I'm sorry to say that you all F18 sailors who called Mike names or refused his ROW are wrong. You are struggling for excuses, you are trying to put the omen on the RC, but you are all flat wrong.
A boat is racing the same course as you, you are all bound by the same rules. It doesn't matter how the score is calculated. It doesn't even matter if he started at the same time as you. You *have* to extend to this odd duck the same sportsmanship you extend to your fellow F18. No excuses.
If you are not doing it, well, you're an butt. And you deserve being protested and disqualified. Hell, if you were real sailor you would disqualify yourself for poor sportmanship.
Mike is 100% right in being pissed off.
I see both sides of the story here...Port Starboard, room at the mark, etc. ABSOLUTELY they are due and nobody should or could argue otherwise. This is part of the deal with racing on a mixed course.
However, things change when the bigger boat, who is not formally being scored against, engages tactically with boats racing in a tight one-design race to the disadvantage of the smaller boat who doesn't even know he's in a battle. For starters, the larger boat has a performance advantage making a duel a loosing battle for the smaller boat and one they can not only win, but one they cannot escape. Even in a Portsmouth fleet, you don't typically get into these duels because it only serves to slow the big boat down and reduce the chance of getting the separation needed for the win. I can see how an F18 crew could be frustrated if there were these tactical battles happening with a Tornado while they were duking it out in their fleet.
