Editorial: Why the race jury was right

EDITORIAL: In penalising Wild Oats XI in the Sydney to Hobart, the international jury got it right.

LDV Comanche, right, and Wild Oats XI narrowly miss each at the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Picture: AAP

ANYONE who is, or has been, involved in yacht racing can tell you about the agony and ecstasy of the sport. One minute you’re are riding on top of a wave with the wind behind you and the next you’re flattened by a squall.

The owner, skipper and crew of Wild Oats XI must be feeling pretty flat right now.

Less than a day after claiming an amazing come-from-behind win in the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, they have been stripped of the win and the race record they set scrubbed from the books.

MORE: WILD OATS STRIPPED OF WIN, RECORD

LDV Comanche, which had crossed the line 27 minutes behind Wild Oats the night before, has been declared the winner and its time will now stand as the new race record.

It’s not the first time a Sydney-Hobart has been lost on protest. In 1983, Nirvana lost the title for running Apollo aground in the Derwent and, in 1989, Rothmans lost the title for flying an illegal spinnaker.

For the casual observer of yacht racing, Wild Oats XI’s loss must seem a huge penalty to pay for what appeared to be relatively minor infringement at the start of the 630-nautical-mile ocean classic.

Surely an hour’s time penalty was way too harsh, especially when the stakes were so high.

But the international jury which meted out the time penalty did so after three hours of deliberation.

The five-person jury made up of two New Zealanders, two Australians and a German, heard evidence from both boats and a number of independent witnesses. It also reviewed television and on-board footage of the incident. There is no doubt it considered its decision carefully.

In detailing the jury’s ruling, chairman John Rountree reiterated one of the fundamental rules of sailing — the boat that is on port tack has to give way to the boat that is on the starboard.

Every sailor knows the rule and has known it since they first stepped into a boat to race.

Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards knew it but argued that his boat had tacked back on to starboard in time. The jury ruled that the tack was within two boat lengths and LDV Comanche had to take evasive action to avoid a collision.

The immediate protest by Comanche meant Richards had to make a choice. He could either admit that he was in the wrong and take a two-turn penalty (swing his boat around twice in a circle) or decide he was OK and argue his case before the race jury. He chose the latter and lost.

To Richards’ credit, he didn’t whine or criticise the decision of the jury even though he and boat owner Sandy Oatley were clearly devastated by the verdict.

He spoke about copping it on the chin and admitted the turn was too close.

In making its decision, the jury upheld the basic rules of racing — rules which are not just about game play but about safety. The consequences of a collision between two such large and fast boats could have been far more than an expensive repair job or damaged boats being forced out of the race. Someone could have been badly hurt or even killed.

The jury was right to uphold the rules and yacht racing will be better for it.