What can a crew do if it thinks its race was not in order?

During the race: if a crew thinks another crew is interfering with it and causing a disadvantage, a member of the crew should if possible draw the Umpire's attention at the time, to indicate it intends to make an objection (By-Law to Rule 80).

After the finish (Rule 84):

• A crew member raises an arm to the Umpire immediately after the finish.
• This must be done before the boat leaves the immediate area of the finish line and before the Umpire shows the white flag to the Judge at the Finish, or the objection is not valid.
• The crew must not leave the finish area until the Umpire has heard the objection.
• It can only concern the conduct of that crew's own race, and its ranking must have been affected.
• The Umpire may reject it (white flag), accept it (red flag, meaning the race was not in order), or seek more information.
• Once the Umpire has confirmed the race was in order to the Judge at the Finish, no further objections are accepted from the crews in that race.

Objecting to a sanction: a crew may only object at the time the sanction is awarded, by telling the Jury member, Starter or Umpire who notified it. A crew given a Yellow Card at the start may object to the Umpire or Starter at the time.

Protest: if the objection is rejected, the crew can protest in writing to the President of the Jury no later than one hour after the race concludes, with a $100 deposit that is refunded if the protest is upheld.