I'm good with it now because I know what to expect, whether it be right or not it is consistent. At just about every skippers meeting something is said about not having protests and working it out on the water. It is obvious that they do not wish to hear protests or take the time to put together a protest committee.
It's not ok to be wrong, even if one is consistently wrong. When you attend a regatta, you should have confidence that protests will be heard. If you feel that hearings are being scuttled, let's fix that.
What I hear at skippers' meetings, is not that protests won't be heard, but that RC encourages competitors to 1) sail cleanly, and 2) exonerate themselves on the water. This is similar to when a boxing referee says "...no butting, no low blows, let's have a clean fight..." He's asking the competitors to abide by the rules, but he's there to respond if somebody doesn't.
Putting together a protest committee and holding hearings takes time and effort that regatta organizers and/or race committee would rather not spend. I don't deny that. Nevertheless, when a protest is filed, they are duty-bound to hear it.
Would it help for the larger EMSA regattas to have a jury (a protest committee separate from race committee)? That way, the competitors would know that is someone present to hear protests. If so, I'm willing to try to fit some EMSA events into my judging schedule for next year.
Regards,
Eric
