When is mark-room actually decided — at the zone or at the mark?
At the zone. Rights are a photograph taken the moment the first boat reaches the zone, three hull lengths out — nothing you do afterwards changes it. A boat clear astern at that moment must give the boat ahead mark-room under Rule 18.2(a)(2) and may not sail into the gap between her and the mark. A boat overlapped outside at the zone owes mark-room to every boat inside her under Rule 18.2(a)(1) — one zone, two snapshots, two different obligations.
📖 Want Rule 18 in more depth? Elvstrøm Explains the Racing Rules 2025-2028 sets out every rule with plain-English explanations and diagrams. (affiliate link)
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<p><a href="https://sailing.kiwi.nz/v/h-s6L4pC6vo/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>Go deeper: books and gear
- Elvstrøm Explains the Racing Rules 2025-2028 — Every rule, with plain-English explanations and diagrams.
- The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Situations round the racecourse, worked through for the current rules.
- Tactics Made Simple by Jon Emmett — Racing tactics, explained simply.
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