When the Race Committee and/or the Organizing Authority decided to cancel the racing at 11 am on Friday many competitors were quite disappointed.

Since races could be started up until 2:00 pm, and since it took about 10-15 minutes to reach the starting line from the beach, the decision to cancel the racing at 11 am seemed premature. In addition, wind speed readings from the anemometer of the data station closest to the race course (and 50 feet off the water) were below the class maximum wind speed (22 knots) at 9 am, 10, and 11 am, and were dropping quickly. In fact, the readings were 21 knots at 9 am, 17 knots at 10 am, and 16 knots at 11 am. See attached or http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=mlrf1&meas=wspd&uom=E )(note that the time scale is Greenwich Mean Time, i.e., five hours ahead of local time). This was predicted by the forecast, and the forecast for the rest of the day after 11 am was for steady winds of 15-18 knots. Therefore, many competitors were mystified as to why racing was cancelled, when the recent, immediate and predicted wind speeds were all well below the maximum allowable speed.

A statement on the worlds website reads, "At 1015 the RC sent a boat a couple of miles offshore to where racing would be held to assess the conditions on the spot. Winds at water level continued in the 19-22 knot range with gusts to 28. There was also a fairly severe and square chop setting up with standard waves at 4 feet with frequent sets of 3 waves in the 6 foot range. The OA was concerned with the safety of the sailors as well as the almost certain carnage to equipment that would have resulted if the races would have been held within the time available and Racing was Abandoned at 1100EST." The data in this statement appears difficult to reconcile with the wind speed data recorded by the nearby data buoys, and many competitors wondered how the RC boat recorded its data. Many competitors also felt that they should have been allowed to evaluate the risks of breakage themselves and make their own decisions about whether to race or not.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, safety of the competiors and their equipment is always a consideration in any regatta, and decisions by an RC will never please everyone. However, many competitors were left scratching their heads after the decision to cancel racing at 11 am on Friday.