What ever happened to "sportsmanship”, "fair sailing" and "it is solely the responsibility of every sailor to determine whether he will race or not" Surely, if the guys who "protested" actually started the race AND finished, then by those actions of theirs, they had shown that they had fully accepted the RC's decision to "start and complete" that race? and for them to then turn around and protest "after the event" they could be seen to be "sailing/competing in an unfair manner". by those subsequent actions of theirs?
(rule 2 FUNDAMENTAL RULE, “A boat and her owner shall compete with recognized principles of sportsmanship and fair play”). This applies both on and off the water. Why didn’t any of them “fly a protest flag” during the event? Why didn’t any of them notify any official of their concerns “on the water” if they felt that they there was a case to answer. Why leave it to the “shore based sea lawyers” to try turning the “rules” (or their interpretation of them) to their advantage (whether justified or not) isn’t racing about “sailing” not “litigation” in one form or another?