OK, so it was Phillip--I really didn't want to call him out or accuse him of anything. I don't think he would purposely try to foul me, so there are no bad feelings.

However, I had a 9 hour drive home and I got to thinking about the situation and how the rules play into it, which is why I posted the question in the first place. So, this is not a beat-up-on-Phillip post.

Practically everyone was rounding the left mark and heading back up the course. A very few people rounded the other mark, but the left side (as drawn) was definitely favored. I was the B boat and eventually followed the light green route. In retrospect, the dark green route would have been better given the circumstance, but there was a nice line of wind to the left, not so much on the right.