Sailing (World Sailing) — Official Rules

Sailing (sailboat racing) is a sport in which competitors race wind-powered boats around a course defined by marks (buoys), governed worldwide by World Sailing, founded in 1907. A boat is a competitor's combination of hull, crew and equipment. Unlike court or pitch sports there are no halves, quarters or timeouts: a race is started by a signal sequence, sailed once around a fixed course, and ends when each boat finishes by crossing the finishing line. Most competitions are a series of several races whose results are added under the Low Point System (Appendix A); the boat with the lowest total score wins. The rules are the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), revised every four years on the Olympic cycle.

The RRS open with the Basic Principles. Sportsmanship and the Rules: competitors are governed by a body of rules they are expected to follow and enforce; a fundamental principle is that when a boat breaks a rule and is not exonerated she will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire. Environmental Responsibility: participants are encouraged to minimise any adverse environmental impact. Because no umpire is on every boat, sailing relies heavily on self-policing: a boat that knows she has broken a rule is expected to take her own penalty without being protested.

A regatta is run by the race committee (which sets the course, signals the start under rule 26, and scores the series), supported by a protest committee or jury that hears protests and requests for redress, a technical committee for equipment checks, and—in umpired formats such as match and team racing—on-water umpires who decide right-of-way incidents in real time. World Sailing certifies International Judges, Umpires and Race Officers. In standard fleet racing there is no on-water official judging every boat; the protest hearing is the primary mechanism for ruling on rule breaches.

World Sailing recognises several racing formats. Fleet racing is the standard form: many boats race together and are ranked by finishing order in each race. Match racing is one boat against one boat (the format of the America's Cup), umpired on the water. Team racing pits teams of (usually) three boats against another team, scored by combining team-mates' places. Olympic sailing uses one-design classes (e.g. ILCA, 49er, 470, iQFOiL, Formula Kite) sailing a multi-race opening series followed by a non-discardable Medal Race for the top boats (worth double points in the classic format).

A course is defined by marks (buoys) that boats must round or pass on a stated side, and by the starting and finishing lines. The most common Olympic-style course is the windward/leeward course: boats beat upwind to a windward mark, run downwind to a leeward mark, and repeat for a set number of laps. A mark is required by the sailing instructions to be left on a specified side and includes a race committee vessel surrounded by navigable water from which the line extends. Sailing the course means a boat's track, drawn taut (a "string"), lies on the required side of each mark.

Right-of-way depends on defined terms. A boat is on starboard tack or port tack according to her windward side. Two boats on the same tack overlap when neither is clear astern, or when a boat between them overlaps both; otherwise one boat is clear ahead and the other clear astern. The zone is the area around a mark within a distance of three hull lengths of the boat nearer to it. Leeward and windward: a boat's leeward side is the side away from the wind; of two overlapped boats on the same tack, the leeward boat is the one on the leeward side of the other.

Part 2 Section A sets the four core rules. Rule 10 - On Opposite Tacks: a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat. Rule 11 - Same Tack, Overlapped: a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat. Rule 12 - Same Tack, Not Overlapped: a boat clear astern shall keep clear of a boat clear ahead. Rule 13 - While Tacking: after passing head to wind, a boat shall keep clear of others until she is on a close-hauled course. A boat with right-of-way must still, under rule 16, give a keep-clear boat room to keep clear when she changes course.

Section B limits how the right-of-way boat may act. Rule 14 - Avoiding Contact: a boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible; in the 2025-2028 edition the "however" exoneration clause applies only to sub-rule (a). Rule 15 - Acquiring Right of Way: a boat that becomes the right-of-way boat shall initially give the other room to keep clear. Rule 16 - Changing Course: when a right-of-way boat changes course she shall give the keep-clear boat room to keep clear. Rule 17 - On the Same Tack, Proper Course: a boat that established a leeward overlap from clear astern within two hull lengths shall not sail above her proper course.

