Does it make any difference which one is to windward and which one is
to leeward? I can't believe you all have chewed this over and nobody
has realized that.


Jeff wrote:
"Catching up" makes it hard to have this anything other than
overtaking. If you saw a boat slightly behind your beam (say 20
degrees) and slowly converging, would you call it "catching up"?

No, *I* wouldn't but then I'm not the one trying to write a
tricky question.


Remember, if it was ever more than 22.5 abaft the beam it's overtaking.
And, if there's any doubt, overtaking is assumed.


Right, that's why the running lights are arranged the way
they are. Although I never heard a skipper say to a crew
"Take a transit off the running light blinder & tell me if
that other boat bears more or less that 22.5 degrees aft of
our beam." The phrase just doesn't have that nautical flair
to it.



As I make it out, if the two are both on starboard tack, and the
faster one (catching up) is heading 180 and the other 208, then the
one first one (catching up) will be to windward as they converge. That
gives the other boat a double right of way!


Yes, if this is converging, the slower boat is to leeward and is still
standon.

So what's the big deal? The boat "catching up" has to dodge
the other one, which is pretty much what everybody has said.
If "Ellen M" has any point-awarding authority then she
should give everybody some.

DSK