So what's fair? Grant redress in every case to encourage competitors to watch out for eachother, or demand some kind of proof that you were, in fact, hindered in your quest for the finish line.
Maybe it boils down to Do The Right Thing. A number of years ago at the Otter Regatta in Monterey a H14 went over and had the skipper trapped under the boat. For some reason a nearby safety boat thought everything was okay and was leaving the area. Another 14 came along, saw what was happening and dove off his boat to help. It was bad enough that he used his cable cutters to free the drowning skipper. Luckily his boat got caught in the seaweed which prevented it from running onto the rocks. He didn't ask for any redress.
Just to show that no good deed goes unpunished. the rescuing skipper sailed out to start the first race on Sunday and discovered someone had pulled his drain plugs.
