8/1/2012 1:12:39 PM
by Andrew Alberti
Last month we started the discussion of luffing rights. To summarize, we say that leeward boats have “luffing rights” unless rule 17 says they don’t. This month we will look at those rights, and what can be done with them. The basic concept comes from rule 11, which gives right-of-way to the leeward overlapped boat. Rule 16.1 then restricts any right-of-way boat when that right-of-way boat alters course. This restriction applies to leeward boats, clear-ahead boats and starboard-tack boats (there are additional restrictions on some starboard-tack boats in Rule 16.2, but that is a subject for another article). As long as the leeward boat complies with rule 16.1, it can luff as much as it wants.
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