Is it a question of ethics?

The discussion of ethical sailing has surfaced recently as it pertains to competing within the boundaries of Rule 42 - the rules that govern kinetics. Having competed in Snipes at a time when winning downwind had everything to do with the ooching ability of my crew, and having been disqualified at the Snipe Worlds by an umpire for pumping, I have walked that line that distinguishes what is allowed in the rules and what isn’t. While the position of the line has changed over the years, it is no less clear now as umpires and competitors continue to navigate the gray area between right and wrong.

Not every class of boat faces this issue, but most performance boats do. To compete at the top level, speed is king, and if your boat responds to sail pumping, boat rocking, and rudder sculling, than that must be part of your game. Seeking the limit of the rule is venturing toward the gray area that represents the boundary, which is further influenced by the standards set within your class. Observers at the Miami OCR have said that American Laser Radial sailor Paige Railey was rocking excessively, which led to her disqualification from the event. But they also said that if Paige’s kinetic actions were transposed into the male-dominated Laser class, she would have been consistent within the standard of that group. Hmm.

So is breaking a kinetics rule ethically different than breaking other rules in the book? Are we more conscious of pumping too much, than say, tacking too close? Are the actions of a windward boat the same as the actions of a rocking boat? Are the limits we push when using kinetics more obvious than the limits we push when crossing a starboard tacker, luffing a competitor, rounding a mark, etc. Does the broader benefit of a kinetics act - which can provide a speed edge over the fleet - make it more grievous than the benefit of a Part 2 rules violation, which provides an advantage when two or more boats meet?

As long as a limited amount of kinetic actions are permitted, the difference between right and wrong will remain in the eyes of the beholder, and the question of ethics will lie within the intent of the sailor, and whether he or she believes they are competing within the limits of the rule and the standards of their fleet, or if they have consciously and intentionally crossed that line when needed. -- Craig Leweck