A port-tack boat gets into the zone first, then tacks onto starboard two lengths from the mark. A starboard boat sails in underneath her at the last second. Does the starboard boat get room?
Yes. Under Rule 18.3, a boat that passes head to wind from port to starboard inside the zone of a port-hand mark loses the normal first-to-the-zone rule (18.2) against a starboard boat that is fetching the mark. If that starboard boat has been on starboard since entering the zone, the boat that tacked must not make her sail above close-hauled, and must give her mark-room if she becomes overlapped inside (Rule 18.3(b)). The tacking boat is also the windward boat, so she keeps clear under Rule 11 and goes round the outside. The starboard boat still has limits: Rule 17 stops her sailing above her proper course, and Rule 15 means she must first give room to keep clear. If she breaks Rule 15 while sailing within the mark-room she is owed, she is exonerated (Rule 43.1(b)). The lesson: get onto starboard before the zone.
📖 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/m8okkNxDqqs/">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.
- Racing Rules Companion 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Spiral-bound pocket guide to the current rules.
- Tactics Made Simple by Jon Emmett — Racing tactics, explained simply.
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