Beginner's Guide To
The Racing Rules of Sailing
The Racing Rules of Sailing
This article gives you the Cliff Notes (remember those?) version of the racing rules of sailing that will get you around the course with a minimum of fuss. This is not a deep dive into the various caveats or nuances, but if you follow these you should be able to get around the racecourse without hearing ‘Protest’. At the end you will find a crib sheet with a very short summary of each of the rules.
The most basic rule has nothing to do with racing, but is one that all sailors have followed for centuries. You must give all possible help to any person or vessel in danger. This means that you immediately stop racing to help someone that has capsized, has fallen overboard, or is in any other type of danger. You should not wait to see if they are going to be ok. Your first instinct must be to help them regardless of whether they actually need help.
The next thing to know, and it follows from safety, is that sailing is not a contact sport. It is not good seamanship to hit things or each other. Rule 14 tells us we must avoid contact with other boats if possible and we can’t force another boat to hit things; like marks, shores, or other boats, that are better left not hit. If you need to alter course to prevent contact then you must do it.
Before we jump into the rules, we first need to define common language. Words that have a special meaning are in the Definitions section. The definitions are not included here. If you are unclear on what a word means, please open your rule book and check the definition. If the word is not defined there, look it up in the dictionary.
So, what are the rules we need to know when there are other boats around? There actually aren’t many as you will see. The most important rules to know are the right of way rules found in Part 2 Section A. There are only four of them. If you know these, in 99% of all situations, you will know which boat has the right of way and which boat must keep clear.
Right Of Way Rules
Rule 10: A boat on port tack must keep clear of a boat on starboard tack. The starboard boat has the right of way. In Figure 1, all the Green boats are on starboard and have the right of way over all the Red boats. The Red boats must all keep clear of the Green boats.
The most basic rule has nothing to do with racing, but is one that all sailors have followed for centuries. You must give all possible help to any person or vessel in danger. This means that you immediately stop racing to help someone that has capsized, has fallen overboard, or is in any other type of danger. You should not wait to see if they are going to be ok. Your first instinct must be to help them regardless of whether they actually need help.
The next thing to know, and it follows from safety, is that sailing is not a contact sport. It is not good seamanship to hit things or each other. Rule 14 tells us we must avoid contact with other boats if possible and we can’t force another boat to hit things; like marks, shores, or other boats, that are better left not hit. If you need to alter course to prevent contact then you must do it.
Before we jump into the rules, we first need to define common language. Words that have a special meaning are in the Definitions section. The definitions are not included here. If you are unclear on what a word means, please open your rule book and check the definition. If the word is not defined there, look it up in the dictionary.
So, what are the rules we need to know when there are other boats around? There actually aren’t many as you will see. The most important rules to know are the right of way rules found in Part 2 Section A. There are only four of them. If you know these, in 99% of all situations, you will know which boat has the right of way and which boat must keep clear.
Right Of Way Rules
Rule 10: A boat on port tack must keep clear of a boat on starboard tack. The starboard boat has the right of way. In Figure 1, all the Green boats are on starboard and have the right of way over all the Red boats. The Red boats must all keep clear of the Green boats.
Figure 1
Rule 11: If boats are on the same tack and overlapped, a windward boat must keep clear of a boat to leeward. The leeward boat has the right of way. In Figure 2, these boats are all overlapped with each other. Green has the right of way over Blue, Yellow, and Red. Blue has the right of way over Red and Yellow and must keep clear of Green. Yellow has the right of way over Red and must keep clear of Green and Blue. Red must keep clear of Green, Yellow, and Blue.
Figure 2
Rule 12: If boats are on the same tack and not overlapped, a boat clear astern must keep clear of a boat that is clear ahead. The boat ahead has the right of way. In Figure 3, Blue has the right of way over Yellow and Yellow must keep clear of Blue.
Figure 3
Rule 13: A boat that is tacking and has passed head to wind must keep clear of a boat that is not tacking until she gets to a close hauled course. A boat not tacking has the right of way. In Figure 4, Yellow is a tacking boat and must keep clear of Green, Blue, and Red.
Figure 4
That’s it. Now you know who has the right of way and who must keep clear in nearly every situation.
