Two protests lodged over competing boats allegedly sailing in Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS), an area in the sea where navigation of ships is highly regulated, in this week's Round Ireland Race were dismissed or deemed invalid following hearings.
As Afloat reported previously, in IRC class One, Howth Yacht Club's Robert Rendell's Samatom protested IRC One winner Michael Boyd's Darkwood of the Royal Irish Yacht Club for allegedly sailing in the North Channel TSS at Rathlin Island.
The protest committee found that the south-going lane on the North Channel TSS was 'not an area designated an obstruction by the round Ireland Sailing Instructions (SI 14(b) (ii)). The rule permits boats to enter the south-going lane.'
The protest was dismissed because 'No rule was broken'.
In a separate protest, Royal Cork yacht Nieulargo (Denis and Annamarie Murphy) protested UK double-handed entry Bellino (Bob Craigie) for sailing in the Sailing in North Channel TSS but as 'Nieulargo did not inform Bellino of her protest at the first reasonable opportunity as required by RRS.1(a) the protest was deemed invalid'.
Gordon Davies was the Round Ireland Race Protest Committee Chairman.