He is to windward of you, has just picked up a gust, is bearing off, and is coming down on you quite fast and will take your wind roll over the top of you and get to the mark ahead of you.
You will not try to luff him up
This is really scary folks, people don't know their rules !
Dermot, the rules give you the right to MAINTAIN your course through the above situation, not to ALTER it amidst of the situation developping.
This is a big difference.
If you had luffed him prior to the gust when he was still behind you, higher and sailing his old course then everything is okay. If he then gets hit by the gust and can't stay clear of you (while you maintain your course) then he simply has to crash it. You have all the rights. He is out of luck.
HOWEVER, you are at fault if you luff him after the gust that'll see him legally overtake you when you had maintained your course !
If you even force a crash on him then you are seriously at fault and can even be disqualified from the event all together with possible wider future sanctions.
Wouter
Not exactly. You can luff the windward boat as long as you do so within 16.1 giving the boat room to keep clear. If the windward boat reaches the point where she can't head up anymore without flipping she always has the option to slow down and go behind.
Basicaly the leward boat can go head to wind and long as she does so slowly enough to give the windward boat the oportunity to luff the spinnaker and go behind (most people forget about this option in the heat of battle).
11 ON THE SAME TACK, OVERLAPPED
When boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat shall
keep clear of a leeward boat.
16 CHANGING COURSE
16.1 When a right-of-way boat changes course, she shall give the other
boat room to keep clear.
The only time the leward boat is limmited is when she has come from clear astern (within two of her hull lengths)into the leward position. Then she can luff but only to her proper course.
17 ON THE SAME TACK; PROPER COURSE
17.1 If a boat clear astern becomes overlapped within two of her hull lengths
to leeward of a boat on the same tack, she shall not sail above her proper
course while they remain overlapped within that distance, unless in
doing so she promptly sails astern of the other boat. This rule does not
apply if the overlap begins while the windward boat is required by rule
13 to keep clear.
Proper Course: A course a boat would sail to finish as soon as possible in the
absence of the other boats referred to in the rule using the term. A boat has no
proper course before her starting signal.
