The lower wind speed limit rule for sailing is traditionally set for a class of vessels to be used as a guideline by a race committee to ensure that boats have manueverability against current, wave and wind direction and obsticals. Should the RC determine the vessels have manueverabilty to sail around the course and out manuever each other strategically then it is alowable to start the race. Should the RC determine that local conditions are not favorable to run a safe race in speeds over the lower limit due to inability to manuever around obsticals or against currents or heading into waves then the RC has the perogative to delay race. None of these conditions existed. My concerns here with your comments are two fold. 1) Using that term "Drifter"in this thread of dialogue is inappropriate. The only drifting in that race was performed by sailors at the start who did not approach the start strategically with boat speed and timing. Instead they set up on the line in Irons. Waiting for the flag and horn. Once the race began no one had difficulty getting under way. Those who chose the drift on the start tactic were however at a disadvantage because smarter sailors had chosen to approach the race start finish line from a moving "at boat speed" start. In fact many sailors all week committed too early to the line and continued falling off and luffing to hold that line while in Irons. No boat had difficulty making it to the RC start line that day from the beach or from the moment the class flag was raised. 2) Tactics. No one individual boat drifted to an or disadvantage advantage position while the race was underway. Current had no negative effect that day. No drifting occurred. No wind direction oscillations occured. IN fact some boats changed position in the race and the skills of the sailors were tested. It was required that the sailors look back and determine if the fleet or others may be covering thier position and register that information against a choice to choose a different tack on the downwind leg. THis race was not a sprint in the wind it was a very good race requiring fleet tactics of choosing lenth of tack and direction as well as execution of individual boat handling and sail handling technical tactics.