RULE 10
On Opposite Tacks (Downwind)
Port/starboard applies downwind too — the port-gybe boat keeps clear of the starboard-gybe boat.
Rule 10 applies everywhere on the course. Running downwind on opposite gybes, the boat with the wind on her starboard side (starboard tack) has right of way; the port-tack boat keeps clear. Your tack is set by the side the wind blows across — the side opposite your mainsail — not by your heading, which is easy to misjudge downwind and by the lee.
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downwindopposite-tacksgybeport-starboardrule-10
How it interacts with other rules
- Rule 10 — On Opposite Tacks · see also
The same rule upwind on opposite tacks.