You're quite welcome, this stuff is fun. It's always a learning experience (for all parties involved), otherwise it would get boring quickly.

There are a million ways to learn this stuff, and time on the water is equally as important as anything written in a book or spoken in a seminar. But, I have found that the US SAILING seminars (RC and Judge) are outstanding, as well as the North U courses on rules and tactics. Maybe seminars suit my particular learning style, but I really like the interactions of students and instructors, and you get to hear some unique "real-life" situations that you might not have encountered yet yourself.

Probably a "next-level" exercise would be to get involved with umpiring. Those guys (and girls) literally follow around boats on the water and constantly call out who has ROW, and what rules are in effect, REAL-TIME, as it unfolds.

As for the question about what constitutes backing a sail, I would like to see a clear definition. Since there is no definition in the RRS, we are taught as judges to look to dictionaries for common meanings of words in question...

From Dictionary.com:
backwind
–verb (used with object), -wind•ed, -wind•ing. Nautical .
1. to divert wind against the lee side of (a sail) from another sail.
2. to set (a sail) so that the wind is on what would ordinarily be the lee side, as for turning the bow of a boat away from the wind.
3. to blanket (another sailing vessel) by spilling wind from the sails of one vessel onto the lee side of the sails of the other.

I'm having trouble visualizing #1. It almost sounds like if you pull the jib clew to the mast you would be backing wind into the main. I don't think that's quite right, because what you're really doing (or trying to do) is use the pressure from the windward side of the jib to get the bow down.

So, following #2, if you are parked on starboard (with the wind coming from the starboard side of the boat), and pull the jib over to the starboard side so you can get the bow down (with the wind filling the starboard side of the jib), I would say that is NOT backing the sail.

Also following #2, if you are parked on starboard (with the wind coming from the starboard side of the boat), and push the jib over to the port side so you can back up or push the boat over to port tack (with the wind filling the port side of the jib), I would say that IS backing the sail.

As for JW's scenario, I would need to get more info (best in a hearing). But, the maneuver of the original leeward boat sounds like a candidate for Matt's bucket-O-tar...

Hope this helps.

Mike

For the purpose of muddying the waters as we are trying to clear them. What difference (if any) would there be between a boat moving backwards due to luffing (head to wind), and a boat moving backwards due to current. Neither boat is taking active steps to move the boat backwards.

I back out of or into a beach without touching the sails...rudders up, boards mostly up, sit forward of the main beam and the boat will back beautifully. I'm not backwinding a sail (I don't think...they're luffing). I understand the intent (and probably would never try this), but it sounds like I can still do this on a crowded start line and maintain rights as long as I don't physically move the sail over.

If the pressure is on the fore side of the sail (pushing the boat backwards), then you ARE backing the sail.

It doesn't matter which side of the boat the sail is on or how you hold it out - by hand, with a sheet, or a pole. You're still backing it.

Regards,
Eric