THANK YOU!!!

Wind speed: Puh-lease!!! Just TRY to get a straight answer about what people want at an event. Can there be negligence? Yes, but if the PRO has the assets (power boats), and the sailors are of a caliber that can handle it, it's a non-issue (until lawyers get involved).

Number of chase boats only puts the PRO at risk if he CHOOSES to run races with an insufficient number of boats. The OA will also bear a burden here. If they can't pony up enough resources, the experience of the PRO has to take precedence to shut it down. The number of boats depends entirely on the conditions: weather, water, distance from the course to the beach, racing boats, sailors, number of crew per boat, age of competitors, whether coach boats are on the course, etc. etc. etc. No easy answer that applies every time. That's why our certifications are based only partially on seminars and rules quizzes, the real world experience is far more valuable.

The old mindset was that mark boats are primarily for setting a course. Common sense is coming around, and EVERYONE'S primary responsibility is safety, including other competitors.

Realistically, you rarely get enough power boats to fill all the mark boat jobs, so 99% of the time, you won't have dedicated safety boats (personally, I hate the term chase boat or even worse, crash boat).

Mike