But what does it mean to keep clear? And what are you allowed to do if you are the right of way boat? That’s pretty simple. If you are the right of way boat, you get to sail a straight line course without having to take action to avoid a keep clear boat. A keep clear boat must do everything she can so that the right of way boat can sail that straight line course.
Limitations
But as the right of way boat, you don’t always want to sail in a straight line. You will want to react to wind shifts. This is where the limitations in Part 2 Section B come into play.
Rule 15: When a boat becomes a right of way boat, she has to give the other boat, which now has to keep clear, the room she needs to do that. This makes sense. In Figure 5, in position 1 Blue is the right of way boat. In position 2 Yellow has established an overlap and becomes the right of way boat. Because the right of way has shifted from Blue to Yellow, Yellow must give Blue the room she needs to meet this new obligation. Yellow cannot be so close to Blue that Blue cannot do what she needs to do to keep clear.
But what does it mean to keep clear? And what are you allowed to do if you are the right of way boat? That’s pretty simple. If you are the right of way boat, you get to sail a straight line course without having to take action to avoid a keep clear boat. A keep clear boat must do everything she can so that the right of way boat can sail that straight line course.
Limitations
But as the right of way boat, you don’t always want to sail in a straight line. You will want to react to wind shifts. This is where the limitations in Part 2 Section B come into play.
Rule 15: When a boat becomes a right of way boat, she has to give the other boat, which now has to keep clear, the room she needs to do that. This makes sense. In Figure 5, in position 1 Blue is the right of way boat. In position 2 Yellow has established an overlap and becomes the right of way boat. Because the right of way has shifted from Blue to Yellow, Yellow must give Blue the room she needs to meet this new obligation. Yellow cannot be so close to Blue that Blue cannot do what she needs to do to keep clear.
Figure 5
Rule 16: When the right of way boat changes course she has to give the other boat the room she needs to continue to keep clear. Again, this makes sense. The keep clear boat is expecting the right of way boat will continue to sail straight and has planned on how she will maneuver to keep clear. If the right of way boat changes course, the keep clear boat needs the room necessary to respond to the new course. In Figure 6, Yellow is always the right of way boat. When Yellow changes course between position 1 and position 2, she must give Blue the room she needs to continue to keep clear. She cannot turn so fast that Blue cannot respond.
Figure 6
At Marks
The rules we have looked at so far are great for open water. But the course we need to sail takes us from the start, around some marks, and then to the finish line. How do we handle the situation when all the boats converge at a mark?
Rule 18, which is found in Part 2 Section C, is the answer and gives the rules for how to go around a mark of the course in an orderly way. The rule tells you when you need to let another boat go between you and the mark. This is where it is important to keep the big picture in mind. It is faster to get around the mark as cleanly as possible and start sailing to the next mark rather than get caught up with other boats at the mark. It is better to go around a group of boats than join the group.
Unlike the other rules that always apply, the rule for going around a mark only applies under certain conditions.
When it applies
First, when approaching one of the starting marks, you do not have to give another boat space to go between you and the mark. If there isn’t room for them to pass between you and the mark, they can’t barge or push their way in. In Figure 7, Blue does not need to give Yellow the room to go between her and the mark. Green does not need to give Red the room to go between her and the mark.
The rules we have looked at so far are great for open water. But the course we need to sail takes us from the start, around some marks, and then to the finish line. How do we handle the situation when all the boats converge at a mark?
Rule 18, which is found in Part 2 Section C, is the answer and gives the rules for how to go around a mark of the course in an orderly way. The rule tells you when you need to let another boat go between you and the mark. This is where it is important to keep the big picture in mind. It is faster to get around the mark as cleanly as possible and start sailing to the next mark rather than get caught up with other boats at the mark. It is better to go around a group of boats than join the group.
Unlike the other rules that always apply, the rule for going around a mark only applies under certain conditions.
When it applies
First, when approaching one of the starting marks, you do not have to give another boat space to go between you and the mark. If there isn’t room for them to pass between you and the mark, they can’t barge or push their way in. In Figure 7, Blue does not need to give Yellow the room to go between her and the mark. Green does not need to give Red the room to go between her and the mark.
