And, there's nothing wrong with politely asking "will you let me tack?". In many such situtations, staying together is actually disavantageous for both boats - especially if they are in different classes. I know I'd rather have a boat that outpoints me off of my lee-bow and would probably wave her across.

Here is a (slighly different, but still illustrative) case in point. At Spring Fever a few years back, I was sailing downwind on starboard tack behind and to leeward of a Hobie 16. I wanted to sail farther before gybing, but would either have to sail through his shadow or fight to roll him. I could tell by the way he kept looking back that he wanted to gybe. So I called out "do you want to gybe?". He said yes and I told him to go ahead. He gybed; I sailed past his stern - we both came out ahead. Encounters on the water don't always have to be hostile.

Regards,
Eric