Originally posted by Dave367
The IFSLY rule stating that an "overtaking maneuver" comes into effect when the buggies are 2 meters apart is a good example. In sailing, "one
boatlength" is not an uncommon distance for rules to come into effect. Two boats may sail this close together for many miles without mishap, and even
when converging, a boatlength might take 2-10 seconds to cross, due to sail boats' slow speed and relatively large size. "Transposing" such a distance
into kite buggying is silly; if a guy is 2 meters from you he is literally "in your pocket," and something should have been done long ago. At buggy
closing speeds of 60+ mph, 2 meters will be traversed in less than a tenth of a second, an interval that's silly even to contemplate. Even an obtuse
convergence (one buggy coming down on another and--maybe--overtaking) will yield closing speeds of up to 10 to 20 mph, giving more like one quarter to
one half of a second to react--still a ridiculous concept.
The "buggy on right has right-of-way unless overtaking, when buggy on right MIGHT have right-of-way or buggy on left MIGHT have right-of-way, and this
right-of-way is wholly dependent on the relative buggy speeds, which may or may not be changing as we try to interpret this" is another good example
(as were the multiple, unsuccessful attempts to "clarify" this common event right here on this forum last week. If we can't suss out a simple mark
approach over several days and half a dozen posts, how are two buggiers going to cope, in the few seconds available to them?)
Similarly difficult is the "two buggies when meeting will move to the right, unless one or the other willfully--or accidently--gums it up by changing
course, in which case much shouting will ensue and the race will be decided later in a smoke-filled room" rule.
Both of these rules are taken from landsailling, where they have some validity. The major difference is that landsailors are symmetric--their sails
are on their centerlines, and there is no greater difficulty in looking either to the right or to the left. Speeds are generally higher than buggy
speeds, and both yacht course and speeds are more constant; thus speed-dependent and course-keeping dependent rules can be used with some success.
Buggying is fundamentally different; a buggier has 80% of his concentration focused downwind, where his kite is. His speed and his course are fairly
widely variable, as he seeks wind and follows his kite. He can neither see well, nor accurately judge the position or especially the speed of, buggies
upwind of him. OTOH, he can very accurately see, judge distance from and judge the speed of buggies which are downwind of him.
Regarding Steve's question, I believe I understand his concern. Please refer to the sketch at: http://www.dcss.org/ifsly-converge.gif Buggy B is about to cross Buggy A, or perhaps converge onto him. He may or may not be overtaking him. It is
obvious, per IFSLY rule Article 5, Annex 07B, that Buggy B has right of way, unless he is traveling faster than Buggy A, thus "overtaking," in which
case, per IFSLY Article 6, Annex 07C & 07D, Buggy A has right of way. Now, Buggy B has had a clear view of Buggy A for a fairly long period of
time as he has approached, thus has near-perfect knowledge of Buggy A's speed, course and even buggying skill. Buggy A, OTOH, has been buggying
naively along, potentially without knowing even the existence of Buggy B, let alone his course or his relative speed.
Now, IFSLY rule Article 6(1), Annex 07C & 07D states that Buggy B needn't even warn Buggy A of his existence until they're 2 meters apart, but
let's presume we're all playing fair here, and Buggy A (somehow) knows of the existence of Buggy B. Buggy A must continually look over his shoulder
just in case Buggy B exists (I thought John Ellis had paraphrased IFSLY rules as "guard your front and right side." Silly me, I didn't understand he
meant my right side *all the way around to directly behind me*, yet IFSLY rules are quite adamant about this)
Now, not only does Buggy A need to repeatedly crane his neck to keep track of Buggy B's course and intent, he is *required* by IFSLY Article 6, Annex
07C & 07D, to accurately gauge Buggy B's speed--to within a fraction of one mile per hour--relative to his own in order to determine if an
"overtaking" is occurring. If Buggy B speeds up, he loses right of way to Buggy A, if he slows down, he gains it back. IFSLY rules are silent on how
much difference there needs to be in speed, thus a protest could be--successfully--lodged if Buggy B is even a fraction faster than Buggy A--or
slower, depending on who brings the protest. Of course, it is to Buggy A's tactical advantage to conclude Buggy B has sped up, and vice-versa for
Buggy B, even though the two buggies' courses are converging, possibly at a high rate of speed, whether an "overtaking" is happening or not. Worse, it
is *entirely* incumbent on Buggy A, who does not have a clear sighting of Buggy B, to accurately gauge Buggy B's speed, and to react accurately to
that interpretation of speed. This is no "grey area." It is rather an invitation to manipulate rules in a fairly vicious way and also to precipitate a
VERY dangerous situation, whether playing "fair" or not.
Now, what if a gust comes through as the buggies converge? First Buggy B, with the right of way per IFSLY Article 5, Annex 07B, will speed up, losing
his right of way per IFSLY Article 6, Annex 07C & 07D, then Buggy A will speed up, yielding ROW back to Buggy B, again per Article 5, Annex 07B.
As the gust passes, Buggy B will slow down, maintaining ROW and finally, Buggy A will slow, possibly to below Buggy B's speed, re-invoking Article 6,
Annex 07C and 07D... by which time the collision event, whatever it was going to be, has long since transpired and we're back in the smoke-filled
room.
How much easier would it be to simply have the windward buggy yield to the leeward buggy? The course does not matter. The tack (left or right) does
not matter. A change of course, by either buggy, doesn't change a thing, and the buggy's relative speeds don't matter. The buggier with the commanding
view and perfect knowledge of the situation is the burdened buggy and the guy who can't see a thing has right of way. What's not to like?
Ah, but what about the "two buggies meeting head-on" situation (IFSLY Article 4, Annex 07A)? Well, in virtually every physically possible case, one or
the other buggy is "upwind" and the other is "downwind." Yes, they can willfully bugger this up (the age-old game of "chicken"), but one will still be
upwind and one down; UNLESS the buggies are on perfectly cross-wind reaching courses, and neither yields. In this case NABX Rule 10 still prevails,
"Each racer must do everything possible to avoid a collision." It is patently obvious to bystanders and on-field judges whether either or both
buggiers have abided by this rule, and in the unusual circumstance above, they will get their just desserts, immediately. No smoke-filled room, no
complex interplay of contradicting rules, no big deal. Oh, and no special "buggies meeting" rule, which I might comment, has no definition of when a
"meeting,'" per IFSLY Article 4, Annex 07A becomes a "crossing," per IFSLY Article 5, Annex 07B, and thus when "both yachts must turn right" changes
to "only the left-hand yacht must evade, at whatever cost." Would this be at 5 degrees? 45 degrees? 90? Something larger, or smaller? IFSLY rules, for
all their pages and pages of situations and happenstance, seem to be silent on the issue.
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