I called for room at the committee boat on the start line and the boat below me didn't budge — wasn't I entitled to that gap?
No, and she owes you nothing. Same tack and overlapped, Rule 11 makes the windward boat keep clear, and holding your course into that gap is not keeping clear. The committee boat is a mark, but the Section C preamble switches Rule 18 off at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water, so there is no mark-room at the start. And because she never changed course, Rule 16 never bound her; her only duty was Rule 14, avoid contact.
📖 Want more situations like this one? Bryan Willis's The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 works through the rules as they happen round the racecourse. (affiliate link)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PpUcOpiWwmw" title="Sailing Kiwi" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://sailing.kiwi.nz/v/PpUcOpiWwmw/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>Go deeper: books and gear
- The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Situations round the racecourse, worked through for the current rules.
- Racing Rules Companion 2025-2028 — Spiral-bound pocket guide to the current rules.
- Five Oceans masthead wind indicator — See the wind direction at a glance.
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