There has been some confusion about when and how many turns to do if you commit a foul on the race course.  Here is a brief synopsis from the Rule Book.

If you foul another boat by violating one or more of the rules in Part Two of the racing rules you must do TWO turns.  The rules in Part Two are the basic ones like port/starboard, windward/leeward, hitting another boat, giving room to the inside boat at marks, etc.

If while rounding a race mark you hit that mark you only need to do ONE turn.

If you did both, broke a rule in Part Two AND hit a mark in the same incident, you only need to take TWO turns (not three).

When do you have to do your turns you ask? After getting well clear of other boats as soon after the incident as possible, a boat takes a One-Turn or Two-Turns Penalty by promptly making the required number of turns in the same direction, each turn including one tack and one gybe.

That’s it.  We don’t have protests in PTSA races, so everyone is on the honor system.  It’s up to you to determine if you have committed a penalty and do the right thing.