Mark, you read too much into that. Imagine if this case came to the room without the video. Establishing the distance and overlap situation based only on verbal testimony would be challenging.

I personally agree about the rules as a weapon, but match racers and team racers (thus college sailors at the top schools) are absolutely taught tactics based upon the explicit verbiage (what is said and not said) of the rules. There are those who feel strongly that it is a key part of our sport at the highest level. To your point, this really only works on dinghys, supplied boats or by guys with more cash than they know what to do with...

Mike