If this lack of wind keeps up, it is certain to be blowing a gale for the Tamesis Silver Tiller (not renowned for strong wind)

Did anyone at Rutland yesterday notice a lack of wind?

Lack of wind, is this a serious comment. we had 17mph steady winds with some very nasty gusts in the North West. Cant believe that Rutland was called off due to no wind ????

This is my understanding but I could be wrong as I was not there personally

Hi all, its a while since I've written something on here... Nonetheless, a whinge I'm afraid:

Oh deja vous! This brings up the issue I tried to raise a while back about cancelling the racing early! At the Inlands (also at Rutland) a couple of years ago, the racing was cancelled at 11:30 on the final day, which I thought made a complete mockery of the event. This weekend it was cancelled an hour after the due start time of 11:00. In my opinion the OD got off lightly because the wind didn't fill in until 14:30, but the forecast was for wind to build through the afternoon, so it could easily have been a big mistake! We maybe could have even squeezed in a race at about 15:00… maybe not…

Should there not be a rule about the minimum time for race officers to postpone events before cancelling. I'm sure I wasn't the only person to get up at 06:30 to get there, but even more disappointing than the wind not providing, was that the race officer didn't see that keeping everybody ashore until lunch, then reviewing the situation would be by far the best approach.

I too had got up at 6.30 and wasn't too impressed.  I agree with everything that Simon says above.  Whilst I understand the alternative argument that says if people get off home early, then they can salvage something of the day, I think this is largely erroneous.

When I plan to go sailing, I don't arrange to do anything else at the same tiime.  Given that this weekend over 50 percent of the fleet were in situ anyway, and weren't going anywhere until Monday afternoon, it seems even more casual to cancel merely one hour after the first warning signal had been fired.  Not only have we invested time and effort in getting to the venue, but it is not an inconsiderable financial investment in terms of petrol and entry fee.  I think this also needs to be considered before making rapid decisions.

Whilst in this instance the wind didn't fill in, at least until after I had left, there are many situations where it might well do so.  I have been to many team racing events where, even in the middle of winter, significant and quality races have been completed after a 2pm first start.  Whilst no-one wants to have mickey-mouse races with farcical results, more circumspection when abandoning for the day would be appreciated, certainly from me.

Chris

16mph steady on the spinny wind thing and big  big gust's across our midland puddle!!!
Looks like I chose the wrong day to be safety boat crew....more knackering than racing!

We had the same problem at Cookham the week before. The OOD waited for 1 hour then called lunch forward which took another hour and i think it was about 13.30 when he finally abandoned the racing and only after Phil P and myself had been out to see if we could get up the river!

I am biased i know but i think our OOD handeled the situation perfectly and people left disappointed but knowing there was no other option.

I feel for those of you who had to get up so early, if it makes you feel any better when you where getting up i was swimming off weymouth beech with a load of mates on a stag night at that very time! It was bloody cold!

Race officering is a thankless task:
 When all goes well no one notices
 When there is a problem -you carry the can

I do agree with Simon and Chris but I also understand that the decisions aren’t easy. Those of us who had been watching the weather predictions for days knew that Sunday was going to be a tricky day. I was just as disappointed as lots of others when that flag went up saying 'no more racing today'. I think we probably all knew in our hearts that prospects for good racing were out of the window.

But there is a principle involved; is it not always better to postpone for as long possible and only do the cancelling at the very last opportunity.
From the competitors point of view these days of waiting throw up interesting psychological challenges - using the time, not getting so bored that you are not ready when the time comes etc. This is all part of the game.

However the reality in this case is that Chairman GGGG only stepped into the breach to be race officer out the goodness of heart and now is getting the flack for it - perhaps we should value our race officers more and praise them more when it goes well. We need people like Graham to step in and help in order for us to enjoy ourselves.

Oh come on! It's the standard response to say, "You can't criticise the Race Officer - He's a volunteer, you know." That's too easy.

