us7070, I'd rather not mention the race at this point. I will share that later. However, water is not the only "consumable". Fuel is a consumable, as are flares, inflatable PFD components. Years ago I did have a BAD inspector try to penalize the boat for an inflatable PFD that deployed during the race. Fortunately, we had an extra to bring the total to one per crew. Same IDIOT tried to penalize for non compliant flares. Said Paine Wessex were NOT SOLAS flares, despite the printing that said they met the requirements for SOLAS. Idiot thought SOLAS was a company rather than a standard. Was thrown out, but I still had to deal with that crap after being on the water for several days in trying conditions. For example, OSR 3.28.3 states that, "At the start a boat shall carry sufficient fuel..." IOW, the rules are geared for how the boat is prepped out, rather than trying to tell a crew how to utilize their resources in the conditions that they actually encounter. I agree that organizers should want racers to make safety decisions based on seamanship and conditions present, rather than to protect their finish position. Unfortunately, I'm afraid sometimes race officials try to "become the game" rather than run the game. However, I digress.
I really am more concerned with penalties assessed to boats due to mechanical failure or damage caused by conditions or other vessels. I have not been able to find such cases from 2009 to date. I believe this supports my position. Thanks