"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
Bart wrote:
I agree completely with you Doug. I like it when it is nasty
out there. It is an opportunity for good judgment (i.e. not
setting a spinnaker) might mean passing a string of broached
yachts. Judgment is part of the game.


It definitely should be, it's part of the good seamanship that many
non-racing sailors claim us racers lack.

LOL. In a perfect world, maybe. In reality, I've seen things that would
grow hair on your chest--even yours. The racers I've known varied, just
like the general population, from brilliant to patently stupid. Judgment
goes out the window in all too many situations. One of the fastest Thistle
sailors I ever met--he was the NA and National Champion at least twice
each--had the misfortune of having absolutely no judgment at all, except
w/r/t racing tactics and sailing fast. He backed his gorgeous new boat into
a chain-link fence, dropped it from a hoist, and ran a tire on his trailer
over a rock which tipped the whole thing on its side. He also went out for
a daysail with his girlfriend one weekend and ended up being charged with
manslaughter when she drowned during a squall that was predicted hours
before. He was a fast fool.


Sailing in heavy air is also a different skill set, like racing in light
air. You have to tune in to different actions, have different reflexes &
priorities. That's one of the great things about sailing, it's many sports
rolled into one.

I've been in races that were abandoned when the RC had to leave station to
go rescue boats. That's forgiveable, but to have them simply call it off
because "it's too windy" is just lame.

I've seldom seen a race called because it was "too windy." I've seen them
called when a wall cloud was spotted trailing a squall line. I've seen them
called when the sky turned into an electrical extravaganza. And I've seen
them postponed when the knowledge of the members of the RC indicated that
things could go from bad to horrific. I've also seen them cancelled when
things were predicted to get nasty, but didn't. But I've almost never seen
one called because "it's too windy."


Max