Rule 18 - Mark-Room applies when boats are about to round or pass a mark on the same side and at least one is in the zone (three hull lengths). The 2025-2028 edition simplified it: when the first boat of the pair reaches the zone, if the boats are overlapped the inside boat is entitled to mark-room; if they are not overlapped, the boat that reached the zone first (clear ahead) is entitled to mark-room. Mark-Room is room to leave the mark on the required side, to sail to it, and—new for 2025-2028 wording—to round or pass it and to leave it astern. The defined term was shortened, removing "as necessary to sail the course."

Rule 19 - Room to Pass an Obstruction: between an inside and outside boat at an obstruction, the inside overlapped boat is entitled to room to pass it. Rule 20 - Room to Tack at an Obstruction: a boat may hail "Room to tack" when approaching an obstruction needing to tack to avoid it; the hailed boat must respond. Rule 21 exonerates a boat sailing within the room or mark-room to which she is entitled. Rule 22 covers boats not racing or recovering from a penalty/capsize. Rule 23 - Capsized, Anchored or Aground: a boat shall avoid one that is capsized, anchored, aground or rescuing a person. Rule 24 addresses interfering with another boat (e.g. a boat sailing the course must not interfere with one on another leg).

Under rule 26 a race is started using a timed signal sequence of visual flags backed by sound signals: the Warning signal (class flag) is made 5 minutes before the start; the Preparatory signal (flag P, I, Z, Z over I, U or black flag) is made 4 minutes before; the One-minute signal (preparatory flag removed, one long sound) is made 1 minute before; and the Starting signal (class flag removed, one sound) is made at 0. Times are taken from the visual signals; the absence of a sound is disregarded. The warning signal for a succeeding class is made with or after the previous class's starting signal.

Rule 28 - Sailing the Course: a boat shall start, sail the course, round each mark on the required side, and finish, her string lying on the correct side. A boat is OCS (On the Course Side) if any part of her hull is on the course side of the starting line at her starting signal; she must return to start correctly. The race committee signals individual recall (flag X) for some boats over early and a general recall (First Substitute) when many are over or the start is unfair. Rule 30 preset penalties for premature starting include the I, Z, U and Black flags: the Black-flag rule disqualifies (without discard) a boat in the triangle near the line in the final minute.

A boat finishes when any part of her hull crosses the finishing line from the course side, in the direction of the course from the last mark. Rule 32 - Shortening or Abandoning after the Start: the race committee may shorten the course (flag S) or abandon the race (flag N) after the start for reasons such as foul weather, insufficient wind, a missing or shifted mark, or any reason directly affecting safety or fairness. An abandoned race may be resailed. The finishing order, with any time recorded, determines each boat's race score.

Rule 42 - Propulsion is the cornerstone of fair sailing: a boat shall compete using only the wind and water to increase, maintain or decrease her speed, using her crew and equipment only to adjust trim and stability. Prohibited propulsion includes pumping (repeated sail trimming not to match the wind), rocking (repeated rolling), ooching (sudden forward body movement stopped abruptly), sculling (repeated helm movement) and repeated tacks or gybes unrelated to wind or tactics. Some classes' rules and the race notice may permit pumping/surfing on a free leg in stronger winds. Breaches are commonly judged on the water by rule 42 judges.

Rule 41 - Outside Help: a boat shall not receive help from any outside source, with limited exceptions (e.g. help for someone in danger, or freely available information). Rule 31 - Touching a Mark: while racing a boat shall not touch a starting, rounding or finishing mark; the penalty is the One-Turn Penalty (rule 44). Rule 47 governs limitations on equipment and crew (a boat shall use only the equipment on board at her preparatory signal, and crew shall not leave deliberately except to recover a person or briefly to climb back aboard). Rule 55 prohibits intentionally putting trash in the water.

Rule 44 lets a boat take her own penalty when she may have broken a Part 2 rule (or rule 31, touching a mark) in an incident while racing. The standard penalty is the Two-Turns Penalty: as soon as practicable after getting well clear of others she promptly makes two turns in the same direction, each including one tack and one gybe. The penalty for touching a mark (rule 31) is the One-Turns Penalty (one tack and one gybe). If a boat caused injury or serious damage, or gained a significant advantage despite a penalty, she must retire. The sailing instructions may replace turns with the Scoring Penalty of rule 44.3.

