Mike,
Ok, I won't quote you line by line. The context of the original question, however, is "What should one do during a race if you see the boat ahead of you hit a mark...".
I approach rule questions as hypothetical scenerios where the facts are as stated. I take it at face value that the mark was indeed hit. My analysis does not depend on the confidence level of those facts.
Now, the action a competitor should take is different than the action race committee should take in two ways.
- During a race, a competitor who plans to protest must fulfill the requirements of rule 61.1(a), which include hailing "Protest" and displaying a red flag (exceptions apply). Race committee must comply with rule 61.1(b), which includes informing the boat after the race.
- The decision whether or not to protest is also quite different. Competitors are "expected to enforce" the rules. RC is not. The sailors have a greater responsibility and should therefore be more inclined to protest than RC.
Drawing an analogy between RC protests and competitor protests is not really valid here, as the roles of the parties are quite different. Being sure of your facts, and presenting them in a compelling way is good advice for everybody in a protest hearing, but not really germaine to this question.
Regards,
Eric
