....I read at the time that the top sailor in the Snipe
Junior Nationals was DSQ'd from two races in 1972 for roll tacking. He
still won the nationals that year, his other finishes were 1-1-1-1-2-1-1.

Sounds like a pretty good series for him.


But the scuttlebut thereafter was that roll tacking wasn't allowed in
Snipes. A few years later everyone was doing it. Things change.


Things definitely change.



If one were to roll-tack one's way up the windward leg, using each tack
simply for propulsion and not because of windshifts or competitors, that
would be illegal, then & now.


Interpretation changes with time.

And with location, and with present company.


... Kinetics become better-defined and
written rules become more specific. When I raced Snipes they were the
second largest one-design class in the world, with Sunfish #1. Now neither
class is even viable any longer.


What? The Snipe class may be staging a comeback you haven't
noticed. I see a fair amount of them around the Southeast.
OTOH Fireballs and Y-Flyers seem to have gone the way of the
dodo.




If you get DSQ'd you should honestly be able to say (and hopefully get the
backing of a few other skippers) "I was doing exactly what the other boats
were doing, so DSQ them also."

Maxprop wrote:
Depends upon how well politically aligned you are with the race committee.
My experience is that most race committees tend to have selective vision and
variable rules interpretation skills.

No, that should NEVER be a factor. A Race Committee, or a
Protest Committee, can NOT simply DSQ a competitor without a
hearing on the same rules of order as a protest by a competitor.

Protest committees occasionally hand out weird decisions...
I can recall being DSQ'd for being hit by a windward boat
who felt that I was in his way... it wasn't worth an appeal.
Most Protest Committees these days err on the side of
political correctness, and shy away from doing anything as
offensive as DSQ'ing anybody.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King