If it's raining at the start time of a cricket or tennis match, do they cancel it there and then? No, they sit and wait all day if necessary and give it every chance to stop. I think it's fair to say that when you go to a sailing event, you don't generally have anything else planned for the day. We're all there to go sailing, so we should wait for a fair amount of time. 

I guess the actual cut-off time would depend on a number of factors: Have we already had enough races completed for a series or not? Is it the last day of an event or is there more tomorrow? If so, what's the forecast tomorrow?  Etc, etc.

The factors should not include allowing people to get off home nice and early to avoid the traffic / go shopping / do the gardening. Those things have got nothing at all to do with a sailing event.

Well said, Simon!

I suspect the decision also depends on whether you are sitting on shore with beer and biscuits or bobbing up and down watching the whale spouts.  I was not sailing, but seems to be that the decision to abandon was the correct thing to do for the travelling sailors.  Difficult call for Graham. The fact that there was a resident group was not relevant to a prestige ST event.  There could have been a non ST race held I guess when the wind arrived to support the training.

No no, your missing the point...

It doesn't matter what the weather was doing on Sunday or not. What's important is that if people are competing in the Silver Tiller Series, or any National or Inland event for that matter, for most this involves a great deal of time and financial commitment. The race committee should respect this by at least hanging on until after lunch, which would still give people ample time to get home early before abandoning the entire days racing. 

I completely agree that on the flip side, hanging around all day is not the ideal solution either. But, in my opinion, cancelling an hour after the proposed start time is not really a fair compromise..

Well it gave me us a chance to bike around Rutland water and we had a lovely day.

If in doubt the Race Officer is right, (Always remember he can Black Flag you!) But is it general that across the sailing board we have "narrowed the envelope" (If one can narrow an envelope?) of the conditions we race in, strong winds (Survival minus.) are generally off these days because of Insurance and "elf n' saftey" (What would the coroner say?) and the belief that racing cannot take place in ultra light conditions. (Many international Regattas and no doubt a few national ones actually stiplulate a minimum wind velocity.) Pat is right it's a thankless task, we no longer seem to have the likes of Frank Dwyer Robert Lee-Warner and Dick Marshall on hand and few are like of GGGGGGG who would lay down his sailing for others! Saling is lucky to have them few as they are. As to wasted time if one has already committted the time to yottin' what time have you lost? 
I sympathise with Simon B if one has planned a campaign (Such as the Silver Tiller.) around a race counting then it is frustrating to have to re-plan as it were!
So that's the modern face of yottin folks.
Not what it was, better or worse I know not, but as Bob Dillon said times they are a changing.

Well that's cleared things up.

There are some interesting points coming out of this.  Firstly thanks must go to Graham for stepping in at the last moment to OOD for us.  Secondly, as it turns out with hindsight, he made the right decision.  But, as Simon says, that's not the point – should he have made the decision 1 hour into the day?  Many people are very committed to the fleet and before making any decision as to whether we race or not race officers should weigh up the pros and cons.  During the Looe nationals, for example, we consulted several members of the fleet before deciding not to race.

I look at this from the perspective of a sometime totally committed serious competitor as well as someone who could be called a recreational ST competitor.  The problem is that there is such a wide range of competitors in the fleet.  The likes of the Blakes, Calverts, Warrens etc etc are all there to race and the final ST result is a major part of the year.  They are prepared to drive the length of the country and invest seriously in winning.  Many others are there for a host of reasons as well as the racing - the social. In my view the OOD decisions should be taken from the perspective of those at the front of the fleet, if the recreational sailors wanted to cut their losses and go home then they had that option – there was nothing stopping them heading for shore (or even looking at the forecast and not coming).  The race officer will never make any decision that will satisfy all competitors, as Pat says it's a thankless task.

Given that we rely totally on a volunteer workforce to administer the racing and that it's unlikely many of them understand the priority some people place on this racing I expect we'll find these issues arising again and again.  Can we make rules to minimise this?  Perhaps but we then run the risk of making it so complicated to host an event there will be fewer people prepared to step into the OODs shoes.

Maybe the problem is that some of us are taking the sport so seriously we expect a professional standard of race administration that we are not going to get from an amateur race committee.  

