Well, we're safe thenm as we are not going to hold an F16 Europeans championship event, just another throphy cup event which name is still unspecified at this time. And who says that we're using the ISAF racing rules ? Seems to me that we are using plain centuries old rules of maritime right of way. And as far as I know ISAF can't claim copyright to the use of the English language either. Or acquire a patent on the use of died cloths that are displayed by use of the wind to communicate between vessels.
So I really don't understand what the fuss is all about.
If ISAF is opposited to having anything to do with any event not paying them "protection money" then I don't think it will cause those events much problems.
Lets face it, how hard is it to write down the century old right-of-way rules in a summary and expand these with some extra rules to govern the way boat starts and rounds bouys. Halve the ISAF rules on these points are a monster in themselfs anyway and most sailors either don't know them or don't know how to intepretate them properly. Actually I would be a good opportunity to clear out the weed from such racing rules and get back to a clear and simple set of rules; something we will all apppreciate.
Hell, at my club were are already racing of a (self composed) simplified set of racing rules. We have only one start sequence and neither do we fly or display the ISAF insignia or mandated class flags. For some strange reason nobody has died during the racing just yet, neither did we receive any comments from by-standers that we are degrading the sport by excluding rule "13.7.1.3.subarticle z, revision 2".
I'm looking forward to our invitational event to be held in the UK in 2006. Besides the UK isn't part of Europe anyway so even if we wanted to organise a European championship then how could we have it there?
Wouter
