Skip is clearly at fault after carefully reviewing the video. He first cuts Karl off and heads up hard and bounces off of Karl. He then tries to duck hard and get behind Todd unsuccessfully. I thought at first he could argue that Karl pushed him down. That just isn't the case. You can see after he hits Karl he pulls hard on his rudders and accelerates right into Todd. Had he just bounced off Karl and stayed high he would have not hit Todd but would have probably run over the starting mark. Better to hit a starting mark than to hit a boat.
Obviously he should have dsq'd himself after he saw the damage. I also understand making a mistake. I don't understand him not taking responsibility. Windward / Leeward. It's not much more basic than that. Todd had no chance to avoid the situation.
Oh yeah, And shame on Karl for trying to jump in there. Nice try but I'd have cut Karl off too. Karl thought better of it and got out of it nice and clean. Karl you barging SOB. :))
Here is a little insight into the situation:
I have sailed with Skip and against him, and consider him to be a good friend. In fact, I sailed on this very boat in the Steeplechase two years ago. I know well that it is a monster with certain design flaws, i.e. rudders, which make it very unmaneuverable in tight situations.
Couple that with the fact that Skip is relatively new to sailboat racing. His experience has been almost all in the Hobie Wave (hence the name Wave) fleet. To his credit, Skip has done very well with Waves and he has transitioned into A-Cats recently. Skip is very enthusiastic and has gone to extreme lengths to become a better sailor. I’m sure he is sick about what happened.
Having said that, in the Wave Fleet we have a chronic problem with a few sailors who consider barging to be a valid starting tactic. It is so bad that there is virtually no percentage in contesting the pin end. I am amazed that so many of our “good” sailors still try. Fortunately, the Hobie Wave is virtually indestructible and many such encounters are simply considered just racin’. I am not happy with that myself, but it seems to be part of the Wave culture. I don’t like to make waves.
Waves are obviously very maneuverable as well, and you probably could have pulled that trick successfully in one. However, Wave is not a Hobie Wave!
I would guess that in the heat of the moment, basic instincts took over and mistakes were made. We can all appreciate how quickly things turn to **** on these boats.
Based on the evidence, I would be totally surprised if Skip did not step forth and make things right.
