Thanks for taking the time to look it up. I had intended to, but other things (teaching a learn-to-sail class every evening this week) keep driving it from my mind.

The purpose of the newer course marks (windward offset mark and leeward gates) is to reduce congestion (and therefore confusion and protests) at the roundings. If you set leeward gate marks too close together, it makes the rounding more confusing - not less. If you set them too far apart, then one will likely end up noticably favored and all the sailors will go to it. That renders the gate useless. If the favored side happens to be the starboard rounding mark, then you're actually making things difficult again. Many sailors are unfamiliar with the differences a starboard rounding entails.

What's "right" depends on the wind and water conditions, the speed and manuverability of the boats, and the skill level of the competitors. 5-8 boatlengths is US Sailing's recommended rule-of-thumb.

Regards,
Eric