Dilemma

Again, we may be just coming from different backgrounds. I've done a fair bit of racing in yachts under rating rules where there is no premise that boats are trying to complete the course in the shortest possible time; they compete using strategy and boat-on-boat tactics against nearby craft, and no one complains. For example, when the Admiral's Cup was pretty much the world's top offshore regatta it seems to have been perfectly acceptable for a team's big boat to give dirty air to the smaller boats of the other teams.  When racing in the offshore nationals on one of the UK's top boats it was considered perfectly reasonable to use our boat's ability to go slow and high and lee bow other boats to force them to tack away.  Other boats did the same sort of thing and no one complained - the use of each boat's strengths for tactical advantage is seen as an inherent and unavoidable part of the game. Without it, much of the fascination would be lost.

Either all such yachties are dirty rotten scoundrels, or this is an issue that is open to reasonable but differing views.  

Please note that I personally have never close covered a slower boat as the OP mentioned; I prefer to sail clean which is why I've never ever been DSQd in my life (apart from the other day, when some of us followed an incorrect course diagram drawn by a class official who was involved in running the event).  The fact that I am not condemning their actions does not mean that I do the same sort of thing.

I'm just not sure that I can condemn the OP's actions as clearly as some have done, nor have I ever seen anything that says that handicaps assume boats are trying to complete the course as fast as possible without using boat-on-boat tactics.

In general, I can't see a pursuit race as being place to try and race other boats down the fleet.

However, if a slower boat were to try and make it difficult for a faster boat to pass as you suggest I wouldn't really have much of a problem. This is the reverse of what we've been talking about. It's relatively easy for a fast boat to sail a slow boat down the fleet, it's much more difficult for a slow boat to stop a fast one sailing through. If they have the skill to do it they probably deserve to finish in front.

True... and others would then be pretty peeved off when someone engaged them in a one sided match race!