and I don't think it's especially fair to penalize a small boat for contacting the buoy.
Contact is one thing... I've seen boats practically make love to the barging buoy.
Sort of like being a "little" pregnant.
Maybe not using such a long line on the barging buoy would keep it from such wild swings? Or attach the buoy to something flexible, like a fiberglass batten, boathook, or antenna attached horizontally from the stern quarter of the start boat?
