In a way, Tad is right. You don't HAVE to read the rule book, just sail really, really fast and stay in front, or prepare to go around everyone else at every boat-on-boat situation. That should keep you out of the room...


Just a few points to (hopefully) clarify some other things:

A definition:

Mark-Room: Room for a boat to sail to the mark, and then room to sail her proper course while at the mark. However, mark-room does not include room to tack unless the boat is overlapped to windward and on the inside of the boat required to give mark-room.

My opinion is that A broke the second half of the Mark Room definition, as well as Rule 13 (tacking too close).

That might help clear up some of the recent posts here about the lead boat having impunity.


As for anticipation, that is another concept that causes lots of discussion.

First, can someone show me where the word "anticipate" exists in the RRS? I did a search and did not find it.

So, while no rule requires you to anticipate, common sense (and good seamanship, as Mark mentions) requires you to do so.

Conversely, there is no rule that says you do not have to anticipate. I think some people over-read Rule 14, and it is often discussed at seminars. Here is Rule 14:

14 AVOIDING CONTACT
A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible. However, a right-of-way boat or one entitled to room or mark-room
(a) need not act to avoid contact until it is clear that the other boat is not keeping clear or giving room or mark-room, and
(b) shall not be penalized under this rule unless there is contact that causes damage or injury.

My take-away is this:
--If you are ROW, you need to anticipate and be ready to maneuver promptly, but do not have to start your maneuver until the other boat creates the problem.
--If he creates the problem at a point that you can no longer avoid him, he has broken a rule.
--However, any time there is damage, you run the risk of a PC tossing the ROW boat too.

I think people have a tendency to replace the words "act to avoid contact" with "anticipate" which is really bad in practice.

Hope this helps.

Mike