If you listen to the IM presser he explains what happened quite clearly. He did not force the teams to accept the rules. They had meetings in which all teams agreed to the rule changes (or did not complain about them at the time) including the rudders. He felt he had the approval of all the teams prior to announcing them. Then he was ambushed for whatever reason by ETNZ and LR.
If that's the case, then why didn't the teams sign-off on the changes (as required by the class rules) right then and there? Had the proper procedure been followed, there would be no controversy now. Using the Coast Guard permit as a backdoor to amend the class rules makes no sense if all teams agreed to the changes.
Murray keeps repeating that story, but I don't think it holds water.
To why ETNZ,LR changed their minds, They may believe they will have an advantage in not changing the rudder rule. Or they know that with the changes US-17 may be able to set a new sailing speed record. "enter your speculation here" Better yet, why isn't the media banging down the door at ETNZ and LR asking if the claims IM has made are true?
I understand what your saying about the permit. However, honestly IM can't know what the CG will do if he has to go back with those rules removed. He has spent time with the CG and may have more insight to what the CG wants. He is the guy in the jaws of the vise. Currently he has the permit.
I don't believe the CG permit will be pulled. It will be amended with some changes. I think the CG main focus will be keeping the spectators and other boating traffic safe. We now know that a boat has rounded up more than once at over 40 mph. Maybe the spectator fleet may need to be pushed back further. Again, "enter your speculation here"
