Not today, but on Sunday, bit slow. We're racing in the St Helena Cup, heading back for the gap between Green Island and St Helena Island. We're cracked off to about 60 twa, speed's about 10kn. I'm below watching the plotter and on the charts there's a shallow lump ahead I couldn't recall ever seeing before.

Yelled out my new discovery to the crew. Firstly, my crew has much experience as me of sailing on the bay, and my announcements brings a general harumpph, there's no lump where I'm describing. We were kinda right in the middle of the passage between the islands approaching obliquely, well clear of the islands, so it didn't make sense none of us would have seen it before. The lump shows a depth of 2.2m, we draw 3.
I start the engine in preparation for a quick keel lift if needed. I'm calling out the dtg, we're creeping nearer as the debate continues. Concensus is it makes sense to keep going, it looks like the course we'd taken a hundred times before.
Ease sheets, slow the boat down, we've crossed the edge, I call out to the crew. There is a crewman calling the depth out, and you hear his voice go up an octave "..3.6 , 3.3 , 3.2, 2.8..! " Touch. Touch, touch, toooouch. Ouch.
I hit the button, the keel starts upward as I call to hold course. We bounce a couple more times and then we skim over, depth showing 2.2m.
The depth caller's voice goes husky with relief as I hear "..2.2 , 3.0 , 3.8....thank christ.."
We're free. Hit the button, the keel whines it's way down till I hear it hit the cutoutswitch and it shuts down.
We continue on and finish the race.
Question: Is it wrong for me to lift the keel like this in a race?
The SI allow for you to engage your engine to get off a grounding. So, I look like I'm compliant, but I don't know and I'm unsure if my actions were right or not. The same concept would be a trailer sailor using his lift keel. I still have oodles of righting moment keel up, so it's not like the boat is unstable or dangerous, it can be sailed with the keel up.
What do you guys think? Is this against the rules?