Mike,

I agree, this is a great thread for both PRO's and racers who will get a better idea of what's going on the race course and what to look for from the PRO and RC on the course.

One issue that has not been mentioned that I find at the regattas is the size of the flags used. Large flags prove to be a pain in the butt for RC boats which tend not to be dedicated vessels.

On big boat races... you tend to keep well clear of the starting line for safety reasons but the small flags used make it difficult to stay in touch with the sequence. Average size or small flags are less of a problem at beach cat or dinghy regattas where you can stay close to the line and you don't have 150 boats going off in a rolling starting sequence.

The radio communication is a great way to get around this flag problem. You can stay well clear of the line and still know exactly what's going on when the RC counts down to a signal and announces which class flag has just gone up.

As a single handed sailor... I always keep a waterproof vhf in my life jacket for safety. It would be trivial to tune in to the RC announcements.