Who has right of way in sailing?
Four rules decide most encounters on a racecourse, and four more limit what the right-of-way boat may do. Here is the whole picture, in the order worth learning it.
In a race, "who has right of way" comes down to a handful of rules in Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing. The rules themselves are short. What causes almost every argument on the water is not the wording — it is disagreement about which situation the two boats were actually in.
This is the order to think in: work out your tack, work out whether you are overlapped, then apply the rule that fits. Get those two facts right and the rest follows quickly.
The rulebook never says "right of way"
It is worth knowing the actual language, because it changes how you think about the situation. The rules describe one boat as the right-of-way boat and place an obligation on the other boat to keep clear.
"Keep clear" is a defined term, and it is stricter than simply avoiding a collision. The other boat must be able to sail her course without having to take avoiding action. When the boats are overlapped on the same tack, there is an additional requirement: the right-of-way boat must also be able to change course in either direction without immediately making contact.
If the other boat has to bear away, luff, or ease a sheet because of where you are, you are probably not keeping clear — even if nothing touched.
Everything starts with your tack
A boat is on starboard or port tack according to her windward side. Her leeward side is the side away from the wind; when she is sailing directly downwind or by the lee, her leeward side is the side her mainsail is on. The windward side is the other one.
That definition is precise but awkward to apply at speed. Two shortcuts cover almost every case:
- Upwind: if the wind is coming over your starboard rail, you are on starboard tack.
- Downwind: if your boom is out to port, the wind is on your starboard side — starboard tack.
The second one is the more useful, because it works on every point of sail: boom to port means starboard tack.
The four rules that settle most encounters
These are the core of Part 2, Section A. In any encounter, exactly one of them normally applies.
| Rule | Situation | Who must keep clear |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Opposite tacks | The port-tack boat keeps clear of the starboard-tack boat. |
| 11 | Same tack, overlapped | The windward boat keeps clear of the leeward boat. |
| 12 | Same tack, not overlapped | The boat clear astern keeps clear of the boat clear ahead. |
| 13 | While tacking | A boat past head to wind keeps clear of others until she is on a close-hauled course. |
Rule 13 is the one that catches people out. From the moment you pass head to wind until you are back on a close-hauled course, rules 10, 11 and 12 do not apply to you at all. You have no rights during that window, whichever tack you came from or are heading to.
Right of way is never absolute
This is the part that separates sailors who know the rules from sailors who only know rule 10. Having right of way does not let you do whatever you like. Four rules in Section B limit what the right-of-way boat may do.
| Rule | Limit on the right-of-way boat |
|---|---|
| 14 | Avoid contact. Every boat must avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible — including the boat with right of way. She need not act until it is clear the other boat is not keeping clear, but she cannot simply sail into her. |
| 15 | Acquiring right of way. When you become the right-of-way boat, you must initially give the other boat room to keep clear — unless you gained right of way because of something she did. |
| 16 | Changing course. If you have right of way and you change course, you must give the other boat room to keep clear. You cannot luff into someone and claim rule 11. |
| 17 | Proper course. If you came from clear astern and established a leeward overlap within two of your hull lengths, you may not sail above your proper course while that overlap lasts. |
Two boats can both break a rule in the same incident. A port-tack boat that fails to keep clear breaks rule 10 — and if the starboard boat could reasonably have avoided the contact and did not, she may break rule 14 as well. "I was on starboard" is not a complete defence.
Marks and obstructions change the picture
Section C adds rules for the places where boats are forced together. Rule 18 governs mark-room at a rounding, rule 19 covers room to pass an obstruction, and rule 20 covers hailing for room to tack at an obstruction. These do not replace rules 10 to 17 — they sit on top of them, and knowing which layer applies is most of the skill.
Mark roundings deserve their own treatment, and we will cover rule 18 separately.
What to do when you get it wrong
Breaking a rule is not the end of your race. Rule 44 lets you take a penalty on the water and carry on:
- A Two-Turns Penalty — two tacks and two gybes in the same direction — for breaking a rule of Part 2.
- A One-Turn Penalty for touching a mark.
Take it promptly, after getting well clear of other boats. If you do not, the other boat can protest, and a protest committee can disqualify you. Sailing instructions sometimes change what penalty applies, so check them before racing.
Get rules 10–13 automatic first, so you can name the situation without thinking. Then learn 14–17, which is where most protests are actually decided. Only then work on the mark-rounding rules, because they assume you already know the rest.
Common questions
No. Nothing in rule 10 requires a hail, and a port-tack boat's obligation to keep clear exists whether or not anyone shouts. Hailing is good seamanship and usually avoids trouble, but it is not what creates the right. The exception is rule 20, where a hail is exactly how you ask for room to tack at an obstruction.
No. Rule 16 requires a right-of-way boat that changes course to give the other boat room to keep clear, and rule 17 can prevent a leeward boat from sailing above her proper course. Right of way tells you who must stay out of whose way; it does not remove your own obligations.
Both boats may have broken a rule. The boat that failed to keep clear breaks the relevant Section A rule, and either boat may break rule 14 if she could reasonably have avoided the contact. Under rule 44 you can normally take a Two-Turns Penalty on the water; if damage is serious, retiring or a protest may be the correct route.
Boats are overlapped when neither is clear astern of the other, judged on the same tack by whether a boat's hull and equipment in normal position are behind a line abeam from the aftermost point of the other boat's hull and equipment. Overlap decides whether rule 11 or rule 12 applies, so it is worth learning the definition properly rather than by feel.
Not in general. The rules of Part 2 apply between boats that are sailing in or near the racing area and that intend to race, are racing, or have been racing - so they cover you before the start and after you finish, not only between the guns. Away from the racing area the international collision regulations govern instead, and they are not the same rules. Sailing instructions can also replace Part 2 with the collision regulations, commonly at night or in restricted visibility, so read them.
Read next
Know the rules cold before the start
RRS Coach covers all 72 rules in plain language, with 76 interactive right-of-way scenarios, adaptive quizzes and spaced-repetition flashcards. Free to download.