I'm a huge proponent of personal responsibility and love the quote above, but the 15 pages( pretty excessive) of SIs that I read seem to contradict that. I'll read the updated version and reconsider. The more you dictate the more responsibility you assume as the OA. Your race ,your call but I think you are regulating yourself into a fix instead of out of one. I want this race to flourish as much or more than anyone so this isn't being a hater.
The SI's are actually 10 pages by the time I reduced the font size from 14 to 12 (standard) and cleaned it up a bit. I even left everything bold for the visually impaired like myself. I think the scope is in line with the GT 300 (13 pages) and the EC 300 (9 pages). I am not really sure which areas you think we should delete.
Anyone that has suggestions or issues with the SI's are welcome to contact Warren ([email protected])and myself ([email protected]) as Todd has already done. We plan on posting a hopefully "final version" on May 1st. Please let us know before then and cc me so I will be in the loop.
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Your SPOT comment about letting you see if someone was in trouble will only lead to trouble if you call in the Calvary and someone stopped because they wanted a sandwich. Besides , after all of the races that I've participated in and tried to follow that involved SPOTs I'd surmise that reliability is "SPOTTY" at best. I guess that's how they got their name. I'll trust my life to an EPIRB, if organizers want to publicize the race with SPOTs then that should be their responsibility not mine, financially or otherwise.
My actual quote was "possibly help dispatch non emergency help" not call the Calvary. I consider SPOT units important to running a long distance event. Even Chuck who hates technology agrees on this. That is why he brought me aboard for tracking the last Tybee 500 and mandated it.
It is very important we know how much time we have to get down and get everything set up in case we have other errands to run. It is also important we know how late the day or night might be. Having boats out at night without having a clue where they are is just silly in this day and age. knowing where they are and how much progress takes a huge load of stress off of us and the ground crews.
The marketing benefits are secondary. I bought my initial Spot unit because of safety not marketing and upgraded because of the additional texting ability in emergency situations. I also own an EPIRB, VHF, and the rest of the safety gear on the list because I sail regularly in the area you are racing in.
Imagine if they had a SPOT unit on the Malaysian Flight. They would at least be able to reduce the search area. As it stands, no one has a clue where the plane is even after all this time. Even with all of the additional safety gear they have. The SPOT units are not perfect but the newer ones are a lot more reliable than the original ones. They can possibly help in a situation where the sailors are unable to dispatch help themselves.
I have cooked gumbo and usually supplied drinks for every Tybee 500 and my wife will be making the gumbo for the Palm Beach Shores leg this year. If you want to show some gratitude, PLEASE rent a SPOT so I will know if I have time to eat lunch before setting up the finish line at the end of each leg. Your ground crew might even like to know where you are and if they can take a break for lunch.
Believe me, I would rather be on my boat racing than on the shore. And if I was working my job instead of spending all the time setting up this event, I would be able to afford the sails I need to go racing.
