In article .com,
" wrote:

Hi Roy, Gene and suscribers,

You can find at "ISAF Judges Manual 2006" this guide about the case:

9.4 Right to Withdraw a Protest
Withdrawing a protest requires the approval of the Jury. A competitor
may not automatically withdraw a protest simply by saying so. The jury
should determine the reason why it is being withdrawn. If foul play is
suspected, that permission should not be given.


Thanks for the quote, but the preface to the Judges Manual also says:

"This manual is designed and written for ISAF International Judges serving
on international juries, and as the textbook for ISAF International Judge
Seminars. The advice and procedures contained in this book generally
relate to major regattas and championships."

I'm not sure that applies to our local weekday night racing. Still, it
sounds to me like any of the following would be good reasons to allow the
protest to be dropped:

"I talked to my crew and they convinced me I really didn't need to duck"

"I re-read the rules are realize now I misunderstood them"

or even:

"I still think I was fouled, but I've got better things to do than waste a
night in the protest room".

But, if you had reason to believe (i.e. somebody overheard a conversation
at the bar) that a deal was struck:

"If you drop your protest, I'll give you a freebie the next time we're in
the same situation"

or that there was intimidation:

"Hey, Joe, as Commodore, I've got to tell you that it's really not cool to
protest somebody from your own club. Why don't you just drop it for the
good of the club, huh?"

then you should require it to be heard. Sound reasonable?