If you do exactly that Dalton tells you to do that might happen. Worked for the other Todd.

Worked for me at the Steeplechase (the one that you were cowering in the corner and too scared to show up at). Why do you think I got him as crew? I hope your bro can do the same for you, 'cause we know your old, geritol takin' azz ain't got no game. If you'll pay your debts (unlike Tad) maybe we should put a bottle of Rum on it. I know you have decent taste in Rum, at least.None of that spiced junk, or Baccardi (almost as bad as Riccardi) crap though.

AHAHAHHA whooops!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWPVUcJsXIE#t=152

What are you using for your fpv gear. I bought a Fatshark setup a while ago, but haven't put it on anything. I'd like to use it on a flying wing, but a quad certainly would make it easier, or least easier to stay range as it's not trucking along at 100mph.

If you do a quad go big heavy and with torquey props instead of going for speed. I've got an Armattan quad that is fast and nimble but would suck for FPV.

Looks like he came up happy, so all good and high fives all around. That rocker can really get ya on dry sand.

What are you using for your fpv gear. I bought a Fatshark setup a while ago, but haven't put it on anything. I'd like to use it on a flying wing, but a quad certainly would make it easier, or least easier to stay range as it's not trucking along at 100mph. [/quote]

5.8 GHZ transmitter and a 7" monitor with built in transmitter I got from China (wasn't available local 7 months ago). I have it mounted to my transmitter and powered by a LiPo mounted under transmitter.

When Ilived in Cooa Beach a short time back in '95, I sailed off Delray some.
Never before had I seen such a Graveyard of broken down, delapadated boats.
The local guru had everyone just triple shrouding each side of their boat, instead of upkeep and replacing shrouds, etc. At the time, nearly all of them had empry milk jugs hanging from the top of the mast as well.
Everyone was amazed when I sailed right by that 'guru', both of us on H16's! They couldn't believe someone had passed him, several times. It was rather easy ehwn I was trapping out, and I don't recall him even having a harness on.

Was years ago.

But I digress, sorry for the tangent, the video reminded me

I'm sure times have changed there now?

It must have made you feel good to pass Jesse, at that time he was already in his early 70s, he sailed that Hobie until he was in his mid 80s.

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What is the justification for a "3 minute protest"? Where has this ever been seen or used in sailboat racing before??? Should we just bring our guns to the party and have a shootout on the beach?

Also, have you read the GT300 rules top to bottom and checked the Florida 300 rules against them as one cohesive element? I.e do the rules in total make sense?? I can see a lot of deviation already, namely in the surf landing rules, who is appointing judges (the PRO, not competitors FYI) etc.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...hdHRleGFzMzAwfGd4OjUwMWUxOTFjOGZiODlhMTM

No guns - just inflatable battle sticks and spent fluorescent light tubes....and you have 31.2 seconds to do all the damage you can.

That is a strange system and, honestly, I hate to pile on - but this is not a very serious way to handle protests. You've got two "judges" one each selected by the opposing parties. There's not an odd number, neutral, or necessary rules knowledgeable "judge" in the mix. The chances of them agreeing are pretty slim and trying to get all of this done in three minutes seems like it would be more of a circus act than a serious attempt at arbitration. It actually stands a strong chance of creating MORE tension and discourse than to solve anything.

US Sailing already has a time tested process that, isn't perfect, but it works. We're also talking about a protest that happens maybe once every two or three years in an event like this. There's a lot of energy going on to reinvent a system that already works - for a situation that doesn't happen that often. I still like the idea of having a formal protest, in a hotel room, with an on-call (phone of video) jury of rule experienced people. Settle the issue clean giving both parties an opportunity to explain to knowledgeable people...knowledgeable people discuss, and come back with a (hopefully) sound judgement with a real rules justification that is difficult to argue with.

3 minute protest is used very often in college sailing and team races. It works fine unless you have someone in the room like Sam
Seriously though, we used to do it right on the finish boat, works great.

I took a quick read of SI 14, and my opinion is that it may cause more problems than it solves. Technical issues aside, populating a protest committee with interested parties is likely to result in an appeal. If the protest committee does not supply a written decision, then the appeals committee will undoubtedly send the protest back to be reheard.

If the goal is to expedite hearings, then why not simply invoke Appendix T Section C - "Expedited Hearings"?

In my opinion, "3 minute justice" only works in very informal racing, or with a very experienced protest committee. Do you ever wonder why an "international jury" is defined the way it is, or why it's decisions cannot be appealed? It's because IJ's operate in regattas with such high protest loads that they cannot get the job done without throwing protest procedure to the wind. The jury members have to be extraordinarily skilled in order to reach the correct decision without taking the time to follow Appendix M.

There are a number of skilled judges in Florida. Why not approach them to help out?

Sincerely,
Eric Rasmussen
Chair, SAYRA Appeals Committee

I agree that the best practice would be to use the existing verbiage provided by US Sailing.

I also agree that you actually need stronger judges to properly use arbitration. And, it's not meant to replace a full PC, but to limit the number of full hearings needed. This only works if the arbitration judge is very experienced and respected, otherwise the sailors will always proceed to the full hearing, and the result is that you just added needless complexity for zero gain.

I fully disagree that IJs ignore Appendix M or "throw procedure to the wind." The IJs I've worked with follow the same process for all hearings, and that is basically what's spelled out in Appendix M.

On a personal level, when hearing protests, I like to have the book open to Appendix M. I find that it adds a level of formality, and reassures sailors that we're following due process, and they will get their time to talk. This tends to alleviate people interrupting one another, shouting, etc.

Mike

I've umpired high school and college team racing, so no, you probably don't want to be in the room with me

The big difference between that and this is you have pro or semi-pro judges on the finish or umpire boat making a decision, and another big difference is these rules experts see the incident in real time. At the high school level, the boat has coaches from opposing teams and a third unbiased judge. At the college level, it's professional umpires in the boats making the calls and hearing the on-the water protests.

A 3 minute shootout on the beach isn't going to work. I agree with Jake that we would be better served by conference calling/Skyping judges into a hotel room.

and THAT, my esteemed colleagues, will dramatically increase the YouTube viewer count.

Rent some inflatable Sumo wrestler suits, far more entertaining. Hobie Fleet 204 did this for a Hobie 17 Open / 16 Womens NAs a few years back. Not in place of a jury, of course, but entertaining nonetheless. Especially Mimi vs. PU...

Mike