"DSK" wrote in message
. ..
Maxprop wrote:
Snipes have made a comeback of sorts, but they are a far cry from what
they were in the Seventies. There were nearly 20,000 registered Snipes
by '75.


Sure, back in the "good old days" they were the biggest class in the
world.

Second biggest, actually. Sunfish numbered more, but probably more Snipes
were actually raced.

Lot of good sailors keep a Snipe handy for the big regattas. I know of a
couple of people that race Snipes along with two or three other classes.

I raced Snipes, Lightnings, and Lasers during the same period. It's not
uncommon.

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.


That's precisely what happened. Someone protests a competitor for using
kinetics--the word was "ooching" in the instance in question--and the
race committee convenes a post-race hearing to determine who was right.
The politically-aligned sailors always won, in my experience.

To some extent, that's always true isn't it? Life is a popularity contest.

Of course. It's not what you know, it's whom.


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.


Why? Were you that far behind? g

No, I was racing in a different class (beach cats) and had not done well
enough for contention of 1st, and I already had a big enouogh pile of 2nd,
3rd, 4th etc trophies that I'd begun throwing them away (in fact I've
moved twice since then and tossed out quite a few more). I didn't really
care, just made a few sarcastic remarks later to the individuals concerned
who should have known better. The guy who protested me was a former champ
in this class who was failing miserably at a comeback and was PO'd.




Quick story: I was shoved against a mark during a rounding by a boat
over whom I clearly had rights. He knew it too, and smiled at me when I
protested him. I did my 720, lost six positions, regained three while he
won the race. Before the hearing, one of the old yacht club regulars
asked me, "Heh, heh, do you really think you can get a decision over Lew,
heh, heh?" I said, "Hell yes, he was clearly in violation of rule # such
and such . . . ." I lost.


Well, that's bull**** and it shows the minute "good ol' Lew, heh heh"
sails somewhere outside his little frog pond.

Lew knew better than to ever race elsewhere. He was a bully and a mediocre
sailor. Even his strongarm tactics couldn't land him in better than 5th or
6th place.


What frosts me is when such shenanigans go on at the big events. In a
major Lightning championship I was in (for the record, we did not bring
home any silver from this one), Mr X forced his way into a mark rounding,
at a gate no less, not only hit the mark but it literally went under his
boat's hull, also ramming two other boats in the process and fouling one's
rig... Mr X was DSQ'd by a protest committee and then had his finish
mysteriously reinstated the last day of the series.

Fortunately I was the fleet scorer for both our Snipe and Laser fleets. I
was approached by a parent on one occasion in an effort to get a kid's
finishing position changed in one race in the junior regionals. It would
have made the difference between second and third overall for his kid. When
I rejected his attempt to "reason" with me, I was offered cash. When I
rejected that, I was threatened. A predictable pattern.

..
A few years later, this guy won a big championship, and at the dinner I
asked a few people who were at this foul-up if they remembered when Mr X
sailed over the bouy and they said hell yes, and re-told the story loudly.
Mr X got very red faced but did not say a word. I've been told his kids
refer to that big trophy as "the one Daddy got by sailing over a mark."
Personally I think that's good enough revenge.

I suspect similar stories are played and replayed at yacht clubs throughout
the world. I gave up showing horses many years ago when I discovered that
the politics of that particular activity were no different or worse than
those in most other hobbies or sports. I still race, but I've mellowed
enough to find comfort in the knowledge that sailboat racing just ain't
important enough to get upset about. Larry Ellison might disagree.

Max

To some extent, that's always true isn't it? Life is a popularity contest.


Maxprop wrote:
Of course. It's not what you know, it's whom.


Or what you know about whom.

Actually, facts are very powerful. You just always have to
remember that facts & logic can be trumped by stupidity &
nepotism; and try to either avoid those situations or only
get into them where you are likley to be favored.


Fortunately I was the fleet scorer for both our Snipe and Laser fleets. I
was approached by a parent on one occasion in an effort to get a kid's
finishing position changed in one race in the junior regionals. It would
have made the difference between second and third overall for his kid. When
I rejected his attempt to "reason" with me, I was offered cash. When I
rejected that, I was threatened. A predictable pattern.


