Hi Sam -



I think the PRO's warnings are justified. Though, I don't think it's intended to suggest that non-spi boats need to "stay our of our way, or avoid us", I just think that people need to be aware of what's going on around them on the course and realize that a spin-boat is going to get there in hurry.



Limited visibility is another issue. Some people assume that since they are on starboard they are golden. I've seen people not even looking as to what's going on around them.



Perfect example. Midwinters east this year. We just turned the corner and popped the chute. A few seconds later there was a 14 right in front of us. We never saw him, and apparently he never saw us. We wound up flipping the boat to avoid a potentially nasty crash. As our mast came down it narrowly missed the guy on the 14..and he never even looked over his shoulder to see what all the hoopla was about. He was either oblivious or just felt as though he needn't react since he was on starboard. I don't know. All I know is we never saw him coming. That is very scary.



I think the caution given is needed. Again, I don't belive it means you have to alter your course for us no matter what, it just means we might be approaching faster than you think, and we might not see you, so don't assume we do.

Hail us even if you think we *might* be a factor. Let us know your there.



Tracie