- rule 17 with 3 boats.jpg (46.36 KiB) Viewed 5337 times
From the attached picture (JL)It is a little unclear what the initial situation is between Yellow and N-Green.
There is no information on how the overlap between these two boats was established.
But let me assume Yellow overlapped N-Green from clear astern (position 0).
Yes 17 applied to Yellow versus N-Green (JL)Q 1 : May S-Green luff in position 3 ? Then, does Yellow break 17 versus N-Green ?
Yes, S-Green is not restricted by rule 17, it does not apply to her, so she may sail above her proper course.
No, Yellow is not breaking rule 17 because she is sailing her proper course, which is to keep clear of S-Green.
So I agree with you there.
Q 2 : Same questions but reverse places : N-Green is sailing in the middle and Yellow is the northernmost boat now.
Same answer as in Q1. It doesn't matter who are team mates for this question.
Rule 17 does not apply for S-Green because S-Green has not established overlap from clear astern.
If it was a special rule for rule 17 with team mates, it would have been written in RRS Appendix D.
Harald