It does wind me up though that we all paid an entry fee and none of this is ever returned.

I agree! Does anyone know what happens to the entry fee - does it all go to the hosting sailing club, or does the Merlin Association get some of it?

I was in my boat on the start line at Rutland and I can clearly say that my boat was moving.  Not very quickly I grant you, but moving nontheless.  It was possible to spot some gusts and trim the sails accordingly.  I call that sailing.  On a water with no tide I see no reason why we could not have raced as it was - a laser fleet would have done and it is possible to sail Merlins in just as light conditions.

Of course the results would have been a bit of a lottery and it would have been difficult to predict the winner, but where is the harm in that?

Cos those who are willing to stretch the rules to their limitis and beyond will win the race.
Lost of shouting, lots of potential protests, and lots of unhappy members of the fleet, with the winner being accused of all sorts..... a hollow victory ?

If there is little to no wind, the the race officer should abandon rather than make a mockery of the race.

I fully agree it seems harsh, especially to those who travelled a long way, but its the only fair way.

I also agree that the race officer should have waited a bit longer than 1 hour, good job the wind did not fill in otheriwse there would have been a lot more stick.

I say, Well done GGGGG for stepping in....

I think those of us who have been OD and have sailed as a competitor can see both sides of this one - it could run forever! As a practical suggestion why not work back from when the last race might have been expected to finish. 4.30pm seems perhaps the latest one would like to be finishing so given an hour or so's racing 3.00pm would mean the latest start time. You need to allow time for the fleet to respond to the call to sail and get onto the race track - at Rutland this could take some time - so 2.00pm - 2.30pm would appear to be the decision making window for the OD. 
If the above principle were highlighted to the various clubs running ST events then we will have a standard approach to the issue. There will be some hanging about but the decison window is known so if the worst happens people will be home earlier than expected.

Sounds entirely realistic, practical and fair to me.  In this scenario, if people wanted to cut their losses, then fine, and those of us who want to stay, may.  I am well aware that the whole thing is highly subjective and there are several variables at play, but the Scotty System may well help to prevent the pump-athons which occur in less than 4-5knots of breeze, and ensure that there is no question of the decision to abandon being percieved to be rash or premature.

there is another angle on this - some years ago I was PRO for a Laser qualifier at Whitstable and started the fleet off in a very light easterly into a flood tide . The fleet spead nicely across the beat and neither side gave an obvious advantage - as a Race Officer I was very satisfied and felt a good job had been done in difficult conditions - ..........not so I was ordered by a Laser Class official to abandon the race as the wind was too light - so all our hard work had been wasted! 

On another occasion I was PRO for a Laser Masters Open Event in very difficult conditions - it was the third race on the first day -  the wind was falling and I judged I could just get one round in - the wind was constant but very light - the forecast was for equally difficult conditions the next day so I was anxious to finish the race to get a 'series' in.  (Whitstable can be a bit treacherous in very light conditions!) I duly finished the race  and judged nobody had been unfairly prejudiced as the wind had been constant in strength and direction - nonetheless I did receive quite a lot of flack from some competitors for not abandoning! 

Simon - whatever you do - don't buy a Laser!

Richard Davis

Just remember Hampton last year - that was a total lottery, a total waste of everyones time and money, and made a total mockery of the spirit and ethos of the ST.  That should've been called off if ever there was one to be called off. 

Personally, I think GGGGGG made the right decision on Sunday, bearing mind the conditions and the forecast.  And for those of you who are whinging, just remember that if our honourable Chairman had been sailing himself, we may not have had the luxury of a race officer at all.  Then there would've been something for us all to whinge about, having travelled all that way to find no racing at all.......  

Ask yourself seriously, would you have given up your day to act as race officer if you'd got there and they were looking for someone to do it?

What about the Bloody Mary? Wish GGGGG had been race officer there! Whilst trying to stick within the rules nearly the entire 14 fleet followed by a couple of Merlins rocked and pumped thier way past me! It is not a welcome feeling i can assure you.

Oh and Simon did have a Laser! a 4000 at least.

