"Capt. Neal®" wrote in message

Good point but it is physically impossible for a sailboat to windward to
stay out of the way of another to leeward if the leeward vessel is more
weatherly. The windward vessel cannot point higher to avoid the
leeward vessel. He cannot fall off without creating a close quarters
situation, and he cannot speed up or slow down because those things
depend on the speed of the wind. These facts alone negate rule 13
which works well for motor vessels but not for sailing vessels. It is
plain
to me if one follows the sailing rules then rule 13 is superfluous.

The vessel to windward is not neccessarily close-hauled, it's merely the
vessel which is upwind of the other. The reason he is the give-way vessel is
because he has a better chance of maintaining full control because the
downwind boat may be in his wind shadow - the downwind boat may not be able
to maneuvre out of trouble.

Even if the windward boat was close-hauled, he can always tack away if he
can't point higher to avoid the stand-on vessel. If you'd ever been racing,
you'd see this happen a dozen or more times in every race.