Chicago Race Committee Fiasco

[Canal Bottom]

In the recent Verve Cup Off shore Regatta in Chicago, The Race committee finish boat was at the wrong location per the sailing Instructions. Now the dilemma, do you go to the SI coordinates for the finish or go to the finish boat with the finish signal flag flying? The protest ruling was, you go to the SI coordinates for the finish and record your own finish time.

If a Race Committee screws up this badly, shouldn't they buy you drinks?

If you do a Chicago Regatta, be prepared for anything, it is like the wild [email protected]!

The skippers and crews who failed to sail the course should withdraw. Any delay only serves to increase the shame and total lack of honor. If the RC determines the race was unfair the RC should acknowledged the issue or flaw and abandon the race. It seems we have guilty parties on both sides who cannot come to grips with their own failure to execute the SI and the course in this case. Failing to finish no matter how it happened is materially the same action as rounding the wrong weather mark. When you realize your error you withdraw on your own accord.

 

[Christian]

hope someone affected appeals this and we get some casebook guidance on this type of occurrence so PCs and RCs know how to handle these in the future.

This doesn't need a case. There's a pretty well-trodden path that goes as follows.

If, as a result of poor drafting of SI, or some other action of the race committee, there is confusion in the minds of competitors as to what course is required to be sailed and some competitors sail one course and some sail another and there are one or more protests for breach of rule 28 then:

• The protest committee should, in their warm dry committee room, carefully consider the SI and the actions of the race committee and, if possible, decide which course was the correct course as specified in the SI.If it is not possible to decide what was the correct course as specified in the SI, then the race should be abandoned but see Note 1
• If there is evidence that some boats who were validly protested did not sail the course determined as correct by the protest committee, these boats should be disqualified.

[*]All other boats that have not been validly protested and penalised should be scored based on their finishing positions/times, as adjusted for the disqualifications.
[*]the protest committee should then consider redress for the boats that have been disqualified. If the protest committee is satisfied that the confusing instructions or actions of the race committee were an improper action (which they should usually do), and that the confusion in the minds of the competitors was caused by the improper action and that it was not reasonable for them, in the stress of competing on the water to have resolved the confusion, and thus that there was no fault of their own the protest committee should decide that those boats were entitled to redress.
[*]the following logic can then be applied to determine the arrangement as fair as possible to all boats affected.

• The boats that have not been penalised have had a fair race among themselves;
• The boats that all sailed the same course, but different from that required in the SI have had a fair race among themselves.
• It would not be fair to score any boat that had not complied with all the rules including rule 28 as well or better than those boats that did comply with all the rules.
• The boats that were disqualified should be given redress, in their order of placing, commencing with the place immediately following the place of the last of the boats that were not disqualified.

Note 1 A protest committee cannot abandon a a race unless they can conclude that a boat is entitled to redress. If they can't find a boat whose score was made worse by the improper action of the race committee, through no fault of her own, then all the protest committee can do is suggest to the race committee that the race committee abandon the race.

Note 2. This process is not a 'gimme' for a competitor who is too lazy to read the SI, or unreasonably dumb in applying them. the gateway to the redress is that the pretest committee is satisfied that confusion was reasoanbly caused by the improper action and not the fault of the competitors.

Right now the PC/RC is dammed if they abandon and dammed if they score some boats. It would give future race organizers cover for their decisions.

They are all volunteers, trying their best to present good races. Most of the time they do and I hope no one misconstrues my writings as not recognizing their volunteer status and appreciating their time and efforts. Thank you race committee and protest committee.

Right now the PC/RC is dammed if they abandon and dammed if they score some boats. It would give future race organizers cover for their decisions.

There is no such thing as PC/RC. The protest committee is required to be separate from and independent from the race committee.

Abandoning is a lousy solution but is quite legal for the race committee unless they are foolish enough to announce that they have not considered the consequences for all boats in the race or series in accordance with rule 32.1.

It is not legal for the protest committee, as discussed in Note 1 above to abandon a race unless they can find at least one boat that is entitled to redress (rule 64.2).

They are all volunteers, trying their best to present good races. Most of the time they do and I hope no one misconstrues my writings as not recognizing their volunteer status and appreciating their time and efforts. Thank you race committee and protest committee.

Being a volunteer is not an excuse for failing to comply with the rules and the national prescriptions.

Hmmmm - can you tell me where that is stated in the RRS?

 

[Brass]

Note 1 A protest committee cannot abandon a a race unless they can conclude that a boat is entitled to redress. If they can't find a boat whose score was made worse by the improper action of the race committee, through no fault of her own, then all the protest committee can do is suggest to the race committee that the race committee abandon the race.

It is not legal for the protest committee, as discussed in Note 1 above to abandon a race unless they can find at least one boat that is entitled to redress (rule 64.2).

Hmmmm - can you tell me where that is stated in the RRS?

The only power given to a protest committee to give any boat redress is contained in rule 64.2.

The first clause of the first sentence states the only condition under which a protest committee may give redress.

64.2 Decisions on RedressWhen the protest committee decides that a boat is entitled to redress

under rule 62, it shall make as fair an arrangement as possible for all

boats affected, whether or not they asked for redress. This may be to

adjust the scoring (see rule A10 for some examples) or finishing

times of boats, to abandon the race, to let the results stand or to make

some other arrangement. When in doubt about the facts or probable

results of any arrangement for the race or series, especially before

abandoning the race, the protest committee shall take evidence from

appropriate sources.