When the sailing instructions provide for a Scoring Penalty, a boat takes it by promptly displaying a yellow flag after the incident. In the 2025-2028 edition the scoring penalty is recalculated to be based on a boat's points in the race rather than her place: the penalty adds a number of points (the SIs may set the figure, otherwise it is calculated from the fleet), and the resulting score is rounded to the nearest tenth of a point (0.05 rounded upward). A scoring penalty shall not make a boat's score worse than Did Not Finish. This change lets penalties be applied fairly even in handicap and pursuit scoring.

A boat may protest another boat she believes broke a rule. Rule 61 - Protest Requirements: the protesting boat shall hail "Protest" at the first reasonable opportunity and, unless under a certain length, conspicuously display a red flag until the finish, then lodge a written protest within the time limit (typically set in the sailing instructions). The protest committee holds a hearing (rules 63-65), takes evidence from the parties and witnesses, decides the facts and applies the rules, and may disqualify (DSQ) a boat found to have broken a rule and not exonerated. Decisions may be reopened on new evidence (rule 66) or appealed (rule 70).

Rule 62 - Redress: a boat may request, or the committee may consider, redress when her finishing place or score has been made significantly worse, through no fault of her own, by: an improper act or omission of the race committee or organising authority; injury or physical damage caused by a boat breaking a Part 2 rule; or giving help to save a person in danger (rule 1.1). The protest committee, if it agrees, makes an arrangement that is as fair as possible to all affected boats—often awarding average points, points for the place the boat would likely have taken, or another adjustment—under rule 64.3.

Appendix A's Low Point System is the default. Each boat's race score equals her finishing place: 1 point for first, 2 for second, 3 for third, and so on. A boat's series score is the sum of her race scores (after applying any discards). The boat with the lowest series total wins. This is why finishing first as often as possible, and avoiding high-scoring penalties, is the goal: low points are good. Race scores may be fractional where the Scoring Penalty (rule 44.3) or a tie is applied.

A boat that did not finish (DNF), did not start (DNS), was OCS (over early and failed to start correctly), retired (RET) or was disqualified (DSQ/UFD/BFD) is scored points equal to one more than the number of boats that came to the starting area in that race. A boat that did not come to the starting area (DNC) is scored one more than the number of boats entered in the series. A disqualification not excludable (e.g. DNE, gross misconduct under rule 69) cannot be discarded. In this platform's two-boat console, a DNF/DNS/DSQ/OCS boat scores fleet size + 1 points.

Discards (rule A2): when the notice/sailing instructions allow, a boat's worst race score(s) are excluded from her series total (commonly one discard after a set number of races), reducing the impact of one bad result. Breaking ties at the finishing line (A7): if boats cannot be separated, the points for the tied places and the place(s) below are added together and shared equally. Series ties (A8): ties in the series are broken in favour of the boat with the most first places (then most seconds, etc.); if still tied, the last race in which the tied boats did not score equally decides, the boat with the better score in that race ranking ahead.

The most significant 2025-2028 change is the simplification of the Mark-Room definition and rule 18. The defined term Mark-Room was shortened: the phrase "as necessary to sail the course" was removed (it was a misleading use of the "string-test" term), and mark-room now expressly includes room to leave the mark astern as a distinct stage (to sail to, to round/pass, and to leave astern). Rule 18 now reliably tells you who gets mark-room at the moment the first of the pair reaches the zone: the inside boat if overlapped, the boat clear ahead if not overlapped. The change clarifies application without altering the underlying game.

Two further headline 2025-2028 changes: Rule 14 (Avoiding Contact) was restructured so that its limiting ("however") clause—which exonerates a right-of-way or entitled boat from breaking rule 14—now applies only to sub-rule (a), not to all parts, tightening when contact is excused. Separately, the Scoring Penalty (rule 44.3) was recalculated to be based on a boat's points in the race (not her place) and rounded to the nearest tenth of a point, so penalties scale fairly across fleet, handicap and pursuit scoring. Rule 17 (proper course after a leeward overlap) was also adjusted. The starting sequence (rule 26) and Low Point scoring are unchanged.