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Clearly none of you guys have sailed based on what I'm reading and it appears many think it's as simple as hard about and changing tacks to get out of the way. Having raced sailboats in my youth, then running two sailboat lesson centers for Scituate and Hingham during college summer breaks and working crew on two delivers out of Ft. Lauderdale after college; I have decades of sailing experience.
In my youth on my International 110 and with a 10-15 mph breeze, I could quickly come about and change tacks, but even then it takes time to get back up to any kind of headway speed. Lighten the air and it's a slow process. Make the boat bigger and heavier with that same light air and you could have coffee and a donut in the time it takes to tack and change course. If this has to happen in a harbor with traffic, current and boats on moorings, it's best to hold course and maintain headway steam and let the guys under power yield. Now if this is outside and there is an ocean full of room, again why should a guy under sail power only yield to a guy under power? I've altered course dozens of times in a season in Vineyard sound in my boats and see no big deal in yielding to the guys under sail power only and am happy to do so.
Then there is the experience factor and who's on board, tacking a mid-large sailboat, a finicky hobiecat, or anything without too much experience isn't as simple as turning the wheel, or pushing the tiller hard over. Put up a spinnaker and it's getting a lot more challenging. I think you guys need some good aged cheese to go along with your wine, wah, wah, wah. Rules of the road have been the same since I was a kid and they are there for a reason, safety on the water for ALL.
Inside or out and a guy in a 30 foot sailboat is under power, as far as I'm concerned he's just another powerboat.
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