What is the justification for a "3 minute protest"? Where has this ever been seen or used in sailboat racing before??? Should we just bring our guns to the party and have a shootout on the beach?
No guns - just inflatable battle sticks and spent fluorescent light tubes....and you have 31.2 seconds to do all the damage you can.
That is a strange system and, honestly, I hate to pile on - but this is not a very serious way to handle protests. You've got two "judges" one each selected by the opposing parties. There's not an odd number, neutral, or necessary rules knowledgeable "judge" in the mix. The chances of them agreeing are pretty slim and trying to get all of this done in three minutes seems like it would be more of a circus act than a serious attempt at arbitration. It actually stands a strong chance of creating MORE tension and discourse than to solve anything.
US Sailing already has a time tested process that, isn't perfect, but it works. We're also talking about a protest that happens maybe once every two or three years in an event like this. There's a lot of energy going on to reinvent a system that already works - for a situation that doesn't happen that often. I still like the idea of having a formal protest, in a hotel room, with an on-call (phone of video) jury of rule experienced people. Settle the issue clean giving both parties an opportunity to explain to knowledgeable people...knowledgeable people discuss, and come back with a (hopefully) sound judgement with a real rules justification that is difficult to argue with.
