Memories fade, but I'm 95% sure I got the relative boat positions in the animation right, so yes Blue was inside the left gate buoy circle first, although he was on a "proper course" for the right gate buoy.

In my mind, the inside overlap, mark room, and port/starboard rules all could potentially come into play.

Matt's response seems to indicate that:
- Inside overlap was not a factor
- Mark room doesn't apply since he was not on a proper course for the left mark (rule 18.1b)
- Only remaining rules would then be rule 10 (port/starboard) and rule 14 (avoiding contact). I had rights under rule 10, followed 14, and should have protested.