That's really low. That's worse than anything I've heard of,
although I've seen a fair number of scoring errors and/or
inexplicable final placings. If I knew of a sailor who tried
to bribe the scorer, that would be an issue to tell USSA
(and the region) about.

At one point, as a club officer, I handed over a very nice
perpetual trophy to a sailor whom we later found had faked
printed regatta results to show that he had a regional high
point score. Pinhead! He never lived that down and gave up
sailing the very next year. A shame really, because he was a
pretty good sailor.


I suspect similar stories are played and replayed at yacht clubs throughout
the world. I gave up showing horses many years ago when I discovered that
the politics of that particular activity were no different or worse than
those in most other hobbies or sports. I still race, but I've mellowed
enough to find comfort in the knowledge that sailboat racing just ain't
important enough to get upset about. Larry Ellison might disagree.


The thing to do is 1- enjoy it no matter how you place 2-
stay away from entanglements with other boats that will lead
to protests 3- work hard to get so good that you blow
everyone's doors off and there's no question whatever over
your score. If you ever get to 3- it's time to move to a
more competitive class.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

"DSK" wrote in message
. ..
To some extent, that's always true isn't it? Life is a popularity
contest.


Maxprop wrote:
Of course. It's not what you know, it's whom.


Or what you know about whom.

Actually, facts are very powerful. You just always have to remember that
facts & logic can be trumped by stupidity & nepotism; and try to either
avoid those situations or only get into them where you are likley to be
favored.

By the time you discover you're knee deep in a good old boy system, it's
usually too late. But the old adage, "fool me once, shame on you; fool me
twice, shame on me" is applicable.

Fortunately I was the fleet scorer for both our Snipe and Laser fleets.
I was approached by a parent on one occasion in an effort to get a kid's
finishing position changed in one race in the junior regionals. It would
have made the difference between second and third overall for his kid.
When I rejected his attempt to "reason" with me, I was offered cash.
When I rejected that, I was threatened. A predictable pattern.

That's really low. That's worse than anything I've heard of, although I've
seen a fair number of scoring errors and/or inexplicable final placings.
If I knew of a sailor who tried to bribe the scorer, that would be an
issue to tell USSA (and the region) about.

That's not quite as simple as it sounds. I reported the incident to SCIRA
(it was the Snipe Junior Regionals), to the Executive Secretary, a man named
'Buzz' at the time, and he promised to take some action on the issue, which
of course never happened. It was always my suspicion that the kid's old
man, who was very well-connected in a great many circles, probably
threatened Buzz as well, or perhaps Buzz took the bribe. I was asked the
following year to step down from the job of Snipe fleet scorer, which was my
first experience of just how whistle-blowers are regarded in our modern
society.


At one point, as a club officer, I handed over a very nice perpetual
trophy to a sailor whom we later found had faked printed regatta results
to show that he had a regional high point score. Pinhead! He never lived
that down and gave up sailing the very next year. A shame really, because
he was a pretty good sailor.

I never relied on fleet competitors to provide us with regatta results. Oh
sure, I listened the following weekend while they boasted or complained
about their finishes, but took the results from the SCIRA monthly magazine
as gospel. Today we'd simply get the results from the class website.

I suspect similar stories are played and replayed at yacht clubs
throughout the world. I gave up showing horses many years ago when I
discovered that the politics of that particular activity were no
different or worse than those in most other hobbies or sports. I still
race, but I've mellowed enough to find comfort in the knowledge that
sailboat racing just ain't important enough to get upset about. Larry
Ellison might disagree.

The thing to do is 1- enjoy it no matter how you place 2- stay away from
entanglements with other boats that will lead to protests 3- work hard to
get so good that you blow everyone's doors off and there's no question
whatever over your score. If you ever get to 3- it's time to move to a
more competitive class.

Good advice. When rounding marks in a crowd when I have the inside line, I
generally stand up at the helm position and point at individual boats
telling each if they have rights or not w/r/t me. It ****es some folks off,
but it has been 100% effective in preventing BS and protests. One sailor
approached me after a race and said, "You sure take your sailing seriously,
doncha?" I responded, "Not really. I do, however, take nonsense
seriously."

Max