OK, I worked out on my way in this morning that it's just over 6w to go before Salcombe Week, which will be the 1st serious competition for Team Heaven Sent since the restoration.

I wasn't so worried about my gunwales last October at Tammy & it was just as well with the chaos at the windward(ish) mark and the failing hearing of certain well-known fleet veterans.  The thread about insurance made me think.  Before I go off and buy pipe-lagging and duck tape, the new rules of 2000-2004 made actual contact between boats unneccessary to invoke a protest, in fact put obligations on both right-of-way and give-way boats to avoid a collision.  I think as a fleet we are not very good at this, particularly on start lines and round crowded marks.  Can I suggest a new era of gentlemanly rule observance, or is the bargeing and banging a consequence of the indestructible edges of the Winder hulls most people now have?

Andrew 3511

Sadly this banging and barging is not unique to the Merlin Rocket Class nor is the cynical use of the Racing Rules sic Ben Ainslea last race Sydney 2000. Soccer, Rugby,Cricket now sailing fast bedcoming a contact sport, how long before there are boarding parties? It costs nothing to be a lady or gentleman and often you gain, thed lift you get letting a port tack boat go oftgen puts you ahead of him wheras being lee bowed by him is tombsville. Too much zagression but bthats the story of life in Townie Blairs Britain.

Andrew, one issue is a reluctance for people to protest people. Me included. Example, port tacker at Rutland on the start (name no names, but they know who they are)'unable' to get out of the way of us on Starboard because of a port tacker below him refusing to get out the way. We had no choice but to take emergency action to avoid a collision. Then a clear refusal by the port tacker to do turns.

Should have gone to the protest room - but what for? possibly one place at the back third of a Silver Tiller and possibly another back of the fleet racer giving up open meetings.

I don't have the answers, but I'm not sure I want to lead the charge of protesting mid/back fleet racers when it doesn't seem to be the done thing.

Its amazing what can happen if you dont follow the fleet and keep your nose clean.Protest room what where! Sailing is FUN. Beats hod carrying.
Doo

The answer is to protest those at the front of the fleet. I'm tempted to have a crack at someone if I see everyone rocking away from me at Salcombe again. I know I'm not going to win, but why come even further behind cos I'm stubborn about obeying rules?

I'm inclined to agree.  There is a certain reluctance to do turns, and that's primarily because the chances are if you do yours, then had the boot been on the other foot they other boat wouldn't have done theirs.

I think that increasing the number of protests is the way to solve the problem, but it is time consuming and a faff.  It might, however, stop people from 'playing the game'.

The other problem is that because there have been many years without much in the way of protests, it is seen to be a not very nice thing to do.  In reality we don't have referees and umpires and so the sport is self policing and all a protest meeting is about is the resolution of 2 different opinions.  

Having said that though, I'm not sure I want to spend every evening at an event in the Committee Room!

If 
sailors  blatantly  and knowingly infringe rules for there supposadly benefit  , then Kick Ass and drag them in the protest room at the most inconvinient time to resolve the problem. There is nothing worse than knowing that the rules are being broken and no one is doing anything about it until its too late.
DOO

When I started sailing Lasers in the 1970s they had a  major problem of non rule observance.  They solved it at major events by having an on the water judge with a whistle (especially at the start & windward mark).  When the judge saw an ininfringement he blew his whistle.  Either someone did turns or protested or he protested the boats involved.  It worked pretty well.  Bear in mind this was before the days of on the water judging for team/match racing and video cameras. 

There was some blatant cheating at Rutland and there has been a thread before on this Forum about cheating at Salcombe.  Video and on the water judges seeem to be  an inevitability if we are serious about rule observance.
But it was reassuring to see two ex national champions doing their turns last weekend - didn't seem to slow them up much!