Boxed In at the Start
A boat overlapped in the middle of a stack at the start is trapped — she must keep clear of the boat to leeward, can't escape to windward, and has no proper-course protection before the gun.
Lined up overlapped on the line, the leeward-most boat luffs the whole stack up. A boat caught in the middle is windward of the boat to leeward, so under rule 11 she must keep clear and is forced up. But she has boats overlapped to windward, so she has nowhere to luff and no room to bear away — she is boxed in. Before the starting signal there is no proper course, so rule 17 gives her no relief from the leeward boat's luff. Each leeward boat owes the boat to windward room to respond (rule 16.1), but the room cascades up the stack and runs out at the committee boat, squeezing the windward-most boat out. The lesson: don't let yourself get trapped in a packed row with no hole to leeward — protect your space on the line.
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How it interacts with other rules
- Rule 11 — On the Same Tack, Overlapped · see also
Every boat in the stack must keep clear of the boat overlapped to leeward of her.
- Rule 16 — Changing Course · limited by
A luff is a course change — each leeward boat must give the boat to windward room to keep clear (rule 16.1).
- Rule 17 — On the Same Tack; Proper Course · see also
There is no proper course before the start, so rule 17 does not limit how high the leeward boats may sail.
- Rule 11 — Shutting the Door at the Pin · see also
The two-boat version of the same squeeze, played out against the pin.
- Rule 18.1 — No Room to Barge at the Start · see also
The committee-boat end: the windward-most boat here is squeezed out just like a barging boat.