Who has right of way when two boats are on the same tack?
I · Intermediate · When boats meet · 5 of 11How it works
- Clear astern and clear ahead: one boat is clear astern of another when its hull and equipment are behind a line drawn straight across from the aftermost point of the other boat. The other is clear ahead.
- Overlap: the boats overlap when neither is clear astern. They also overlap when a boat between them overlaps both.
- Leeward and windward: a boat's leeward side is the side away from the wind, the side its mainsail is on. Of two overlapped boats on the same tack, the one on the leeward side of the other is the leeward boat.
- Overlapped: the windward boat keeps clear.
- Not overlapped: the boat clear astern keeps clear.
- Keeping clear when overlapped: the right-of-way boat must also be able to change course in both directions without immediately making contact. So the windward boat must leave a gap.
- Luffing: the leeward boat may turn up towards the wind and the windward boat must respond. But the leeward boat must give room to keep clear whenever it changes course.
Tricky cases
A faster boat catches another from behind and sails past to windward. Who must keep clear?
The overtaking boat throughout. Clear astern, it keeps clear. Once overlapped to windward, it is the windward boat and still keeps clear.
The boat from behind passes to leeward instead. Does it now have right of way?
Yes. Once it has an overlap to leeward it is the leeward boat. It must first give the other boat room to keep clear, and it may be barred from sailing above its proper course.
Do these terms apply to boats on opposite tacks?
No, not normally. They apply to boats on the same tack. They apply to boats on opposite tacks only when the mark-room rule applies between them or both are sailing more than ninety degrees from the true wind.
Can the leeward boat turn up sharply and hit the windward boat?
No. A right-of-way boat that changes course must give the other boat room to keep clear, and every boat must avoid contact if reasonably possible.
Why the rule exists
The windward boat has clear wind and more freedom to turn away. The leeward boat is partly blanketed by the other's sails and has nowhere to go but into it. Giving right of way to the boat with fewer options is the safer arrangement. For boats in line, the one behind can see the one ahead.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Racing Rules of Sailing | As above | RRS 11; RRS 12; RRS 15; RRS 16.1; RRS Definitions |
| Sailing directly downwind or by the lee | The leeward side is the side the mainsail lies on | RRS Definitions (Leeward and Windward) |
From the rule book
World Sailing The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028, rules 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 and the Definitions (Clear Astern and Clear Ahead; Overlap; Keep Clear; Leeward and Windward). In force from 1 January 2025. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: The Racing Rules of Sailing 2025-2028 (PDF).