One boat keeps clear of another if the other can sail her course with no need to take avoiding action and when the boats are overlapped on the same tack, if the leeward boat can change course in both directions without immediately making contact with the windward boat.
Excellent, you have finally understood.
The immediately is the critical thing here, you are far enough apart that the contact will not be instant, so giving the other boat time to avoid.
QED.
Duh - that's what I've been saying all along (several times). The windward boat is obligated to keep that gap. Shakes head......
Tiger Mike
Duh yourself, Do you understand that you CANNOT just throw the tiller over ?
The words
immediately making contact with the windward boat are critical in this. This means that the windward boat
MUST have time to respond to the luff.
If the sequence of events is Luff, crunch; then the leeward boat is wrong as there was not time for the windward boat to avoid the actions of the leaward boat.
If the sequence is Luff, <a bit of time, and this time depends on the class of boat>, windward boat fails to take avoiding action, then windward boat is wrong.
