“Can someone clarify the Port Starboard rules at a leeward starboard rounding? Thanks.”

• Charlie

  In the zone?

• Jim

  Starboard has right of way. That's it really. There are some limitations on what starboard can do with their right of way within the zone, but fundamentally they have right of way.

• Paul

  No, if they are required to give mark room they must even if the other boat is required to keep clear

• John

  I honestly thought that it was treated as if the mark wasn’t there so simple Port Starboard, but I am now unsure

• Jim

  As I said there are limitations. For example, a starboard boat, while retaining Right of Way, may be required to give another boat Mark Room.

• Paul

  If inside and overlapped at the zone mark room must be gives regardless of tack.

• Jon

  Port / Starboard doesn't apply once the inside boat has the overlap at the 3-hull length zone. Room at the mark takes the precedent

• Paul

  It does but the actions of the starboard boat are limited by the required to give mark room if a give way boat is inside and overlapped when the closest of them reaches the zone.

• Jake

  This is not true the starboard boat remains the right of way boat regardless however it may have an extra obligation to give a boat room

• Jon

  No.. but the overlapped boat has the onus to prove they had room... in a protest.. with no witnesses the inside boat will lose.

• Jim

  No such thing as onus any more. The PC has to listen to the evidence and make their best judgement as to what happened. There is a presumption that if there is uncertainty as to whether an overlap was made in time it is assumed not to have been, and if there's uncertainty as to whether an overlap was broken in time then it wasn't. If asymmetric boats are approaching a leeward mark on opposite gybes then the chances of there not being an overlap is rather low.

• Jon

  Sorry, was just trying to keep it simple, presumption and onus amount to the same thing.

• Alex

  No such thing as 'right of way' either...

• Tom

  "A boat has right of way over another boat when the other boat is required to keep clear of her. However, some rules in Sections B, C and D limit the actions of a right-of-way boat."

• Alex

  Doh! My bad, thought the phrase was just 'keep clear'.

• Jim

  Its well worth understanding this subtlety. The Part A rules, 10-13, govern who has right of way. Part B, C and D rules limit what the right of way boat can do, B in general, C at marks and obstructions, and D is odds and bits. A beginner can get around the course safely by knowing part A and avoiding crowds!

• John

  So if you are starboard the key tactical element is that you must sort out the issue of the port boat before you get to 3 lengths. Don’t leave it too late!

• Jon

  Not quite... as the inside boat, regardless of which tack you are on.... ask for room ! Remember... the onus is on you !

• Nick

  If you tack in the circle off a port layline though you get zero rights because you aren’t establishing overlap with other boats. Tacking in the circle takes away all rights

• Sam

  That would be at a windward mark though so not this situation

• Stuart

  This is about the leeward mark, so tacking wouldn’t be involved.

• Jon

  Tacking around a leeward mark ????

• Sam

  Not sure how it's possible to tack round a leeward mark, you can tack after you've rounded it but that's not the same thing.

• Stuart

  This rule goes back to an appeal from a HLSC member, as far as I’m aware. Once inside the zone a Port tack boat that has an inside overlap has right of way over a Starboard boat, as the rule of room at the Mark needs to be given to the inside boat and forcing a port tack boat to avoid a Starboard tack boat when the port tack boat has an overlap is a contradiction.

• George

  Assuming that they are overlapped entering the zone, the outside boat must give the inside boat room to complete their rounding. However, if the inside boat is on port, or to windward, or to leeward having gained the overlap from behind, they cannot insist on any more room than they would require to complete a proper course (which *does* allow them to enter fat and exit skinny and gybe if necessary).

• Iain

  I'm waiting for Mr definitive response on this one!!!!

• Peadar

  Rule 10: Starboard boat technically has Right of Way. Rule 18.2: In spite of this, they still have to give room to Port boats who had an inside overlap at the zone. Rule 18.4: Rule 10 and Rule 18.2 notwithstanding, if Starboard is the inside boat, they have to gybe and round the mark, they can't just keep sailing and take Port out.

• Guy

  Starboard boat on a starboard rounding has no need to gybe, they only need to harden up. And if they are inside boat and starboard boat (not sure that is possible) but if they are starboard and inside then is definitely port boat that would have to keep clear

• Peada

  Very true, thanks. Yep, starboard only need to gybe if they were going to have to gybe to round the mark anyway. They're unlikely to be inside boat to a boat on port in this situation though, unless they're both sailing very by the lee

• Nick

  Port boat must have clear overlap, once the starboard boat has entered the zone room must be given to the port boat to do a proper rounding. The port boat must have room to gybe then round properly

• Bradley

  Port and starboard rules apply unless overlap is achieved at 3 boat lengths.

• John

  The Zone is now a definition in RRS. So, I think that 86.1 says that it cannot be changed by SIs?

• Stuart

  I had missed that change, though different craft have different rules if covered by the appendices. Thanks for the correction, though river sailors may not like it!

• Jack

  Starboard gybe (tack) boat is right of way boat over a port gybe boat. However, when one of them enters the zone and they are overlapped, or starboard is clear astern, the starboard boat must give the port boat “mark-room” which, assuming they have to sail close to the mark to get to the next mark, is room to sail to the mark and then round the mark. This means that a starboard boat need only give room for the port boat to make a basic rounding, tight in, wide out. The starboard boat is not required to give her room to sail her proper or preferred course. This is sometimes referred to as “the corridor” so as long as starboard gives port the minimum room she needs to get around the mark port must still keep clear of starboard. If the boats are rounding to port and the starboard boat is overlapped inside, she is still right of way and therefore can sail outside of the markroom corridor to sail a proper course rounding, wide in tight out.
  As Peter said, she is not allowed to sail further from the mark than she would if no other boat were there before gybing (unless its a gate mark) but that is the only restriction on her, other than if she luffs away from the mark she would have to give room under RRS 16 as her exoneration under RRS21 would be turned off as she would not be sailing within her mark room. Mark room is something that must be given, not something you get to take.

• Jim

  It really isn't enormously complicated. The normal part A rules, eg port and starboard apply, but within the 3-boat length zone an inside overlapped boat will normally be entitled to mark room. People will dance on a pin about the detail, but that's the guts of it. The only real oddity to remember is that an opposite tack boat is not entitled to mark room at a windward mark but is entitled to mark room at a leeward mark.

SO, NOW YOU KNOW!