Bob,
As to what Smiles was thinking, you'd have to ask John. I wish I was a mind reader... would make dealing with the wife a LOT easier ;-)
I will say that Avenger was right in front of him (also on port) and maybe blocking his view of what was coming. At the last second, Avenger tacked right in front of us and we had duck to avoid hitting him. We registered a protest against Avenger also but the protest was disallowed because we did not notify him in a timely manner. Probably understandable in the situation but never the less, since he never knew, he did not have a chance to do his turns.
