Win the Inside at the Gate
Pick the gate mark that opens onto the favoured upwind side, set up early as the inside boat to earn mark-room, and exit on that side in clear air ahead.
A leeward gate gives you a choice, and the right one is the mark that turns you toward the favoured upwind side — here the left side is paying, so the right-hand gate mark is the one that opens to it. The win is decided before the zone: set up early and wide so you arrive as the inside boat. The inside overlap earns you mark-room, lets you round tight wide-then-tight, and spits you out onto the favoured side at speed in clear air. The boat that doesn't plan ahead gets shut to the outside, rounds wide and behind, and sails the first part of the next beat in your bad air. If your chosen gate mark is crowded and the other is clear, take the clear one — clean air beats a marginally better side.
Opens the animation on the boat-length grid — run it well, then brief it from the same picture. Free, no account needed.
What to call out
- Choose the gate mark that opens onto the favoured upwind side, because the rounding should set up your next beat.
- Set up early to be the inside boat, because the inside overlap earns mark-room and the clean exit.
- Avoid the crowded gate mark if the other is clear, because clean air off the mark usually beats a slightly better side.
- Approach wide-then-tight even in traffic, because a tidy arc keeps your speed and your exit lane.
Related guide
- What is mark-room? Rule 18 explained simply
Mark-room is the room an inside boat is owed to sail to and round a mark under rule 18. Learn the zone, who owes it, and the common reversals.