My opinion is for minimum and maximum wind speeds for major events. Actually maximums for any event.
This is a right receipy for endless protests. The light weather specialists will always protest the RC for starting in too much wind and the heavy weather addicts will protest the RC for starting in too little wind.
Battery of the DIGITAL windspeed meter dead ? Ohhh shucks, lets cancel all the races for the day for there will be no point in starting anyway. Last minute adjustment of the start-line ? Forget about mate, if we do we will have to do a 15 min measuring session at all bouys again or risk the race being thrown out.
And yes I have experience in this, actually when being part of the RC at a past Hobie nationals. Luckily the RC head was an old racer himself and he knew full well what "top crews" are up to. And he treated both the rule makers and the sailors accordingly. He wouldn't have no "impossible" rules in the NOR and when the sailors started bitching he simply replied :"we're racing and you decide whether you want to be part of it"
Turns out that afterwards many and many sailors came up to him and thanked him for excellent leadership and excellent courses all weekend. Even the guys that not long before tried everything to get an advantage expressed that it was one of the best managed events in years.
In the end of the day you'll have to be prepared to educate a few "rock stars" that sailing is a sport that requires a "can do mentallity" and that will always contain some amount of "luck and bad luck". Otherwise take up playing chess.
I say focus on hiring a well experience RC and have them decide what is suitable or not. Appears that the US F18 nationals did just that as Mark apparently made a good call that day. Sadly some rule maker(or enforcer) thought that he had a better overview of the situation than the guys actually setting the course and sampling the conditions. Although doing so with his eyes and skin rather than some digital gadget.
I know a professional RC guy that uses a gps unit to set out a course and his courses are always crooked. Some (digital)gadget is never a substitute for skill and experience.
Wouter
