Actually, Mark, the OA for the event was US SAILING and ABYC was the host. They were mute on equipment inspections - they put it onto the competitors where it should be, but then made some things not protestable by "a boat." What occurred prior to the first start was one competitor said to another, "if you wear that, I will protest you." The scuttlebutt is that the response from the coach was, "you can't." So after the last race, the girl went to the PRO to complain. The PRO felt obligated to lodge the protest since the competitor couldn't. Only the winner was protested, though there were many breaking the same rule.

I just learned last night that at a major college event here last weekend, an on-the-water umpire put up the black flag on a girl that was not wearing a PFD. In the room, she told a plausible story why she didn't have it on at the moment and she was not DSQ'd. The team that had the most to lose did not file an appeal because they'd beaten the PFD girl's team... but then a scoring error was discovered the next day that flip-flops their finish position. What do you want to bet the appeal gets filed now? In the mean time, a judge has indicated that the umpire erred and cannot file against a competitor for a PFD violation.

I love this game.