leeward right of way when 3 boats to windward

[thirst_quencher]

It makes sense that he would be exonerated if he did hail and protest, however the boat that failed to give him room should be tossed then. Maybe a rules review/seminar in the offseason would be worthwhile.

[sailingpenniless]

Well yes, that would have been an even better result, as W2 was the boat closest in series points to me. The skipper of W1 has blown off attempts by the protest committee chair to get together to discuss his behavior on the race course which has resulted in about 3 protests this season (I think). Hearing him talk (bellow) at the protest hearing showed me that he has a very skewed view of the rules and how they apply to him. Our fleet does a good job of doing rules reviews/seminars in the off season, but for some, it just doesn't have the desired effect. It's really unfortunate that the conduct of a few can ruin the joy of racing for so many others. Thanks for your responses. Where is everybody else???? No opinions?

[sailingpenniless]

Okay, I think I've gained a clearer understanding of the rules. Since I was the right-of-way boat (L1), as far as W1 was concerned, I constituted an "obstruction"; if the only way to keep clear of me was to tack, W1 should have hailed W2 for room to tack and W2 would then be obligated to give her room. Similarly, W2 should have hailed W3 for room to tack, and so on up the line to windward. W1 is required to keep a lookout and anticipate the requirement to keep clear of L1, and not wait until the last second. The only thing I'm note sure of is whether or not W1 would first be required to luff her sails, or even drop them to scrub off speed before having the right to hail W2 to give her room to tack. I think so, but not sure.