CASE 57        

Rule 78.3, Compliance with Class Rules; Certificates

The measurer referred to in rule 78.3 must be officially appointed for the race or series; it is not open to an outside measurer to lodge a report within the terms of that rule. An in-date, duly authenticated certificate, presented in good faith by an owner who has complied with the requirements of rule 78.1, cannot be retrospectively invalidated after a race or series is completed.

Summary of the Facts
A and B were among IOR-rated boats competing in a summer-long series. After its completion, B requested redress on the grounds that the race committee had used an incorrect rating certificate for A throughout the series. After the request was lodged, the rating authority confirmed that there had been an unsuspected error in A’s certificate since her first hull measurement some years previously. B then stated that the race committee should have protested A, as required by rule 78.3.

The jury found that the owner of A was not responsible for the error of calculation in the rating, nor was there any evidence that he had broken rule 78.1. It decided that no action or omission of the race committee was responsible for the error or for its remaining undiscovered, and that therefore B was not entitled to redress. It referred the case under rule 70.2.

Decision
The decision of the jury is confirmed. B claimed that the race committee’s failure to protest A, as required by rule 78.3, was prejudicial to herself and the other boats in the class. However, rule 78.3 was not pertinent. It applies to a race, or a series of races, in respect of which a measurer has been appointed. Rule 78.3 does not apply to a report lodged by an outside measurer. In this case the report came from the national rating authority, over which neither the organizing authority nor the race committee had any authority. Since no measurer had been appointed specifically for the series, no hearing could be called under rule 78.3.

When a valid certificate is found to be defective, it may be withdrawn by the authority that issued it, but no retrospective action may be taken in regard to a series completed or races still under the jurisdiction of a race committee. Thus, when a duly authenticated certificate has been presented in good faith and the race or series completed, the final results must stand, even though at a later date the certificate is withdrawn.

RYA 1983/1