# Going through the gate: overlap & stbd tack



## Will_Co (Jun 13, 2016)

Hi, 

Had a bit of an interesting situation on the water recently and I was wondering if anyone can help me sort out right of way. 

We were nearing the gate on our downwind leg on a starboard tack, roughly 5 boat lengths back from the gate. Our plan was to round the mark on right side of the gate staying on a starboard tack. 

Another boat on port tack was overtaking us on our starboard side. Their plan, it seems, was to round the mark on the left side of the gate, staying on a port tack. 

Their skipper called overlap and asked for room. Our skipper hailed back "starboard". They then said, starboard tack is irrelevant because we were approaching the mark. Our skipper then responded that we were not within 3 boat lengths. 

In the end, the other boat overtaking us was able to get ahead and have a clear line at their mark, so no one was impeded. 

My question is this: if we had been within 3 boat lengths of the mark, and neither boat is the inside boat because we are rounding different marks, is right of way just settled by which boat is on the starboard tack (or if the situation were slightly different, by which is the leeward boat)? 

I hope I've explained the situation well enough to elicit some helpful responses.


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## Stumble (Feb 2, 2012)

As I read this S is the ROW boat, limited by her obligation to allow P mark room if P chooses to jibe. For the right hand gate.


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## jackdaw (Nov 21, 2010)

'Mark Room' ONLY applies to boats heard to the same mark. As Stumble says its pure P/S. In general you gotta have a clear shot at the port gate to make that pay.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

My son's take (he races regularly)



> The port tack boat can't carry on to the port-rounding mark unless he can cross - the boat on starboard still has rights when they meet. However unlike a windward mark the port tack boat has rights for a right-hand turn through the gate - they don't lose their overlap rights by tacking in the zone like you would at an upwind mark.
> 
> The answer to the final question is, yes and no, ROW is decided by starboard/port in that case, but not really by windward/leeward as the windward boat will almost always be the inside overlapped boat once inside the 3BL zone.


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