We love misconduct, in almost all forms!
About a year before Sir Ben Ainslie was knighted by the Queen of England, he was involved in an incident at the 2011 Finn World Championships in Weymouth, UK, wherein he let his temper get the best of him. Being just behind the lead boat in race 9 of 11 and endeavoring to overtake her, a media boat weaved in front of Ainslie as its photographer attempted to obtain a shot of the boat in front.
After finishing the race, Ainslie jumped from his Finn onto the media boat, grabbed and shouted at the driver and the photographer, then dove back in the water, reuniting with his Finn. Clearly Ainslie was furious. Though the gentlemen all shook hands and apologized to each other onshore, this caught the attention of the international jury for the event, and a Rule 69 investigation commenced.
“Section C – Gross Misconduct” in The Racing Rules of Sailing, better known as Rule 69 was, according to a forum post on the RRS website, introduced in 1981, as an awkward coupling, if you will, of the old Rule 12, Yacht Materially Prejudiced, and Rule 68.5, which dealt with Redress. Today it references remedies for breaches of a rule, good manners, sportsmanship, and bringing the sport into disrepute.
In 2017, the rule was revised to govern the behavior of both supporters and boat owners (even if they are not present on the boat during the incident) in addition to competitors. Not only can the miscreant be disqualified from a race or event, other penalties associated with a Rule 69 infraction can include banishment from a venue, suspending a person’s ISAF eligibility, or even community service.
During a well-known regatta on the East Coast, a PHRF boat was fouled by a competitor. There was contact and the boat was dismasted. Due to the damage to the boat, their week of racing was over so they went out the next day to watch the action from a spectator boat. As the boat that ruined their regatta rounded the windward mark, the crew from the dismasted boat, now on the spectator boat, gave them a grand salute, much like the popular “mooning” gesture albeit more frontal focused.
Unamused, the skipper who was still racing snitched on them to the race committee and a Rule 69 hearing ensued. After some discussion, it was decided to let the boys off easy, as boys will be boys, and all that witnessed the gesture agreed that these were most definitely boys.
Then there is a tale of a Florida sailor who missed a mark rounding on a distance race. Though there were a handful of witnesses, this skipper was not going to give up easily. In an attempt to exonerate himself, our hero presented as evidence, a photograph of himself with the mark. This picture omitted any part of a boat – just the water, the skipper, and the mark. The judges pondered why one would go down below during a mark rounding, grab a camera and take a picture of oneself with a mark. Since generally, mark roundings are chaotic and action-packed, one can imagine their confusion.
The prevailing thought was that this picture was taken after the race was already finished. Despite a few calls for a Rule 69 hearing, the skipper got off easy with a DSQ and a few eyerolls.
Adult sailors, however, don’t have the market cornered on Rule 69 infractions. Youth sailors and their supporters have proven to be a bit more creative with their unsportsmanlike behavior. During a youth regatta, a young man coerced his little brother into urinating in a competitor’s Opti. Seeing as how kids struggle to keep these kinds of juicy secrets, not surprisingly, someone spilled the beans. Then, the fellow whose boat was defiled, lied during the hearing citing a fictional eyewitness. After a spirited discussion by the judges, they opted to handle the issue on a smaller scale and not escalate to the International Sailing Federation.
Parents cheating on behalf of their offspring has resulted in many diverse Rule 69-related incidents. Recently, a parent of a youth sailor inserted weights into his child’s life jacket during a regatta. The intent was to provide an advantage by having more weight available to flatten the boat, thus increasing point and speed. Once their secret was exposed, the parent was banned from the venue for a year. Fortunately, his child did not drown.
So, after that fateful Rule 69 hearing in Weymouth, UK in 2012, Ben Ainslie was considered to have committed “Gross Misconduct.” He was disqualified from races 9 and 10, thus blowing his chance to win the Finn World Championship title in 2011. He did, however, go on to become the most decorated Olympic sailor in history, winning the gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Finn class, his fourth Olympic Gold Medal.
The merits and usefulness of Rule 69 and how race organizers and judges should regulate unsportsmanlike behavior have been debated for years, and will no doubt continue to be debated for many more years. An updated version of The Racing Rules of Sailing doesn’t come out until 2029, but the sailing community will indubitably be watching to see if there are changes to Rule 69. (we think it is one of the most ridiculous, overreaching rules ever implemented, created by hand-wringing, anal retentive people who should never have been given the room to create such a farcical rule – tempesta)
– Dawn Narramore has been sailing in the Tampa Bay area for over 25 years. She has recently retired from a lengthy career in corporate IT, and has been delighting friends, family, and fellow sailors with her witty stories for over a decade.
References:
Chris Museler, (April 7, 2012), As Gold Medalist Found Out, More Coverage Is Mixed Blessing for Sailing, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/sports/ainslie-altercation-highlights-sailors-struggle-with-increased-media-coverage.html
John Allan, (July 16, 2025), Redress Rules – a brief history, Forum: The Racing Rules of Sailing, https://www.racingrulesofsailing.org/posts/3969-redress-rules-a-brief-history
