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The Start Line
& Basic Race Rules
For a comprehensive & interactive
explanation of the
Rules of Sailing see this site:
http://game.finckh.net/indexe.htm |
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Blue, green and
red are starboard boats.
Blue is being
pushed over the start line by red. Blue must give
way to red as blue is the windward boat.
When blue clears
himself of red, green could find he is also pushed
over the start line by red since green is now the
windward boat.
Yellow is in a
no-win position.
With blue and
green circling in behind red he can't get over the
start line as he is on port tack.
Yellow must go around all starboard boats. |
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Yellow cannot
cross in front of the fleet on port tack and must go
behind the starboard boats.
Red cannot call
blue as he is not clear of green. Green must give
way to blue if blue calls him to "keep up".
In this position,
if red contacts blue
Red is at fault |
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Both yachts are
on starboard. The close hauled yacht (red) has right
of way over the running yacht (blue). Blue should
turn behind the red yacht.
Don't try to go
across the bow of the red yacht as he is already
pointing as high as possible and will only contact
you at speed.
Go behind the
close hauled yacht |
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Red is windward of blue and must
keep clear of blue |
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Red is on starboard, blue is on
port. Red has right of way. Blue must change
course/speed to keep clear |
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Green has incurred a penalty.
Green must do a 360° turn away from the racing line |
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1 Port keeps
clear of starboard
You are on starboard when
the wind is on your right side.
Equivalently, your main boom lies over the
left side of the boat. This is relatively
straightforward when beating into the
wind.
On the run, however,
the wind might not be clearly on one side or
other of a boat, and in this case the main
boom tells you which tack you are on.
Regardless of the
rules about "windward / leeward" and "ahead
/ astern", the starboard tack boat has right
of way over the port tack boat. |
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2 Windward
keeps clear of leeward
You are leeward when the
other boat is closer to the direction the
wind is coming from. Equivalently, the
windward boat's main boom is pointing
towards you. Again, this is relatively
straightforward when beating.
Sometimes it may not
be clear which boat is closer to the wind's
direction than another, particularly when
the boats are both running. In this case,
the leeward boat is the boat whose main boom
lies away from the other boat. In the
illustration on the right, although the red
boat "seems" to be to windward, it is in
fact the leeward boat.
This rule applies when
the two boats are on the same tack, either
on port or on starboard. (If the boats are
not on the same tack, then the rule about
"port / starboard" applies.) |
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3 Astern keeps
clear of a boat ahead
You are ahead when the
other boat is completely behind a line drawn
at right angles to your transom.
This rule applies when
the two boats are on the same tack, either
on port or on starboard. (If the boats are
not on the same tack, then the rule about
"port / starboard" applies.) |
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Notice that there is an
interesting situation when one boat is
running, and the other boat is beating, and
they are moving towards each other. In this
case, neither boat is clear ahead. If the
two boats are on the same tack, then the
rule about "windward / leeward" applies --
the running boat must keep clear of the
beating boat. If the two boats are on
different tacks, then the boat on port must
keep clear -- and the boat on port could be
the beating boat.
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4 Give room to
(all) the inside boat(s) to round the mark
This rule applies
starting at four boat-lengths from the
mark. This area is called the "zone".
A boat is inside if it
is not completely behind a line drawn at
right angles to your transom. The question
of whether it is inside is judged when you
are four boat-lengths from the mark.
There are a number of
wrinkles to this rule when you read it in
detail, but this is the gist of it. The
inside boat is entitled to room all the way
round the mark until both of you have passed
it and left it behind.
This rule over-rides
the "windward / leeward" rule. The rule
about "ahead / astern" does count, provided
the boats are ahead and astern before they
enter the four boat-length zone. The rule
about "port / starboard" counts for as long
as the boats are on opposite tacks even when
one or both enters the zone. Put simply,
there isn't a zone when boats are on
opposite tacks. |
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