Overlap Between Multiple Boats

There is one more part to the definition of overlap. That is, two boats also overlap when a boat between them overlaps both. Even if their hulls and equipment do not overlap, two boats are overlapped when they are both overlapped by an intervening boat. Here is an example. In this diagram, the two green boats are not directly overlapped, but the orange middle boat does overlap both. Therefore, the green boats are overlapped.


Important Note! The boat that overlaps both must be in between them. Some people like to call that boat the "meat in the sandwich". In order for overlap to exist, the meat must be between the pieces of bread. If there's no meat in the sandwich, then there's no overlap. I've illustrated that below. Although the Orange boat is overlapped with both Blue and Yellow, she is not between them. Therefore Blue and Yellow are not overlapped with each other.


I hope that helps,
Eric Rasmussen
US SAILING Certified Judge
Chair, SAYRA Appeals Committee