If you have ever sailed in competition, undoubtedly you have found yourself converging with another boat on an opposite tack. If you are on starboard tack, you have the right-of-way and have nothing to worry about. If you are on port tack you will need to make some decisions. The first is are you going to cross if so, by how much? Which side of the course is favored and what about the converging boat? In this article we will answer these questions.
For the first question, if you are going to cross in front of the starboard boat, it depends on your boat's speed and position. If you are ahead, you should not have any problems. Crossing in front and windward, this will dump disturbed air on to the other boat. Or it may cause them to tack away and sail toward the unfavored side of the course. If both boats are going to meet, it is you the port boat that must yield. If you are bearing down on the starboard boat, the skipper of that boat will start to hail 'Starboard'! At this point if the starboard boat alters course or your boat hits the starboard boat, you have fouled and you will need to take your penalty turn. That is not the smart thing to do. The smart decision is which tack will take advantage of the wind and get you ahead of the other boat.
If you feel you are going in the right direction on port tack, don't tack (see diagram above, Position E). Just duck below the stern of starboard boat, (Position C) and sail on. If you feel your side of the course is highly favored, then tack as soon as you can, (Position A).
Now comes the tactical positioning decisions, if your crossing will be too close, tack into a 'lee bow' (Position B). This will put your bow up in front and should force the starboard boat to tack away. The other controlling position is ducking on port, below the starboard boat (Position C), and sail two or three boats lengths and tack to starboard, (Position D). This will put you to windward of the other boat and could pin them and force them to tack to port.
The key point in this discussion is this, like in the game of chess, always look ahead of where you are at on the course with the considerations of which side is favored and what your competitors are doing. Then when a decision is quickly needed, you can weigh your options and take the correct solution.