Figure 7
Second, the obligations are a little different between a windward mark and a leeward mark. At a windward mark, the rule does not apply between boats on opposite tacks. If the boats are on the same tack then the rule applies and you may have to give room to another boat to go around the mark. In Figure 8, Yellow and Blue are on different tacks so Yellow does not need to give Blue room to go between her and the mark.
Figure 8
At a leeward mark, the rule always applies, even if the boats are on opposite tacks. In Figure 9, Yellow and Blue are on different tacks and Blue may have to give Yellow room to go between her and the mark.
Figure 9
Finish marks are treated as either a windward or leeward mark, depending on the direction you are approaching them from.
Giving room
If the rule applies then the rest of the rule describes the obligations for a boat that has another boat between her and the mark. Notice that the right of way is not mentioned. That is because the obligation does not depend on who has the right of way but rather whether a boat is between another boat and the mark.
Rule 18: When you are within four boat lengths of a mark, if there is a boat that is overlapped with you and that is between you and the mark, then you must give that boat enough room to go around the mark and not hit you or the mark. If the other boat is not overlapped with you then you do not need to give them room. In Figure 10, Green is overlapped with Yellow and Yellow will be between Green and the mark when they go around it, Green must give Yellow the room she needs to go around the mark. Because Red is not overlapped with either Green or Yellow, neither Green or Yellow have to give Red room to go between them and the mark.
Giving room
If the rule applies then the rest of the rule describes the obligations for a boat that has another boat between her and the mark. Notice that the right of way is not mentioned. That is because the obligation does not depend on who has the right of way but rather whether a boat is between another boat and the mark.
Rule 18: When you are within four boat lengths of a mark, if there is a boat that is overlapped with you and that is between you and the mark, then you must give that boat enough room to go around the mark and not hit you or the mark. If the other boat is not overlapped with you then you do not need to give them room. In Figure 10, Green is overlapped with Yellow and Yellow will be between Green and the mark when they go around it, Green must give Yellow the room she needs to go around the mark. Because Red is not overlapped with either Green or Yellow, neither Green or Yellow have to give Red room to go between them and the mark.
Figure 10
In Figure 11, Blue, Green, and Yellow are all overlapped. Yellow will be between the mark and Green, so Green must give Yellow the room she needs to go around the mark. In addition, Green will be between Yellow and the mark and Blue, so Blue must give Green enough room to go around the mark plus the room that Green must give Yellow.
Figure 11
There is one limitation to this obligation. If the overlap is established within four boat lengths of the mark then the outside boat needs to give the inside boat the room to go between her and the mark only if she is able to.
At Obstructions
Lastly, there are some special considerations when two boats are approaching an obstruction. This is covered by rules 19 and 20 found in Part 2 Section C. An obstruction is anything that you don’t want to run into and will have to maneuver to avoid, like a shoreline or another boat that you must keep clear of. If there is a choice to be made on which side of an obstruction you are going to pass, the right of way boat gets to make the choice. In Figure 12, there is an obstruction that Yellow and Blue are headed toward which can safely be passed on either side. Yellow, as the right of way boat, gets to make the choice on which side she will pass it. If Yellow chooses to turn to starboard and pass the obstruction on her port side and Blue follows her, she must give Blue the room she needs to go between her and the obstruction. If Yellow chooses to turn to port and pass the obstruction on her starboard side, she must give Blue the room Blue needs so that she can give Yellow room to pass the obstruction. If Yellow wants to tack at the obstruction, she must hail her sail number followed by ‘Room to tack’. Blue must then give Yellow the room to tack.
At Obstructions
Lastly, there are some special considerations when two boats are approaching an obstruction. This is covered by rules 19 and 20 found in Part 2 Section C. An obstruction is anything that you don’t want to run into and will have to maneuver to avoid, like a shoreline or another boat that you must keep clear of. If there is a choice to be made on which side of an obstruction you are going to pass, the right of way boat gets to make the choice. In Figure 12, there is an obstruction that Yellow and Blue are headed toward which can safely be passed on either side. Yellow, as the right of way boat, gets to make the choice on which side she will pass it. If Yellow chooses to turn to starboard and pass the obstruction on her port side and Blue follows her, she must give Blue the room she needs to go between her and the obstruction. If Yellow chooses to turn to port and pass the obstruction on her starboard side, she must give Blue the room Blue needs so that she can give Yellow room to pass the obstruction. If Yellow wants to tack at the obstruction, she must hail her sail number followed by ‘Room to tack’. Blue must then give Yellow the room to tack.
