Niko .. let me get this straight.  The class in question has a jib boom (self-tacking setup).  What we are asking to do is not attach anything to the sail .. but to attach to the jib-boom at some location along the jib-boom to hold it out down-wind?

I know several boats that do that with a hydraulic piston that they buy at an auto parts store (same piston that holds open your hatchback.  The anchor one side of the piston on the centerline of the bow and the other somewhere along the jib-boom.  It does a nice job and if sized and installed correctly ... it doesn't put up a fight when tacking or gybing to get the boom across.

John re "Red's sensible choice then is to peel away into a port gybe."

Yea .. that's how I would argue the point that Red in the 6-9 o'clock quad shown above would not be sailing within her MR if she luffed so quickly she broke 16.1.  

The argument would go ...  that there is no MR path to the mark which includes a luff HTW and then beyond.  Therefore Red's MR from that position does not include luffing HTW.  

However, a quick fall-off and gybe to port is a path which exists in contiguous MR as long as Red stays inside the zone.  If Red wishes to have the possibility of exoneration under MR, that's the path she should take (gybe to port). 

All that said, Red is ROW and can luff the windward boat HTW and try to force them to tack away  ... she just can't do it so quickly that she breaks 16.1 (the argument would go). 

Robert "My review of RRS 86.1(a) indicates no issues with this change."

An argument against that assertion might be that 86.1(a) forbids changes to rules of an appendix that changes Part 2 and Def's and that doing what you suggest .. in effect ... changes those Appx-rules by inserting a "however-clause" exception and then inserts the standard language.  

What I am saying is that it is more complicated than simply having a gravitational force component parallel to the local surface of the water.  Surfing, as a general phenomena, is defined and understood.  Where it isn't defined is in the RRS.  Unfortunately, this forum is not the place for the very long and very deep dive explaining the physics of surging, surfing, and planing.  But to me, the take away is that we need to understand the difference between surging, planing, and surfing and when each of these is possible to be able to properly interpret and apply RRS 42.

Wow Paul ... that must have been a lot of work (and moving forward as the working out the kinks phase begins). 

Congratulations!

Ang