Note: Red positions 1 & 2, and Yellow positions 1-4 are supposed to be leeway from being downspeed - the pivoting that the boats do in the animation is an artifact of the animation software.

The Play: As soon as Red sets up to windward of Yellow, crew and skipper roles need to allow the team to cover the full sphere of vision to windward and too leeward so that they know when a threat is approaching. In this case, when Blue is identified as a threat in position 2, Red responds by putting the bow down and closing her hole to leeward down to a single boat length. After Blue has passed, Red uses the flow that she has created in closing the hole, to shoot back through head-to-wind, and re-open the hole to leeward.

Most Common Mistakes: The most common mistake that happens in this situation, is that Red either puts the bow down by sculling and never attaches flow to the foils, or just never puts the bow down at all, often opting to try to intimidate the competition by yelling. The key to making this play work is building enough flow between position 2 and 3, that Red can carry speed through head to wind after Blue has passed to open the hole back up to leeward (position 4). It is important to remember that if Red executes this play correctly, she will need to bring the bow back down to a close hauled angle to re-establish Starboard tack right-of-way after crossing head to wind between position 3 and 4.

Best Communication: "Defending," "Accelerate," "Closing the hole"

*Note: This play is part of the new edition of the playbook that is not yet available for download, so the numbering will not correspond to the playbook available for download below.