Sorry, I think you have your head in the sand.
Can you be more specific? What issue(s) do you feel I'm refusing to see? I'm trying to be helpful and responsive, so please let me know what you think I've left unaddressed.
Windy is pointing the finger at the OA and PC for NOT dealing with larger issue of responsibility and how it is dealt with in the framework of the sport.
I'm not going to draw conclusions on specific incidents here. I have no personal knowledge of what transpired that day and it would be wrong to make assumptions and place blame based on what has been written so far. Can race committee (and protest committee) be helpful? Yes. Can they be polite and friendly? Yes. Can they show concern for the safety and wellbeing of the competitors? Yes. Should they? I believe so.
PC have training to collect the facts and evaluate the rules and render a decision on the RRS. BUT they also need judgment to address the other issues of responsibility and sportsmanship that they are tasked with.
I agree that the protest committee needs to use good judgement. I don't see anybody here disputing that.
Competitors have an expectation for the game spelled out by the contract that they
signed up for. The OA and PC simply CANNOT wash their hands of this kind of responsibility/sportsmanship dispute after they manage the rules issue.
Who said anything about "washing their hands"? I've been quite firm on the necessity of holding a protest hearing whenever damage or injury occurs. Even if there is no disupte about fault, the hearing yields a documented application of the rules from a (presumably) authoritative source regarding the incident -- which is needed for any later claim for damages.
The adjudication of damages is the jurisdiction of the courts. Protest committee finds facts and applies the rules, but does not get involved in monetary claims (at least in the US). Just because sailors seek damages in court, or defend themselves against these claims does not in any way imply poor sportsmanship. They're doing exacty what the US SAILING Prescriptions to rule 68 tell them to do.
Picture this scenerio: Sailors A and B collide while racing and A's boat is damaged. A protests and B is disqualified by the protest committee. A says to B "you owe me X dollars for the damage". B replies "That's more than I think is fair, even if I were completely to blame which I don't believe. I'll give you Y dollars, but if you want more, you'll have to sue me." So, A takes B to court. Has either one acted in an unsportsmanlike manner? I don't think so. If, absent any other evidence, A went back to protest committee and requested B be punished for a "Gross Breach of Sportsmanship" just because he refused to meet A's demand, then I think PC would (and should) refer A to the courts. I think it takes a lot more than a disagreement over cost to constitute gross misconduct. Now, if B (in front of witnesses) said "**** you *******, I broke the rules but there's no way I'm ever going to give you a ******* dime. I'll keep you tied up in court forever. If you ever want to race again you'll have to fix it yourself and you'd better stay away from me or I'll hit you even harder next time.", then that's an entirely different matter. In that scenerio, A should take the witnesses to PC, protest B under Rule 2, and request that the committee call a hearing under rule 69 (as well as sue).
Look at Windy's bottom line. He felt that the sports administration did not hold up their part of the deal. He was on his own with no recourse...I am surprised he keeps racing in such a dysfunctional organization.
I'm glad WindyHillF20 is still sailing. A negative experience such as he described would drive most people away from the sport.
The integrity of the sport of sailing depends on self policing backed up by race administration. The PC has two jobs... rules application and responsibility/sportsmanship enforcement redress.
The integrity of the sport of sailing depends primarily on self-policing by the competitors ourselves. We (the sailors) should not expect RC or PC to step in and enforce rules if we do not. Be careful when you point the finger of blame, because it can wind up pointing right back at us. In the situation WindyHillF20 described, did any of the other sailors come over, ask how they were doing, and give advice about what to do next? I don't want to see incidents like his, but if I do, I hope that I'll go offer assistance whether I'm representing the organizing authority, race committee, protest committee, or just sailing myself.
Sincerely,
Eric
