Can I sit on a rival and deliberately slow them down — or is that cheating?
Covering is racing. Tacking on a boat, parking your dirty wind on her sail, hindering her up the beat — all legal as long as there's a reasonable chance it helps your finish. What crosses the line is covering for the wrong reason: doing it for another event or your team selection, to hand the win to a mate (who then breaks Rule 41, Outside Help), or out of pure spite with no sporting purpose all break Rule 2, Fair Sailing — and can reach Rule 69.1(a), Misconduct. Break any rule on purpose to pull it off and you break Rule 2 too. (World Sailing Case 78.)
📖 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/VG50LynW9nM" 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/VG50LynW9nM/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>Go deeper: books and gear
- Tactics Made Simple by Jon Emmett — Racing tactics, explained simply.
- The Sail Racing Bible — A complete guide to dinghy racing.
- The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Situations round the racecourse, worked through for the current rules.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through a link in the list it helps fund the channel and keeps the videos coming for everyone.