Inside Overlap

Paul,

[quote]I have to say that it does pay to have a bit of a reputation for luffing people across the lake. It does tend to discourage them from trying it on. Once you have gained their 'repsect' quite often just a small course change to windward as they approach full on will be enough to persuade them to go off to leeward or at least keep well clear.

But you are slowing your self down EVEN More buy forcing fast boats that point to go below you.  In these cases in clear air my boat will easliy outpoint most Mono's as I have 2 long thin plates in the water.  If you slow me down as I go above you wou will just have me there for longer.  If you do something real silly and I then go below you, you will

1, get a massive back wash from my sails as I go below you

2, even more dirty air as I then return to my proper course and then climb back above you - this will happen and so you get a double wammy.  If you just let us go we are out of the way in a few seconds.

Agreed.....

I get Soooooo annoyed when slow boats luff like crazy to try and force you to go below them (sailing upwind) when you are a boat length or 2 away from them - at which point you are committed to going above so you sheet in to climb higher and they luff even more (so slowing them selves down).  Why why why....

THey slow you down and so get much more dirty air.  I/we are travelling 2 or 3 times as fast up wind, just let us go.  Doh.....

If you force us below you, you get major backwinding from our sails as we go underneath you in your dirty air and then we climb back across the front of you wehen we get back into free air. 

Gone are the days when Cats don't point.  Learn this please.

[strop over]

In club H/cap races I rarely luff a faster boat, unless I think he'll take too long to pass. The quicker they're past, the less time they're slowing you! You get into a luffing duel, and find a Topper or mirror has beaten you on handicap....Sometimes a quick early agressive luff will persuade them to leeward, but basically the quicker they're gone, the better.

Or to put it another way, I agree with Garry!

Back for a moment to the original question - how to overtake.

I agree you use the reaching leg to close on them. Then around the buiy you don't actually need to get water, what you need to do is to push them hard enough  so they make a mistake going around the buoy. If they are watching to see if you get an inside overlap, they wont be aware of the buoy coming up, so will turn too quickly and slow down. If they are worrying about the end of the first leg, they wont think about the start of the next (to windward and roll them, or to leeward and sail low and free).

Use the leg to close with them, then co-ordinated shouting from the helm and crew to put them off, then slip through at the start of the next leg!