Hold the Bus, I mean Barge

Although the events of last Thursday night have luffed a few sails, I think we all need to go take a chill pill until things can be sorted out. After the Protest Hearing Monday night, we learned that the RC cannot DSQ anyone, much less the whole fleet, without filing their own protest.

So where does this leave us as appropriate scoring for last Thursday?.......undecided, I guess. So RC and Fleet 50 management will get together and come to a conclusion on this. Until then, there are no official results. They took a stand, and we should support them for this. We interferred with Commercial Traffic as the barge stopped to avoid what looked like to them was imminent danger. This is against Federal and Fleet 50 regulations. RC was doing what they thought was right.

Now we can all argue the pros/cons of what happened, but I want to think that we all can learn from this. Here are some things to ponder, and I would love to hear others thoughts on this, so please send me an email with your suggestions.

1. Are we capable of policing ourselves? Most of the fleet crossed in front of the Barge, either going to or from the Dumplings.
2. What do we need to put in our SI's to insure that this won't happen again? Or what penalty is warranted if it does? One suggestion is to adapt the Shields class wording.
3. Does RC need more input from the class? We are moving toward more assistance, but should we go further in terms on Race Day assistance. It has been voluntary so far, but maybe it needs to be mandatory.
4. What constitutes an official posting? Something on IDA's website, or does it need to be on Fleet 50's site as well?

There are many things to consider, in addition to how we should score the night. I would certainly like to see the same enthusiasm put into rewriting the SI's to close the gaps, or in helping to administer/assist with racing logistics on a given Thursday.

There are a few boats that did the "right" thing, and took huge detours. I commend them. I was one who did not, and was confused as the proper course to take. Bad Lee.

So send me your thoughts and lets make changes for the better.