I have been involved in a lot of "3 minute justice" hearings, but we never really put a watch on things. The idea is more that you don't necessarily need a form, which allows for hearings in an umpire boat between races. Works great for team racing.

I will disagree with Sam on two points:
1. Really no such thing as 'pro' umpires... or else I'm doing the wrong events!
2. If you are hearing a protest in a team race you very likely didn't see the incident. The only hearings are either yellow flag, or because no umpire was present.

I'm scared to comment as this is the ridiculous result of it, last time.

I don't assert that all International Juries ignore procedure. I mean that International Juries are composed the way they are so that they are able to "cut to the chase" when necessary.

I once sat in (as a silent observer) on an International Jury at the Sunfish Worlds. A couple of the most senior judges in the area were the junior members of the Jury. The Chief Judge and the Jury Scribe were International Judges from Canada. They were phenomenally skilled. With just 5 minutes (or less) of testimony from each party, and only 5 minutes (or less) of deliberation, the Jury delivered their written decision, complete with diagram, rule analysis, and ISAF Case citations. It was the quickest and most thorough Protest Committee I have ever seen.

And no, the jury did not step through the procedure of Appendix M. With the number of protests filed (98 world-class competitors in a single start) summary justice was the only way to get through them each day.

If those guys held 3-minute hearings on the beach, I'd be confident in their decision.

Eric

At National and World class team racing events, ISAF certified judges are present..they might not be paid to be on the water but their housing, food and travel expenses are covered.

And yes you are correct on the hearing. All of this is moot when pertaining to the Florida 300, as there won't be on the water judging, and there won't be an international judging team present that can wrap up a full protest in 15 minutes. It's pretty clear the F300 rule writers were searching for loopholes in the Appendixes which were created for entirely different purposes, and failed to look at the big picture. A protest in this race is likely to only happen if there was equipment damage that caused significant time lost and/or an insurance claim...you need real paperwork...it's not that hard.

We either get proper unbiased judges to form a protest committee on the beach, or we skype those judges into a hotel room. If those two options are out of the question, I like the Sumo suits combined with the light saber idea.

I had a little time this morning to drink a bit of coffee and enter the waypoints. It's more fun than reading the newspaper. I thought they were on the FL300 site, but I didn't see them. Am I missing something? I want to get familiar with the 'landing zones' before the race.

They are in the SI's: SI's

General Waypoints:
Islamorada: 24°55.125'N; 80°37.77'W
Key Biscayne: 25°41.735'N; 80°9.39'W
W Palm Beach Shores: 26°46.736'N; 80°1.881'W
Vero Beach: 27°38.026'N; 80°21.045'W
Cocoa Beach: 28°22.124'N; 80°36.112'W

Note: These waypoints are for general reference only. The actual finish line will be determined when the race committee surveys the finishing area on the day of the race.

Craig,

Any updates to the SI's? Should I throw the Colt 45 in the suitcase?

Best,
Sam

Nah! Todd has got the weapons and ammo covered. Can you make due with 10,000 rounds of 9mm and 15,000 rounds of .223? He'll probably have a years supply of MRE's squirrelled away at various hiding places along the course. You never know where you'll be when anarchy breaks out.

Are deck mounted M249s class legal on F18s?

and that's why I like Todd.

Or waxing the minivan... But at least it's got a trailer hitch so there is some semblance of macho-ness...

No, no there really isn't.

Mike

If you have at least a class III hitch, you can call it a manivan.

Yes we know that's why you like Todd.

Any news/updates/pics from setup day?

Will work on all of the above after I get caught up on the Behghazi and climate change threads.