Why do you think its the RC problem?? Its faulty logic like this that drives up insurance premiums for clubs!
Race Committe's run the nuts and bolts of the race... the decision to race and the seamanship required is up to the captain of the boats. The problem of a flippy boat is for the other competitors in a race... If the boat is flipped and they sail by.. they must stop and render assistance until the situation is under control... While they will get redress... by an large their race is over (no fun for them). They probably think that the hassel of racing with a flippy boat is too much to cope with. So this becomes a club or regional sailing authority decision as they balance the competing interests and evaluate the accident.
Why do you think it is a Coast Guard problem with the RC either?... Unless you are sending the fleet into a restricted area... They don't determine whether a sailor is allowed out on the water or not. You don't need a permit to conduct a sailboat race because you don't obstruct the protected uses (channel access).
So, we face a similar issue with a multiclass yacht club regatta. The beach cats have raced in multiclass monohull dinghy regattas on the bay for 15 + years. We have added three additional multiclass events to the schedule in recent years and they want us back!!! Despite a long and peacfull record of coexistence... one club decided that beach cats were unsafe in the mix at their regatta based on a collision last year between an inexperieced P16 driver and a monohull lighting who was encroaching on the starting area and in the wrong place..... Bottom line.. the club said done and gone to the cats... They balanced the threat that the lighnings would not come back to the regatta with the loss of the cat fleet. What do you say to them... It was an accident... !$@ happens... the Lighning should have respected the cat fleet and stayed clear of the line.
It seems to us that the best you can do is send them data which refutes their impression that Cats cause accidents!
I think that is where the R33 fleet is at right now. The R33 on the Cheseapeake Bay flipped in a passage to a race. A combination of events led to the problem... a big factor was an undiscovered leak that had filled the hull with enough water to accentuate the stuff. It was an accident!
This boat has also set course records in 25 to 30 in the Gov Cup with no problems....
So.... what do you say about the possibility of accidents and a fleets participation in an event? This is a tough one!
Mind you.. I would argue that if 6 or 7 Penguins flipped (Bail them out to right them) or Snipes or Albacores or any other traditional monohull... The RC would be swamped because they could not render assistance in that extreme circumstance... However 6 or 7 cats flipped will most likely get them selves up and going again. These accidents are nominally the same but really different on the water.
So accidents have to evaluated in context... certainly the R33 owners will avoid accidents at all costs cause its expensive and they loose their boat for repairs.
I hope that the organizing community don't just listen to a few loud voices clammoring for a blanket ban.
Legally, no, it's not the RC's fault - but that's not what I'm getting at. When a 33' catamaran flips and the Coast Guard comes in to assist in the righting of the boat are you really saying that it puts NO burden on the RC or the Coast Guard? Fact is, it's a huge headache for everyone involved (certainly including the sailors). Your acting like the RC claps their hands in the air and go home when they would have normally and/or the last "upright" boat finishes. When these things happen they create a huge hazzard for the people onboard. You don't think the Coast Guard would have a conversation with the organizing authority after the race? For heaven's sake it JUST happened after the Statue Race when the CG assisted the RC30 and I strongly suspect that there will be a "self-righting" stipulation in the Statue race next year.
We have a responsibility to make sure we're not, intentionally or unintentionally, putting an extra burden and concern on those who put on these events or would come to our rescue. If we do not take good care of this responsibility, things like this will happen.
That said, I'll be the first SOB in line to buy one when this lottery ticket hits. I'll also keep enough of a bank roll to get the tow boat out for righting assistance for that brief second when JC and Kenny loose focus. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
