Mike, that drawing is quite helpful. If a boat is truly head-to wind, there wouldn't be a "normally leeward" side, yet one would clearly be backwinding a sail.

OK, the plot thickens...

I heard back from the judge. He is very senior (I won't mention his name because I didn't ask for permission to quote him).

He said that in his opionion, using a sail in anything other than its natural position to move a boat backwards is backing the sail, but if you can get the bow down without going backwards, that would not be backing a sail.

However, although he is very senior, the question stumped him enough to ask other very senior judges for an opinion before responding to me. He told me that the best course of action would be to contact US SAILING for a clarification.

He also said that the rule came about as an outcome of a match racing call that he personally made as an umpire, involving a current, high-profile sailor (think Volvo and AC here). What a small world...

Mike