About the Starboard Rule in Sailing
The starboard rule, sometimes called the rule of the starboard tack, concerns sailboats, specifically, since powered vessels can maneuver freely regardless of the direction of the wind. It is the earliest written rule for preventing collisions at sea, found in the Signal Book of Admiral Richard Howe of the Royal Navy. Admiral Howe's Signal Book contains the earliest known codification of collision avoidance rules not based on the seniority of the ship's captain, but on the common practices of seamen of that day. While his Signal Book was written in 1776, Admiral Howe's rule has survived almost intact.
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Understanding the Starboard Tack
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You have to know what the starboard tack is to understand the rule of the starboard tack in sailing. The right side of the vessel is called the starboard side. The left side of the vessel is the port side. A vessel is on the starboard tack when the wind is on her starboard side, coming from a direction that is forward of the beam of the boat (the beam is a line drawn from one side of the boat to the other at the widest part)---she's not sailing with the wind, but upwind at an sharp angle to the wind. A vessel is on the port tack when the wind is on the port side. You also need to know what the terms "close hauled," "running free" and "reaching" mean before the starboard tack rule can be understood.
Tacking and Other Movements
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Close hauled means that a boat has her sails trimmed in closely (pulled nearly in line with the center line of the boat), sailing as near as possible to the direction from which the wind is coming. This vessel is tacking, whether to port or starboard because she is sailing into the wind. Sail boats that are close hauled have the right of way over other sailing vessels
Running free means she is sailing with the wind, and almost in the same direction. Her main boom (the boom is the "arm" sticking out from the mast to hold the bottom of the sail) is nearly at a right angle with the hull.
Finally, reaching is when the wind is about on her beam; this means the wind is behind her. She is running at an angle to the wind, but not tacking since she is running with the wind, which is coming from behind her. Her boom is almost at a 45 degree angle to the hull.
It is important to note that a sailing vessel running before the wind can change course in any direction, while one close hauled can't change course without loss of forward motion. As a consequence, a sailing vessel running free must keep clear of other sailing vessels since it can change course readily where others may not be able to.
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Two Vessels on the Same Tack
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If two sailing vessels are reaching on the same tack, the boat to leeward (the leeward side is the side sheltered from the wind), or farthest from the point of the wind (the exact direction from which the wind is blowing) is privileged over the windward vessel (windward is the opposite of leeward; it means the side not sheltered from the wind), which must keep clear unless the windward boat is in danger of going aground. In that case, the leeward boat must give way upon request. If both are running before the wind with main booms slackened, the vessel which has her boom over the port side is on the starboard tack and is privileged over the vessel which has her boom over the starboard side.
What Trumps the Starboard Tack Rule
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Nothing trumps the starboard tack rule. A vessel that is close hauled is tacking. If it is on the starboard tack, it has the right-of-way over a vessel close hauled on the port tack. If the vessel is running free, it isn't tacking. If a vessel is reaching, the wind is behind the beam; while it isn't running free, it isn't tacking.
However, even a vessel that is close hauled and on the starboard tack is required to yield to certain vessels, including those operated by the Coast Guard, or vessels which, by the nature of their work or other constraints, cannot maneuver to avoid the close hauled sailing vessel. Such vessels might include tugs towing barges, large ships, vessels conducting mine laying or mine sweeping operations, diving vessels or vessels with other maneuvering constraints.
Importance of the Starboard Tack Rule
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The starboard tack rule is important for two reasons. First, it settles a question about which boat yields the right-of-way to another when one of them is on the starboard tack and and the other is not. Second, it contributes to safety by preventing a boat on the starboard tack from stealing the wind from another by deliberately interposing itself in the way of the wind.
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