Why is the precise time-of-day of a run so important? What happens if there is a tie?
Should two or more attempts by different skippers/boats each break an existing record, on the same day or event, and should both normally be ratifiable, the first run will be considered on its own merits (and must break the existing record by two percent). The second attempt, even if faster than the first, must beat the now-new record by the requisite two percent, or it will not constitute a ratifiable new record. Times are now often measured to one-thousandth of a second. However, they are then rounded to the nearest hundredth, and two identical speeds, to the same rounded hundredth second, are considered a tie in speed, though not in time. (In point of fact, any run which, though measured faster than an existing ratified speed record, but not faster by the requisite two percent, will be considered a “tie,” though will not be ratified as such.
