On Saturday I witnessed a boat going inside the "G" green buoy at the southern part of Angel Island; Point Blunt. We'd been racing in close proximity to each other all day, I happened to be ahead at that point in time, but that was just ~at that moment~...I'd been 50-150 yards behind the entire previous leg. You know how it goes.
I got back to the Corinthian and went up to the Race Deck to ask if in fact that was a Restricted Area, in the NOR and in fact it was. I then went and got on the VHF and called the boat in question on the Race Channel...72. I requested that the skipper meet me on an off-race channel, 68. I told them that I'd seen them in the restricted area, maybe they didn't realize it was restricted, and Lord knows I've made goofs much like that, myself. We left it that he'd check the NOR. Well, I see the boats finishing time on the results, but the NOR says that entering a Restricted Area is not something you can "unwind". There is no redress, it's an automatic DSQ.
I'm not going to "out" the boat, now. I'm going to tell two stories.
Once upon a time, Mark Deppe was our Commodore. We did a race that finished up the Estuary. It so happened that a bunch of us were coming down the Estuary when a big ship was coming in. We got "horned" five times.... which according to the racing rules at that time, was an automatic DSQ. I didn't realize that. In fact two of the other boats in my immediate vicinity were Max on Solar Wind and Synthia on Eyrie. Synthia had already pulled over to the edge of the channel and headed back out, realizing that it was Game Over for that race.
I so-happened to talk to Mark on the phone that night, and he let me know that I'd been "honked at" and should DSQ myself. I looked up the rules and sure enough, he was right. So I telephone the RC and DSQ'd myself and I LEARNED SOMETHING THAT DAY. I certainly was in no way angry with Mark about it.
In the Vallejo 1-2 last October, I was way in the back of the pack with Cliff Shaw on Rainbow. We'd finally gotten some wind and were bombing along, outside the Chevron Pier. I cut inside the buoy G "3" FL G 4s (1/3 nm south of the Long Wharf) and the Richmond shore . Cliff called me up on VHF, and suggested we go to Channel 68, where he told me that I'd just entered a restricted area. I realized I was in the wrong and immediately called the RC on 72 and DSQ'd myself.....not that it mattered, as I wouldn't have finished in time anyway. I'm certainly not upset with Cliff in the slightest over this. Because of it, I won't make that mistake again.
The point is, I MADE MISTAKES....some SSS folks were good enough to tell me in a way that didn't embarrass me, and I DSQ'd myself.
I just put this up as a thought-exercise. There will be those who say PROTEST HIM!...and maybe that's the answer. I hesitate to do that. Certainly if someone repeats a mistake then there needs to be a penalty.
I got back to the Corinthian and went up to the Race Deck to ask if in fact that was a Restricted Area, in the NOR and in fact it was. I then went and got on the VHF and called the boat in question on the Race Channel...72. I requested that the skipper meet me on an off-race channel, 68. I told them that I'd seen them in the restricted area, maybe they didn't realize it was restricted, and Lord knows I've made goofs much like that, myself. We left it that he'd check the NOR. Well, I see the boats finishing time on the results, but the NOR says that entering a Restricted Area is not something you can "unwind". There is no redress, it's an automatic DSQ.
I'm not going to "out" the boat, now. I'm going to tell two stories.
Once upon a time, Mark Deppe was our Commodore. We did a race that finished up the Estuary. It so happened that a bunch of us were coming down the Estuary when a big ship was coming in. We got "horned" five times.... which according to the racing rules at that time, was an automatic DSQ. I didn't realize that. In fact two of the other boats in my immediate vicinity were Max on Solar Wind and Synthia on Eyrie. Synthia had already pulled over to the edge of the channel and headed back out, realizing that it was Game Over for that race.
I so-happened to talk to Mark on the phone that night, and he let me know that I'd been "honked at" and should DSQ myself. I looked up the rules and sure enough, he was right. So I telephone the RC and DSQ'd myself and I LEARNED SOMETHING THAT DAY. I certainly was in no way angry with Mark about it.
In the Vallejo 1-2 last October, I was way in the back of the pack with Cliff Shaw on Rainbow. We'd finally gotten some wind and were bombing along, outside the Chevron Pier. I cut inside the buoy G "3" FL G 4s (1/3 nm south of the Long Wharf) and the Richmond shore . Cliff called me up on VHF, and suggested we go to Channel 68, where he told me that I'd just entered a restricted area. I realized I was in the wrong and immediately called the RC on 72 and DSQ'd myself.....not that it mattered, as I wouldn't have finished in time anyway. I'm certainly not upset with Cliff in the slightest over this. Because of it, I won't make that mistake again.
The point is, I MADE MISTAKES....some SSS folks were good enough to tell me in a way that didn't embarrass me, and I DSQ'd myself.
I just put this up as a thought-exercise. There will be those who say PROTEST HIM!...and maybe that's the answer. I hesitate to do that. Certainly if someone repeats a mistake then there needs to be a penalty.
