After reading the postings here I have to say I am a little bewildered. At first I took the theme of the thread to be a little "tongue in cheek", but it has become apparent from the response from “you guy's (and gals)” in the US that you treat this quite seriously? I have never seen or known of a problem such as this (or the core argument –limits set) ever to have been a problem in sailing/racing in Australia!
For a start, to my knowledge, there are no wind strength limits set for the start or continuation of any race in Australia (apart from a few classes that have an upper limit set, but only for their state or national titles). The responsibility for setting a course is entirely in the hands of the “officer of the day” at the venue, and if a course can be set and the rescue craft can navigate around that course safely then the event is run. Whether a sailors starts, races, and finishes, is entirely their responsibility. The OOD has the right to abandon the race if, in his opinion the conditions become too dangerous (usually based on the abilities of the rescue crews to be able to ensure the safety of the sailors), and he has the right to “shorten the course” (or abandon) if it looks like the conditions are, or have become too light for any one to finish within the standard time limit set for the completion of the race. Every one accepts these conditions (and control by the OOD) and races accordingly with never any recourse to the jury room for situations as described in previous posting here?