Two boats are converging and it looks like port and starboard — how do I know it's actually Rule 11?
When both boats have their sails out on the same side, they're on the same tack and Rule 10 does not apply at all, even if their headings look like a crossing. Instead Rule 11 governs: the windward boat must keep clear of the leeward boat, the one on the downwind side. Read the tack off the sails before you shout "starboard."
📖 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)
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<p><a href="https://sailing.kiwi.nz/v/mFdYnanBxYE/">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.
- 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes by Dave Perry — Rules scenarios to test yourself on, with the answers.
- Sailing sunglasses — Cut the glare off the water.
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