ok so time for a racing question now that the boat is tucked away for the long minnesota winter So I raced nationals this year in my C22 and had an interesting occurrence at one of the starts. There were 3 other boats (4 with me) approaching the start right on time as the gun was about to sound. All were on Starboard and we were all very close to the committee boat as it was the favored line. As we got to the start the "conversations" started and one of the other racers started yelling "No room" We were in the lead just slightly but they had better boat speed and would pass us before the start line. Not being fully aware of what rule he was citing I quickly turned up to loose speed and then fell right back off to join in right behind them (missed the motor on the committee boat by inches). All boats were within a few feet of one another and I was the outside boat. I asked later at the wrap up for someone to explain but never really understood the answer, though they were impressed how fast we recovered and were right on their stern again. So can one of your more well versed race aficionados help me understand why I needed to give room when we were all on starboard and I was the outside boat? Picture is not my start but the Gold fleet and the same start line for reference.