Crossing tacks at the finish
The situation
Two boats race for the finishing line and will cross near the same point. Green is on starboard tack, Red on port.
The question
Does anything change because they're at the finish?
The ruling
No — the right-of-way rules apply right up to the moment each boat finishes. Green (starboard) has right of way; Red (port) must keep clear under rule 10. And rule 14 still requires both boats to avoid contact: a boat can't barge across the line into a foul just because the finish is metres away.
Right of way runs all the way to the line — port still keeps clear of starboard at the finish.
Opens the situation on the boat-length grid — scrub it and see exactly how the boats meet. Free, no account needed.
Rules cited
See the underlying rule: Rule 10 — Crossing Tacks at the Finish.
Related cases
- Crossing the fleet on port · Upwind / Beating
Beating up the first leg, Nora is on port tack and a long line of starboard-tack Optis is crossing ahead. She thinks she can just cross the first one.
- Does hailing 'Starboard!' give you rights? · Upwind / Beating
Two boats converge on opposite tacks. The starboard-tack sailor yells 'Starboard!' loudly. The port-tack sailor says she didn't have to move because there was plenty of room.
- Starboard bears away — and loses · Upwind / Beating
On the beat, port-tack Red is keeping clear by bearing away to duck behind starboard-tack Green. Green bears away too, hunting down to close the gap. Red can no longer make it across and the boats touch. Green protests Red on port-starboard.
- Right of way — and still penalized · Any Time
Starboard-tack Green stands on, confident in her rights, as port-tack Red misjudges the cross. Green makes no attempt to avoid Red; the hulls collide hard and a boat is holed. Green protests Red and assumes she's clean.