I doubt that Graham will put a post on here because he knew before he started that whatever decision he made, he'd never please everyone!  A definite case of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Just for everyone's interest, Graham was logging the direction of the zephyrs and lulls every 3-4 minutes for an hour and a half up until he abandoned the racing.  I've seen the list and there is absolutely no pattern to it at all, with some huge swings in direction when there were zephyrs.  Take from this what you will - it would've been very difficult to run a sensible race in the conditions and it was just a great shame that we didn't have sufficient wind so that he could've run us some good racing.

By and large I think the "Amateurs" do rather better than the paid hands, and there has to be a case for the rules preferably the Racing rules not the class or series rules giving a rebate (Unburned fuel etc.) on cancelled races, certainly a free entry at the re run.

Thats what we are doing, all those who paid up for the Cookham Open will not have to pay at the re-run on 5th November!!

Out of interest, why was it that Graham had to step into the breach in any event at a big well-organised club like Rutland who knew months in advance that a lot of Merlins would be turning up to race?

I would guess that like Christmas the event came sooner than expected!

What have I started...

Just to clarify, this is not a personal dig at the race officer at Rutland (Chairman GGG), but merely an observation from someone who's been on the wrong end of an early cancellation before at a big Merlin Event (Rutland Inlands - where incidently the wind did fill in shortly after cancelling).

Thirty or forty years ago we used to rock and roll and pump and do constant big roll tacks and gybes. I can't see anything wrong with it. It was just another aspect of the sport along with keeping a look out for odd patches of wind and heading for them. Everyone was free to do it if they wanted to.

In which case I am going to get a Vintage seagull engine to put on the back for the Vintage events.  To coin a phrase "I can't see anything wrong with it"

I remember sailing at Salcombe in 2001 and it was apparent that this is still popular with the Merlin fleet. Even those who should know better. I will name Willy Warren as a non-rocker, I know that because I was second last and he was last.....It was the most outrageous display of contempt for the rules together with a complete lack of self policing I have ever witnessed.. What's all this one rule for Merlin's and one rule fore everyone else.
My point is time to stop cheating...it sucks.

I remember that race - they started us in no wind at all and 98% of the fleet made a 300m gain off the line in the first few minutes whilst Will and I hung in there with a couple of other 'sea' boats sails set, no fliching, moving.. barely breathing! Luckily the wind came in from behind and by 'crossways' we'd caught them up - but not before start number 2 had caught us up!

Aye, still worst result of the week though and 8th or 9th and particularly irritating.

ps I'm was not a sea boat but a very modern (at the time)river boat.

Suggest everyone reads rule 42. If you think someone is cheating then it is your duty to protest. Dont whinge if you do nothing about these rule breakers and they get away with it. The rules are there for a reason. We are a self policing sport. Stop the rot before it happens again. That goes for all the other rules broken as well. This includes measurement certificates.

You try protesting 44 other boats at once, William excepted. There's rules and there's practicality, but I totally agree with you and as Rachel said those boats just disappeared, it was exraordinary, did they sleep at night, I don't supposed they cared.

Dead easy. With one witness and an unbiased protest committee, justice would have been done and they wouldn't cheat again. Sometimes you have to stick your neck out to get things right.

If you dont self police your own fleet then you will end up with on the water judges. If that is your aim then carry on ignoring flagrant breaches of the rules. Stay quiet and popular and the rules will have to be applied another way. Better still put up the occassional red flag. Protests are a great way for a crash course in learning the rules

Red flags not even needed anymore...

Correct. 61.1(2) If the hull length of the protesting boat is less than 6 metres, she need not display a red flag. My advise, ' fly one any' so there can be no doubt. Also just say 'Protest' at any incident where you think a rule has been broken. Then you are covered.

should read 'Fly one anyway'

So as Phill pointed out a couple of posts above, how do you protest 40 odd boats and hope to secure a victory in the protest room. That would cause such a stir that I am sure the protest committee would want to seek advice from the association before they tackled that one, also what if a few were deemed to be cheating but other not, how do you differentiate on the protest form, would you have to name each boat ? - very hard to remember one number let alone 40 odd in a big fleet...... so.... not having a go Judge, and I admire your sentiment, but is this really practical ? 