Figure 12
Penalties
If you do happen to break a rule while racing that doesn’t have to ruin your entre day. You can take a two-turn penalty, which is to turn in one direction completing at least two tacks and two gybes. While you are doing this you cannot interfere with any other boats, so first you must get clear of the other boats.
If you think another boat has broken a rule you must hail ‘Protest’.
That’s it. Absolutely, there are nuances and finer points to the rules, but these will get you around the racecourse safely.
Hopefully, this summary will pique your interest in the rules and you will open the new rule book when it arrives and check out the rules in detail. You can also find everything you wanted to know about the rules and more, including the PDF version of the 2025-2028 rule book, at https://www.ussailing.org/competition/rules-officiating/the-racing-rules-of-sailing-2025-2028/
If you do happen to break a rule while racing that doesn’t have to ruin your entre day. You can take a two-turn penalty, which is to turn in one direction completing at least two tacks and two gybes. While you are doing this you cannot interfere with any other boats, so first you must get clear of the other boats.
If you think another boat has broken a rule you must hail ‘Protest’.
That’s it. Absolutely, there are nuances and finer points to the rules, but these will get you around the racecourse safely.
Hopefully, this summary will pique your interest in the rules and you will open the new rule book when it arrives and check out the rules in detail. You can also find everything you wanted to know about the rules and more, including the PDF version of the 2025-2028 rule book, at https://www.ussailing.org/competition/rules-officiating/the-racing-rules-of-sailing-2025-2028/
Handy Rules Guide
Rule 1.1 : A boat shall give all possible help to any person or vessel in danger.
Rule 10 : A boat on port tack must keep clear of a boat on starboard tack.
Rule 11 : A windward boat must keep clear of a leeward boat.
Rule 12 : A boat clear astern must keep clear of a boat clear ahead.
Rule 13 : A boat that is tacking must keep clear of one that is not.
Rule 14 : A boat must avoid contact if at all possible.
Rule 15 : When a boat acquires the right of way she must initially give other boats the room they need to keep clear.
Rule 16 : When a right of way boat changes course she must give other boats the room they need to keep clear.
Rule 18 : At a starting mark an inside overlapped boat is not entitled to mark room.
At a windward mark a boat must give an inside overlapped boat on the same tack the room to go between
her and the mark.
At a leeward mark a boat must give an inside overlapped boat on either tack the room to go between
her and the mark.
Finish marks are treated like a windward or leeward mark depending on the direction you are crossing the line.
Rule 19/20 : At an obstruction, the right of way boat gets to choose which side of the obstruction she will pass it on.
An outside overlapped boat must give the inside boat room to pass between her and the obstruction.
A leeward boat may tack to avoid the obstruction after giving the windward boat fair warning.
Rule 10 : A boat on port tack must keep clear of a boat on starboard tack.
Rule 11 : A windward boat must keep clear of a leeward boat.
Rule 12 : A boat clear astern must keep clear of a boat clear ahead.
Rule 13 : A boat that is tacking must keep clear of one that is not.
Rule 14 : A boat must avoid contact if at all possible.
Rule 15 : When a boat acquires the right of way she must initially give other boats the room they need to keep clear.
Rule 16 : When a right of way boat changes course she must give other boats the room they need to keep clear.
Rule 18 : At a starting mark an inside overlapped boat is not entitled to mark room.
At a windward mark a boat must give an inside overlapped boat on the same tack the room to go between
her and the mark.
At a leeward mark a boat must give an inside overlapped boat on either tack the room to go between
her and the mark.
Finish marks are treated like a windward or leeward mark depending on the direction you are crossing the line.
Rule 19/20 : At an obstruction, the right of way boat gets to choose which side of the obstruction she will pass it on.
An outside overlapped boat must give the inside boat room to pass between her and the obstruction.
A leeward boat may tack to avoid the obstruction after giving the windward boat fair warning.