Oppostie Gybes, leeward Mark

Surely by the time you reach 3 boat lengths its less
about hot angles and more can you sail low enough to
execute a fast drop?

garry

Thinking triangles and sausages here.

Edited by Garry

it could reasonably include a gybe in the situation discussed though.


Yes jeffers, it seems a bit of flock mentality going left!

Once in an RS400 club race I had spinnaker issues and while they were sorted ran DDW. Quite quickly, and the VMG was amazing.

I then got the knickers up and took the whole fleet on starboard at the (two boat) zone.

Pepsi and Phoenix used to sail well longer than the rest of us "sheep" in the sigma 33 procession, all for that starboard /zone moment of glory

Hence why most good assy sailors will know which way they are round and approach the mark on the appropriate 'tack' to ensure they get an inside overlap.

At the Fireball nationals at Paignton many years ago all the boats were playing the angles downwind because it was so light. We decided to go left and everyone else went right. We took half the fleet and called for water (as it was) and got the reply 'since when?'. I replied 'in theory since we gybed on to starboard about a mile or so away'. Had a chat with the guy after (once he got over his grumpy stage) and he thought it was a genius move (we were helped by the tide and a puff or 2 of wind).

Being doing too much umpiring perhaps - it is on a starboard hand rounding that the port tack boat would be inside.

The principle remains the same  the inside boat  or the boat clear ahead IF she is not also right of way boat (when boat astern is on starboard, and boat ahead is on port) can only sail straight to the mark from where she enters the zone (however slow or uncomfortable that course may be). That does not mean that a port tack boat is allowed to continue to sail a "hot" angle then gybe onto a hot angle on starboard then gyge back - sailing a sort of Z course from where she enters the zone. If sailing to the mark means sailing dead downwind... TOUGH!

As for rule 18.4 - which only applies if boat is inside, overlapped and right of way (that is leeward boat or on starboard) - imagine a starboard boat coming in to a port hand mark at the same time as a port tack boat - she would be inside overlapped and right of way, so entitled to sail a "hot" angle until her proper couse is to gybe, and port boat would have to keep clear. When starboards proper course is to gybe she must do so. If after gybing she is clear ahead she can still do a tactical rounding (enter wide, leave tight), however, if she is now overlapped to windward she is only entitled to sail to the mark not a boatlength or so wide of the mark.

Gordon

Brass is correct in stating that boats on opposite tacks may be overlapped (according to the definition) when sakiling downwind. However, this has no practical consequence until boats are approaching or in the zone, or approaching an obstruction.

The 2 "open-water" rules that use the concept of overlap (11 and 17) only apply to boats on the same tack.

Approaching a mark - for the first part of 18.2b to apply the overlap must have been clearly established when the boats reach the zone (if there is doubt then 18.2d applies) and, in this case the overlap may be between boats sailing downwind on opposite tacks.

Approaching an obstruction when sailing downwind the outside overlapped boat (irrespective of which tack she is on) must give room. This applies even to a starboard tack boat when inside boat is on port. However, it is important to remember that it is the right of way boat (in this case the boat on starboard) that can choose which side of the obstruction she passes.

Finally, it is important to appreciate that an entitlemenent to mark room is not the same thing as right of way. A port tack inside boat at a downwind mark is ONLY entitled to sail to the mark, and at the mark sail her proper course. The starboard tack boat has no obligation to give her any more room that that.

If the inside keep clear boat, entitled to mark room, sails outside the corridor from where she entered the zone to the mark, or if, at the mark she sails above or below her proper course, her entitlement to mark room does not offer her any protection from her obligation to keep clear.

Gordon