I guess that is why the top boys will always push the boundaries, cos if one boat odes it then the others have to in order to keep up.

I have seen this debate in lots of classes.....

In Merlin's it is even more tricky, I think, than in other classes such as Lasers, as the Merlin is a pretty tippy boat when it isn't moving fast, and the smallest movements can rock the boat. At the BM for instance, it was difficult to tell whether a boat was deliberately pumping and rocking or legitimately making small adjustments for each zephyr. We were watching carefully, and there was only one blatant pumper (interestingly from a sea club, but not Shoreham) in the MRs who moved from 100 yards behind us to 500 yards in front. We did hail protest as he passed, but he didn’t care or didn’t hear, and at the end of the day we didn’t want to waste our time in the protest room – maybe we should have but why should we be the trend setters and why were we the only ones that noticed?

Three issues seem to have come out of  this, all of which I have experienced in other classes:

a.  When to abandon racing.  At the champs we have a "no start after [] hrs" on the last day.  Perhaps we should do the same for open meetings. The time will depend on location - the time will probably be earlier on a tidal sea venue than inland as it is much more difficult to hang around the committee boat in no wind when the tide is taking you to Herne Bay! If you set a time beforehand everyone (including the PRO) knows where they stand.

b.  How little wind do we need for racing?  The Laser 5 knot minimum is set because their Q events are normally held on tidal water.  You can run a race in less wind inland and I think we have  to leave it to the PRO to decide what are fair conditions.  His job is to provide fair racing.

c.  Pumping.  Our job is to race fairly and I have been to enough Salcombes and elsewhere to know that often we don't.  Protesting at Salcombe is, for the reasons mentioned in earlier posts, impractical.  Why don't we use on the water judging?  We have enough expert ex Merlin sailors spectating at Salcombe to act as judges.  It is my experience in the Laser class that the presence of judges. preferably with a camera, calms everyone down. Incidentally we should also use a video on the start line.

Perhaps Chairman GGG and the committee could consider these suggestions?

John

It would take an unusually strong protest committee to DSQ 40 boats in a single go for rule 42 violations. 
Sure, protesting would be the correct thing to do if everyone but you was cheating, but I don't think many protest committees would be strong enough to uphold your protest, even with really good evidence. You'd just make yourself really unpopular.

As well as a "no start after [] hrs" rule, why not have a "no abandonment before [] hrs" rule?

Alan F.  Noted.  I know who he was - he has recently joined the Merlin fleet at Whitstable and has been to Salcombe!

If you can't get race officers where are the judges going to come from they tend to be paid to attend and judge if qualified anyway. "Bad Backs" have always been with us and always will. Short Roll tacking etc etc etc.

Just to say how much i enjoy  being pro to a merlin fleet - set a good line and   you are pretty well-behaved but of course lack of wind is not usually a problem at Shoreham -but i still have nightmares about whitstable!!

Being a social class, the problem would not be protesting but making yourself unpopular. Any jury would have to act on facts found. If it was found that 40 boats were flaunting rule 42 then 40 boats would be disqualified or penalised. I think they would only do it once. On the water judging would solve the problem but do we want to go down that route.

Alan, You were not the only one who noticed as he had previously pumped passed me! He made almost 100 places doing that. Problem was that there was a lot of other classes doing it too and so you would have to protest them aswell being a handicap race.

You will be pleased to know that he has now left the class and sold his boat to one of my club members, who has sold his old boat to an Ent sailor at my club. Therfore we have not lost a member but got rid of a cheat!!

Every year I help to run the Booker Gliding Club's nine day gliding competition. Gliding is even more weather dependant than M/R racing so we are much more used to making weather based decisions about go or no go than sailing club race officers.

Unless it's firmly forecast to p*** with rain all day the Competition Director will usually not cancel before 2.00 - 3.00 pm and probably later when it's held during the longer days of June. We use satellite info. to see what's coming and can sometimes predict a useable 2 or 3 hour break later during what looks like a hopeless day. 

