Boy, there are a lot of opinions and accusations being tossed around on this thread. As one of the parties involved in the incident I would like to set the record straight.
It was the on second upwind beat when it happened. We, Krantz/Lennard, were ahead and to leeward in 1st, and Pitt/Shafer were a couple of boatlengths windward and behind in second at the time. We tacked to starboard, David hailed starboard several times as we approached, he continued hailing starboard. We fully expected them to tack either directly in front or in a leebow situation. There never was any doubt in our mind that they were going to aggressively defend their position. At the very last second we realized that they were not tacking and a collision was going to happen, we blew the main and jib and attempted to duck. Our starboard hull hit them about 3 feet from the transom. There was big bang, we both spun around. I asked them if they were all right, everyone was ok, they did a 360 and we went on to finish the race. It cost us both a lot of positions, we finished 7th, they crossed the line in 8th. Once we got to the beach, we then realized the extent of the damage from the collision. The jury convened a hearing, Pitt/Shafer were exonerated on the port/starboard collision since they had done their 360. The jury then proceeded to DSQ Pitt/Shafer for a violation of rule 44.1 - causing serious damage.
Nobody could feel worse about the incident than Dave and I. Nigel and Alex are very good friends of ours. We race both together and against each other all the time. It was an unfortunate incident that just happened, and we are especially grateful that it did not cost them the championship.
On another note, I've competed in more than several Alter Cup Championships. This one, was by far, the best I've ever been to. The Capricorns supplied by Fun In The Sun were awesome boats to sail. The city of Gulfport welcomed us with open arms. The hospitality of the host club - Gulfport Yacht Club was second to none - thanks to Bob Feckner and his staff of volunteers. And Jake Kohl and his event staff ran an impeccable event. Last but not least, the competitors, some we knew and some we just met, were a great group of sailors. Everyone sailed hard and sailed fair - what more could you ask for?
