If there's a deliberate action by the right of way boat that caused the give way boat to not keep clear, then I think the row boat breaks⁷ RRS 14 (a) or (b), and the risk is all on her whether there is injury or damage that will switch off row's exoneration.

I'm happy that gear failure may make it not reasonably possible to avoid contact.

I'm not comfortable with Phils sweeping assertion that it is always reasonably possible for the right of way boat to avoid losing control.  Imagine your just hanging on on a tight reach, and a cross sea makes you rudder let go.

No rule says you should be sailing conservatively so that won't happen.

Where a competitor is submitting a request, they are quite likely to not know what is applicable and what isn't .  Without some decision tree in the form, it's added complexity that most competitors are not going to understand.  I am of the belief it's better to get submissions that exceed the requirements of validity than not.  BTW, if you enable AI for the event in the settings, the machine can fill out the form for them based on their description of the incident.  It's a much better alternative than trying to make rules around what fields are required and the data submitted.  

Absolutely! The top sailors do this all the time.

Regarding #1
There are several professional sailors earning 7 figure contracts now.  As the lawsuit between Ineos and Athena illustrates, Ben Ainslie earned $9 million in each of the last 2 Americas Cups. Tom Slingsby, Peter Burling, Jimmy Spithill , Dylan Fletcher etc are all well paid professional athletes
2. A Sail GP teams sells for $60 million. It is only after the cost cap that an AC campaign comes down to $100 million.
3. The contact between France and NZ was fairly brutal, and resulted in two hospitalizations. One for 6 months.
4. Most of the professional sport has on the water umpiring, and a good amount of amateur racing as well.

The good news is that it does not seem to have significantly altered the ethos of our sport. We are taught early in our sailing lives that winning doesnt count if you lose the respect of your fellow competitors.  All of these professional sailors came up the ranks through the amateur sport and learned the importance of good sportsmanship.  Very few sports have the equivalent of our Part 1 fundamental rules and  "A boat and her owner shall compete in compliance with recognized principles of sportsmanship and fair play."

I think the hundreds of judges who volunteer their time and reinforce the principles of good sportsmanship have contributed to this unique vibe in the sport of sailing. After a life time in competing in this sport on all continents, I cannot express my gratitude to the judging community enough.......(even the French judge who dinged me for 42 at the Bermuda Worlds :)  )

So Stefan, two quick points. 

1. Standing in the water holding the boat or anchoring is always legal. If you can use it to your advantage , that is fair. Any other boat can do the same.  Provided you comply with 42 and dont push or pull off, this is legal and part of sailing.
2. In real life, in good breeze, in the absence of a foul current, it does not pay to be at a standstill at the start. So this is all a bit academic.
Nonetheless even if there was a tactical advantage that I do not fully understand, it is legal to anchor.