I think this whole debate, while interesting, is begging the underlying question of whether the race committee or the organizing body has any intrinsic responsibility for the safety of the sailors participating in the regatta.

As Mike Fahle pointed out, the Racing Rules of Sailing seem to make it clear that safety is the responsibility of the individual sailors to take care of themselves and to also take care of their fellow competitors.

If it were just left at that and if it were made clear to sailors at all regattas that they are on their own, there should not be a question of responsibility.

However, as some of the posters have tried to point out, as soon as the race committee/organizers appear to assume some implied or explicit responsibility for safety, they may be exposing themselves to potential lawsuits.

Nobody is saying regatta organizers should not have as many powerboats on the water as possible. It is just that it is better if nothing is said about it and if no specific policies are set and if sailors do not have the idea that they can expect the race committee to come to their rescue.

As far as regatta insurance to cover the race committee volunteers -- is it necessary? Well, it probably would not be necessary if you did not have any volunteers and one person ran the whole show.

But having a lot of powerboats out there on the water is a double-edged sword -- there are more people potentially available to help out if a sudden squall rolls through, but there are also more chances of a powerboat causing damage or inadvertently hurting somebody. Which is the primary reason the race committee volunteers need to be protected by regatta insurance.