Two boats meet on opposite tacks, closing fast — which one has to give way?
On opposite tacks, Rule 10 settles it with nothing else needed: the port-tack boat keeps clear of the starboard-tack boat. It doesn't matter who's ahead, who's bigger, or who got there first — the tack is the whole test. The port boat ducks the starboard boat's transom, and there's no collision, no protest, no penalty — just the rule working the way it's meant to. (RRS 10.)
📖 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/tP5EKmANG0k/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>Go deeper: books and gear
- Racing Rules Companion 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Spiral-bound pocket guide to the current rules.
- The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Situations round the racecourse, worked through for the current rules.
- BLUESTORM lifejacket — A lifejacket for time on the water.
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