"I don't follow you. When you enter the 3 boat length circle on port at the left gate (looking upwind) you have inside overlap on starboard and are the right of way boat at that time."

The key words here are MARK ROOM, no longer right of way. This was a change in 2009, I believe. It's essentially a technicality and doesn't really change how we really play the game.

As it was explained to me at a North U seminar (by an A-Cup International Umpire), it was mainly to keep from conflicting with other rules, which had been creating some odd protest scenarios.

Mike