This was written after playing chicken with other kiters and poleys over the Christmas break, and as a reply to all the threads about rules on the water/leaners/Euros/whinging and how even the experienced screw up.

When you're on the water a STARBOARD tack - ie with the wind coming over the right shoulder - has right of way. It's a basic rule of the sea.
Those on port tacks - heading out to sea in a SW'ly at Dutch, heading 'in' to The Pond, heading towards Ardross at Melville, heading to Penguin at Shaolwater - should drop their kites or bear downwind a bit, if a poley, if faced with those coming at 'em on a opposite tack.
My dinghy instructor said the rule comes from the Vikings when their longships had steering oars on the right side of their sterns. This made them less manoeuvrable compared to a ship on an opposite tack coming towards them.
The steering oar of the port tack ship would have been on its leeward side and 'digging' deeper into the water, allowing the ship to bear away from the wind/oncoming vessel faster.
"Port" comes from the ships tying up with the steering oar-less side facing the wharf to protect the primitive rudder.
Or is this just a yarn spun to keep novice sailiors quiet?
Now could someone please explain how that affects the arcane rules waxheads apply when you take the kite in the surf?