| RI-13-01 CLARIFICATION OF OWNERSHIP WITH RESPECT TO 100% OWNERS OF CHARTERED YACHTS AND WHO CAN DRIVE OR CREW (2013-06-20) |
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| Q1: | For insurance purposes, a boat owner often crews on their own boat when it is chartered. If an ISAF Group 3 100% Owner charters out their own boat, can they crew for the charterer in Level A or B race? |
| A1: | Yes, but only if the charterer is not an ISAF Group 3 100% Owner as well. Per Class Rule 3.10, the charterer is included in the definition of an Owner of the chartered yacht and also as a 100% Owner of the chartered yacht if they are otherwise the 100% Owner of their own yacht. Declaration of the charterer as an Owner, and 100% Owner as applicable, is inclusive, presumably with the actual owner (title-holder) of the yacht, leading to the peculiar situation where a given yacht can have two 100% Owners. For Level A races, Class Rule 3.6 require that all crew aboard be Group 1 competitors excluding a (singular) 100% Owner. This would permit one of the two 100% Owners (charterer or actual owner) of a chartered yacht to be a Group 3 competitor, but not both since the exclusion is singular. Level B races require that all crew, including a 100% Owner, aboard be Group 1 except that one Group 3 competitor is allowed. Unlike Level A races, the 100% Owner is included in the crew requirements, which leads to the conclusion that there can be only one Group 3 competitor aboard regardless of Ownership status. This would permit one of the two 100% Owners of a chartered yacht to be a Group 3 competitor, but not both since only one Group 3 competitor is allowed. |
| Q2: | If I am an Owner per the Class Rules, does that status as an Owner apply with regard to any boat? |
| A2: | No. You are only an Owner of your own boat or a boat which you are chartering. As stated in Class Rule 3.10, a charterer is included in the definition of an Owner of the chartered yacht and also as a 100% Owner of the chartered yacht if they are otherwise the 100% Owner of their own yacht. It is clear from the existence of Class Rule 3.10 that ownership only applies to the owned yacht, otherwise there would be no need for the rule in the first place. This leads to the logical conclusion that an Owner on another Owners yacht which they are not chartering is considered to be crew for purposes of the Class Rules. |
| Q3: | Who can legally drive my boat during a race? |
| A3: | It depends on their membership status, ISAF Group status, and whether they are chartering your boat. An ISAF Group 1 Active Member may drive any other boat. An ISAF Group 3 100% Owner may only drive their own boat or a boat which they are chartering. An Associate Member Owner may drive their own boat or a boat which they are chartering. An Associate Member non-Owner must be a long term shipmate and friend or immediate family member of a boat Owner. Class Rule 3.4 requirements regarding Drivers can be split into three pieces: Group 1 Active Members, Associate Members, and Group 3 competitors. To drive, Associate Members must be a member of an Owner’s immediate family or a long term shipmate and friend of an Owner. For a Group 3 competitor to drive, he or she must be the 100% Owner or Charterer. A Group 1 Active Member has no restriction on driving, regardless of their relation to a boat Owner or whether they qualify as a long term shipmate and friend of a boat Owner. With fractional ownership, only one Owner may be an Active Member. The other owner(s) must qualify to drive as an Associate Member. An Associate Member Owner of a yacht is a member of their own immediate family and thus meets criteria (a) allowing Associate Members to drive regardless of whether they qualify as a long term shipmate and friend of the Active Member Owner of the yacht. |