"DSK" wrote in message
. ..
Maxprop wrote:


Maxprop wrote:
You should know by now that I'm not in favor of the nanny principle,
either in race committes or government.

Well, then why do you speak up in favor of the Race Committee acting like
a nanny?

So, you advocate a race committe staying out of decisions that might save
lives? Would you have opposed the race committee's postponement of that
ill-fated Sydney-Hobart ('94 I think) had they known before hand that the
weather would turn violent?

.... But you should also know that nationally and internationally ranked
sailors won't pass up the opportunity to sail in their respective Worlds,
even when conditions are poor.

Baloney. Nobody, no matter how intensely competitive they are, wants to
die... or lose crew, either from death, serious injury, or just saying
"I'm not sailing with you crazy MF-ers ever again." Nobody wants to break
expensive gear, and by the time most sailors reach this level of
competition, they are aware that breaking stuff is slow.

I've seen sailors put out to the course when everyone knew it would be a
disaster with broken equipment and possible injuries or death. No ranked
sailor was going to forego a race of fairly major importance, if the race
committe was heading out themselves. I also saw one of the Levinson boys
(Indianapolis--top Snipe sailors) pulled from the water after one such race,
given CPR, and thankfully revived. After that race, the race committee was
roundly chastized by almost everyone for not cancelling. And the race
chairman faced a class-action lawsuit by a group of sailors who had lost
boats. The case was ultimately decided in favor of the chairman, the judge
citing "final responsibility" to be that of each skipper. And I agree with
that decision. But a lot of trouble could have been prevented if the
committee or the chairman had simply called the race. It's not a matter of
nanny politics--it's a matter of common sense.

The prudent thing to do would be to delay or reschedule in order to
prevent the sort of losses the Soling Worlds experienced.


If you need a nanny, sure.

Let's check the report from that regatta ans see how many of the racers
spoke up in favor of the Race Committee cancelling races so that they
don't have to be responsible for themselves.





I never said they were responsible for broken gear or, in a worst-case
scenario, dead sailors. Each skipper is. But such occurrences could be
prevented by the RC. As I stated above, top sailors typically won't make
the tough decision to take a pass

The heck they won't.

It's clearly obvious you've never been close to racing at the national or
international level.


Part of the situation here is that conditions went from bad, but raceable,
to barely survivable. By the time each individual skipper came to the
decision to shift from "race" to "survival" to "let's get the heck out of
this, if possible," it was too late to do anything except try to avoid
casualty... unsuccessfully, in some unfortunate cases.

Weather isn't that difficult to forecast. Too often I've watched a RC head
out after looking at the sky and saying, "Hmm--looks like it could get
nasty, but what the hell." No consultation of The Weather Channel or NOAA
or even the local weather folks.

Any racer with some years experience will have gotten into weather
situations that forced priority over racing tactics. Any *sailor* will
recognize that threshold as it approaches, in many cases while still
standing on the dock.

Freak weather phenomena aren't unheard of, but with the predictability of
major storms today such occurrences should be rare.

There's too much at stake, such as their jobs with sailmakers, etc. So
the RC is in the perfect position to prevent the sort of things that
happened at the Soling Worlds. They failed to exercise their option,
IMO.


Again... you claim that you're against nanny-ism but here you are
insisting it should be done. One of the most glaring reasons why you are
neither conservative nor libertarian is that you cannot stick to your
principles.

Bull****. This isn't even close to a matter of principle. It's common
sense. Would you make a base jump if the wind was blowing 40kts.? Fact is
that I've seen jumpers do exactly that, exercising no common sense whatever.
And I've watched them die doing so. But let's not abandon our principles
here--death is such a minor inconvenience. By the way, I knew you couldn't
abstain from attacking me personally. g

I love it when the wind blows like double-stink, and IMHO if the RC
cancels a race in conditions where I am more likely to do well, then my
score is being prejudiced. I don't need a nanny, and don't want one on the
race course.

Ft. Lauderdale, mid-70s, Snipe Nationals--Earl Elms ultimately won. On the
first day the winds were out of the northeast at 25kts. and the RC postponed
the first race to see what the wind and sea looked like in two hours.
During that two-hour period, the wind shifted from the NE to the SW,
preceding a squall from the area south of the Keys. Straight-line winds in
excess of 70kts. were recorded. Many Snipes blew over, attached to their
trailers and were damaged or ruined. Had the boats been on the course,
there would have been dead sailors, not just wrecked boats. The RC made the
right call, based upon the predicted weather when the winds are from the NE.
Damn nannies.

Max