Unfortunately our gliding competition's last day this year is the 18th June so I shall miss the Tideway Race unless it's p***ing with rain so the gliders can't fly but the Merlin Rockets can race!

I have seen jury boats used in the Laser, Lark and Albacore fleets at major events. They seem to be reasonably popular among competitors once they are used to them as they take the responsibility for monitoring rule 42 away from sailors. Also sailors usually get a warning before disqualification and within first few days of the meeting the pumping of mains and kites plus rocking and other such illegal forms of propulsion dies away especially at the front end of the fleet.

I have never been to a Merlin Championship or Salcombe Week (yet) so don't know how bad the problem is, but if the fleet can put willing experienced people in a boat, it is probably worth a try.

The problem with Merlins and some other boats too, is a well executed tack or gybe can break rule 42, and acting in seaman like manner adjusting the sails and trim to changing conditions as permitted by rule 42, can result in significant gains verus 'sitting there'. It is a fine line between 'kinetics' and pumping, and as a competitor I'd hate to try to make that call. Additionally, in those light wind circumstances, I tend to concentrate on the sails and boat and the wind and tide are rather than keeping a consistent eye on one competitor who may or may not be cheating.

The ENTs at Rutland last year had jury boats and a system, 720 if you a caught first time, DSQ (I think from the whole event) if you are caught again.  Would seem, if we are to race in marginal conditions at a serious level, Jury boats would get my vote.

I agree that there is a fine line in light weather, particularly with a significant weight difference between crew and helm. I have 5 stone over my crew, James, so the slightest movement will rock the boat. I do find if i lean in to adjust any setting the boat will rock slightly. I do ask James to compensate but you cannot do it all the time. When in light winds there is no real time to watch the other competitors as i am constantly looking ahead for the wind shifts and breezes and adusting my sail trim. Those who concentrate hard on what they are doing and not others will mostly find themselves at the sharp end anyway.

Jury boats would, however, get my vote in a reasonable breeze.

Please please can we have some video cameras at Salcombe Week then - anyone with the morning/afternoon off, and time in a motor boat, could volunteer.

Its a bitter pill to swallow, watching others rock past you, and steadfastly refusing to break the rules, despite knowing how right/good you are...

I remember seeing more than 10 obvious rockers near me one year, and had the chinagraph pencil ready to note the numbers, before I chickened out. How unpopular would I have been? Should I have cared?

Or what about a "name and shame" chalkboard outside the club? Add to it (relatively) anonymously, and watch the names build up, until perhaps people calm it down somewhat...

Can you lodge an annoymous protest? If there are several witneses available do others need to know who lodge it in the first place?

I like the chalk board idea, might stop people by the end of the week as they know people will be watching the. The OOD can protest aswell can't they?

I think that apart from obvious rocking which escalates in very light winds, usually as a response to unfair gains maded by other competitors.

What we need to keep an eye on is the pumping perpetrated by alot of the top crews, particularly off the start line and downwind.  This is usually followed by a resigned shrug from the helmsman in a "I can't control him/her" fashion.

Cheating is the word, far worse than a well executed roll tack.

It's not just the Merlin Rocket Class that has this problem, perhaps the application of the suspension from racing for a period 1-2-3-months a year it was applied at the end on the 1960's - not in the MR Class a few times and cleaned up the bumping and boring and physical stuff that was begining to be the norm.(A couple of really nasty injuries prompted it.) W'ere not goody goody's are we but there is a code and we all know when we are being naughty don't we. Pumping will always be difficult,to catch, rocking and rolling a bit easier.
As AG pointed out though Jury Boats and judges cost money and there are enough threads in this truly excellent forum about the cost of regattas to make one wonder if the competitors would wear the cost? Euros200.00 per deum per judge is the cost of on the water umpiring give or takea pfenning, and it does need to be from outside the class because these guys can get very unpopular!

If the helms can't control the crew, then after a few dsq, and wasted meetings then that crew will be dropped. Or the crew give a race in the sinbin, and the helm given a novice crew to train and learn how to control.

