"Walt" wrote in message
...

Reading over the rules I'm puzzled by something:

The preamble to rule 18 says that the inside boat is entitled to room to
tack if it's a normal part of the manoeuver, but 18.1b says that rule 18
is inapplicable when the proper course of either boat is to tack.
(actual text quoted below)

So when is tacking a normal manoeuver that would be covered by rule 18?
Can anybody cite a situation where rule 18 applies and tacking is a
normal part of the manoeuvere? Otherwise, it seems that the provision
in the preamble is never relevant. Or am I missing something?

Preamble to rule 18

In rule 18, room is room for an inside boat to round or
pass between an outside boat and a mark or obstruction,
including room to tack or gybe when either is a normal
part of the manoeuvre.

Rule 18.1 (b) says that rule 18 doesn't apply

between boats on opposite tacks, either on a beat to
windward or when the proper course for one or both of
them to round or pass the mark or obstruction is to tack.

The thing to remember is that 18.1b applies to boats on opposite tacks. When
both boats are on the same tack, the preamble indicates that the inside boat
has a right to room to tack if that is part of the course: e.g, on a round
the bouys race, reaching towards a mark, tacking round and then setting off
upwind.

-Ed