Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message
| If the boats were going at similar speeds, they could be converging
| from a distance and seeing each other roughly on the beam. By
| jiggling the speeds, you can find the point where one sees the other
| at exactly 22.5 degrees abaft the beam. The question is, could this
| be considered "catching up"?


In that case if it were dark you could see the stern light and the bow light
both at the same time. It's still overtaking. It's called two points abaft the beam.
Catching up in my vocabulary means getting closer from somewhere behind even
if it's just one degree from directly from the side (90 degrees).

In that case, your scenario could be either overtaking or not.