approaching a mark and one leaving it, or
(d) if the mark is a continuing obstruction, in which case rule 19 applies.
Giving Mark-Room
(a) When kiteboards are overlapped the outside kiteboard shall give the inside kiteboard mark-room, unless rule 18.2(b) ap- plies.
(b) If kiteboards are overlapped when the first of them is about to round or pass the mark, the outside kiteboard at that moment shall thereafter give the inside kiteboard mark-room. If a kite- board is clear ahead when she is about to round or pass the mark, the kiteboard clear astern at that moment shall thereafter give her mark-room. [B3.1(b)]
17
18 18.1
18.2
18
Part 2
WHEN BOARDS MEET
(c) When a kiteboard is required to give mark-room by rule 18.2(b), she shall continue to do so even if later an overlap is broken or a new overlap begins. [B3.1(c)]
(d) If there is reasonable doubt that a kiteboard obtained or broke an overlap in time, it shall be presumed that she did not.
(e) If a kiteboard obtained an inside overlap from clear astern and, from the time the overlap began, the outside kiteboard has been unable to give mark-room, she is not required to give it.

Thanks for posting up the rule but I found what I was looking for in the definitions part of the rule book which simply says:

Zone Not used.

Wow.
In practice when do kiters start giving room then? or is that a how long is a piece of string question?

Tom

In practice, at least from my experience, if I need mark room, I will ask for it. I will give mark room if requested. On kiteboards (during summer) or skis/snowboards (during winter) races, we use up so little ground space that we can get close to one another that it is generally not a problem, the others will hear you and you will be heard. I have seen more than once where we were 4-5 racers rounding a mark within 1 or 2 seconds. There may be problems though when newbie racers do not know the rules or forget them in action.

Norm

You know about about about. So how long is an about? About about long. Oh and the zone is now 3 boat lengths by default.

Thanks Norm, really appreciate someone taking the time to share their on the water experience as there hasn't been any proper racing here yet so there is no one to discuss these things with.

Thanks again
Tom