On the Rutland meeting I am fully behind GGGGGG for his decion given the local forcast and what was happening. Its nice to see descion being made, and us not having to hang for the whole day waiting for wind that wasn't forcast to come.

I've been reading this thread with interest because on Sunday I've got to be club Race Officer on a tree surrounded puddle with just 1 mph wind forecast and a three race one-day trophy at stake.
Plan is to set a simple course for the mixed handicap fleet but I know there'll be some pumping and similar 'advantage' offences and protests are just unheard of at that club. 
I'm hoping for a Merlin to turn up as they ghost along so well with the high roach sail!

A video is available from the RYA all about Rule 42 and its interpretation. Maybe it should be available to show during social evenings at open meeting, Salcombe and the Nationals etc.. Speak to the rules guys at the RYA. At least then any 'rocker and roller' cant say he didnt know he was doing wrong.

Damn it Sye! Look what you have done!

This whole thread was started as a cheap publicity stunt (see below) and now it's turned into a cheats, name and shame witch hunt.  

At Tamesis we have a gentlemans agreement not to rock, which seems to work on occasion.

And quite rightly so. Cheats should be named and shamed. It's no witch hunt just a clear view that the majority of sailors that take part in ST/open meetings and that have spoken on this thread appear pi**ed off with the minority of sailors that believe winning is achieved by cheating. WRONG. Penalise them or ask them politely to 'sling their hooks'

Who will be the first to throw a stone? I think the first protestor should be given free MR Asoc. membership for three year.

Brilliant idea, just get rid of some funding that could go towards getting jury boats (if you are that fussed).  Good one!
So Tammy ST...

See you there....

Whilst enjoying a bit of sailing last week at a championships my helm said – “If you do that at the Europeans the Jury boat will lob us out” – rightly so – especially reading the thread above.

Speaking with my mate last night he, re-marked “I’m not going just to make up the numbers”

On the silver tiller last year, I wasn’t there to make up the numbers. The run out to the start at Weymouth last year was fantastic. The reaches at Whitstable were dynamite. The socialising was great – Thanks. A lot of the venues on the silver tiller I have listed in my top nn places to go sailing - maybe I should get out more! OK it is great to get that gun.

If there is anyone that enjoys driving around this country with the ever-increasing number of cameras watching our every move, measuring our speed, etc, etc, I should like to hear from them.

Please “Please” don’t turn our sailing – enjoyment – fun – good socialising - into a policed state. 

“Sailors do it for FUN”, stickers available at………….

Agree with you Sail a Merlin. We dont want to be policed. The occasional protest on rule 42 would stop any whinging about cheating and stop the cheats causing the whinging. Lets throw a few stones!

Is that why they call the top sailors Rock stars?

It isn't just the rocking and rolling is it. There have been lots of posts in the past about Gunwale damage! It certainly is not just the Merlin Class indeed the Merlin Class may be not as bad as some others! Across the board of the 3 classes I regularly race in (Not MR where I am just an bserver thee days.) I would suggest that too much agression such as we see in less gentlemanly sports is just the way things are, sailing generally needs to clean its act up before its too late!

I think anyone reading this thread would think we were a bunch of cheating bastards. This is NOT my experience.

On the whole most Merlin sailors know exactly how to rock and roll to the front in no wind - but don't, at least overtly.
It is the less experienced sailors who have just learnt the tricks who give the game away by unsubtle rocking to the front.
I do recall watching the Salcombe race that was mentioned earlier - and frankly it was not a happy experience. The culprits may have got away with it on that occasion but we know who they are and they know we know!

So - Graham was right not to start the race at Rutland with no wind - the only way to sail when there is no wind is to cheat. I think everyone agrees. The only question is was it right not to wait?

I believe the question was rhetorical....

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=21620

Y&Y article about the Holland regatta for the Olympic classes. They postponed all day because of too much wind, then launched at 7.30pm for racing! 
That's proper racing for you! I bet they didn't come in for tea and cakes between races either!

Don't bother with that, check this out instead...