... taken the early lead over Leo and Daryl - though not by much: Leo is on a collision course with starboard Marc. Ideally, Leo's crew has warned him of the approaching starboard boat, and now a decision has to be made: to tack or not to tack, that is the question. Its answer depends on several factors, none of which should (usually!) be unwillingness to bear away and give up marginal distance by passing astern of a starboard boat. Going upwind, every racer should at all times be aware of how much (s)he likes the tack (s)he is on right now. Reasons for liking the current tack are usually: it's significantly lifted or that it appears to have the likelihood of getting better wind pressure, but perhaps the most important factor of all is position relative to the lay line. The closer one gets to a lay line, the more eager one should be not to get even closer to it. Another crucial factor to consider is the fact that tacking into a lee bow position leaves you at the mercy of the windward boat: you more or less cannot tack until the windward boat chooses to tack away. Here, Leo is well away from the port lay line (see mark at far right) and possibly sailing in Al's (3854) backwind. His (port) tack is neither very lifted nor knocked, and Leo chooses to ...

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