Oppostie Gybes, leeward Mark

Port tack boats must keep clear of boats on starboard. In addition if starboard tack boat is overlapped on inside when one boat hits the zone, she must be given room.

However, as inside overlapped right of way boat Starboard must sail no further from the mark than her proper course before gybing (does not apply at a gate).

When asymetric boats arrive at leeward mark ther may be a huge difference in their course, which means that starboard boat may have overlap on large part of fleet.

Gordon

the point I am trying to make is that the bow of the starboard boat is forward of almost any port boats transom line - true?

It has always been a good tactic because outside the zone you have right of way and inside you are allowed room to gybe, meaning you can push quite a bit of space.

Phoenix and Pepsi were sigma 33s who would amaze the fleet with their wide angles  whilst most boats sailed as deep as they could:  but they did this to maybe get a couple of boat legnths by gybing on the lifts, but really they booked an aggressively good place at the rounding.

Surely once you hit the Zone Rule 18 kicks in and the tack you are on becomes irrelevant?

A port tack boat sailing clear ahead downwind does not have right of way over a starboard boat unless it has entered the zone.

Not 100% sure what you are getting at but Clear Astern, Clear Ahead and Overlap are defined in RRS: -

"One boat is clear astern of another when her hull and equipment in normal position are behind a line abeam from the aftermost point of the other boat's hull and equipment in the normal position. the other boat is clear ahead. They overlap when neither is clear astern. However they also overlap when a boat between them overlaps both."

Elvstrom might be good for table top plastic boats but for me Willis makes things seem much simpler.

Now can I go to bed?