From a technical perspective:

From my experience small monohulls are more maneuverable than cats, especially in light air. From playing before races, we found a J22 can gybe in about half to 3/4 the time it takes an A-Class in 5-7kts The Flying 15 looks like a keel version of the Flying Scot, so it should be at least as maneuverable. If its like a Flying Scot, and has a flat rudder and they would not have wanted to make a sudden maneuver because it's like dropping an anchor in light air.

Skippers:

From sailing 11 years on the Wed Nights with mostly monohulls, the good skippers pay attention and follow the rules. If they break a rule like you described, they will do their circles and buy you a drink after the race as an apology. The bad ones will run over you and claim and they did not see you. Nothing short of sinking them seems to make any difference. Novices are a separate class, completely unpredictable.



Carl