R69 readers with long memories might recall a speculative ‘think-piece’ article we ran back in April that raised the legality of using a canting keel to rock the boat and create the effect of wind in ultra-light conditions.
The question we asked was whether that would contravene RRS 42.2 – (Propulsion – Prohibited Actions). Under that World Sailing rule, Rocking is defined as “Repeated adjustment of the sails or centreboard”.
The rule was drafted to cover centreboard sailing at a time when canting keels didn’t yet exist (or were not thought to need regulation). But, in any displacement yacht, the keel performs largely the same function as a centreboard. Perhaps an open-minded Protest Committee might consider “repeated adjustment” of a canting keel to be prohibited under Rule 42.2?
But that was all theoretical speculation.
Until now. There has been recent interest in video footage on YouTube that shows a yacht doing precisely that (see above). The sequence was originally live-streamed eight months ago, but then apparently forgotten. (To see the rocking, start at about the 16:35 mark)
You can see, as the V70 Celestial inched towards the finish line of the last Sydney-Hobart race in zero wind, it repeatedly canted its keel. Each time, that motion clearly filled the sails for a moment and delivered a lift in forward motion.
It is, of course, too late for any inquiry or protest. But we believe this is an issue World Sailing needs to clarify before the practice becomes common.
The skipper of Celestia V70 when the video was taken was Sam Haynes, no stranger to controversy. Only an ungracious curmudgeon would point out that he was also Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia at the time.
