From Japan to SL

At the Trenza Yacht Club, we have used only two rules so far:
1. Starboard tack preference
2. leeward yacht preference

Now we will add the following three rules.
3. Overtake with care: Overtaking yacht should avoid the one in front.
4. No blocking: A yacht with preference should not block others intentionally.
5. Inside first; When rounding buoys, outside yacht should give water to inside one.

Let us practice the first two again. The one from right has advantage over the one from the left. At real races, most yacht start from the right side. In the following pictures, blue shows a yacht that has preference, and red should yield.



If two yachts are coming closer, the leeward (blue) has preference and the windward (red) should give water.



Although the leeward yacht has preference, it should not change the course toward wind over the proper course. Proper course means a line that would be taken when there is no other yacht. Normally it is about 45 degrees toward wind when sailing upwind. Anyway, you should not disturb others intentionally.




When rounding buoys, an inside yacht has preference. This rule overrides rule 1 and 2. The yacht coming from outside should provide enough water for the inside yacht to make turn. You should not try to block the inside yacht by reaching the buoy first.



Running after the blue buoy. It may be hard to get speed in this section. It is advantageous to go from right, harder to increase speed on the right side. Also the inside yacht has preference, in these cases the blue one is leeward yacht too. At the yellow buoy turning toward wind, the windward yacht becomes inside and will have preference.



Left side of ship is called ‘port”, and right, ‘starboard’. It can be memorized the word ‘left’ (port) is shorter than ‘right’ (starboard). A situation sailing with wind from right is called ‘starboard tack’, and opposite is ‘port tack’. These words are used often in rules. At running stage, the wind is coming from the opposite side where main sail is out.　Tow yachts in the above picture are both ‘port tack’.