Right of way
The set of rules that decide who yields when two wind-powered craft cross — starboard over port, leeward over windward, and a handful of kite-specific additions.
Also known as: rules of the road, kite etiquette, sailing right of way
Right-of-way rules tell two wind-powered riders on a collision course which one keeps clear. They come from the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) and the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), and they apply equally to a kite, a wing, a windsurf board, and a sailing yacht.
The shared core is five lines:
- Opposite tacks — port tack yields to starboard tack.
- Same tack — windward yields to leeward.
- Overtaking — the faster rider behind keeps clear.
- Entering vs returning — the rider launching from the beach has priority over the rider coming in.
- In the waves — the rider closest to the peak owns the wave; everyone else gets off (a drop-in is the universal sin).
Kites add one rule the others don’t need, because of line length: when two kites cross, the upwind rider keeps the kite at 12 o’clock and the downwind rider drops the kite low. The lines pass over each other instead of through.
See the full breakdown in Right of Way on the Water.
Related terms
- Tack An upwind turn — the board changes direction by passing through the wind from the front. Also: which side of the wind you're currently sailing.
- Windward The side closer to where the wind is coming from — upwind. The windward rider sits higher on the wind and yields to the leeward rider on the same tack.
- Leeward The side away from where the wind is coming — downwind. The leeward rider has right of way over the windward rider on the same tack.
- Drop-in Taking off on a wave that another rider already has priority on — the cardinal sin of lineup etiquette.