what if the rabbit boat was a bad apple - he could have a "header" right toward his competition.
then they get out of the way; remember the rabbit has rights...
So if he takes it to the extreme of hunting someone? Protestable?
The Rabbit HAS to stay on a Port tack beat;
This document gives a good outline of how gate starts work:
RYA gate start guide lines Note point 7; The pathfinder shall maintain her course until released by the race officer.
See bottom of page 3 re problems with gate starts; Rule 2 / 69 on the path finder if they fail to behave!
There is a rule-of-thumb at the end of the document for calculating gate times; but the upwind speeds are way out for cats!!!!
