• A keen volunteer with a conflict of interest
  7 Comments
  Benjamin Harding Today 11:09
• Should "Basic Principles" be added to RRS 4 & 5?
  5 Comments
  Angelo Guarino Yesterday 13:40
• Judges walking the Dock
  12 Comments
  Robert Stewart Yesterday 04:13
• Language language language
  17 Comments
  Michael Moradzadeh Sat 06:09
• Why is the "red flag" needed?
  43 Comments
  Angelo Guarino Fri 21:38

• A keen volunteer with a conflict of interest
  As a parent who does volunteer work like launching or checking in/out boats all the time, I would absolutely not consider myself a part of the RC.  The criterion I would use is, would I enter this into my SOARS? (The US Sailing RC/PC activity tracker) I’m no different from the parent that provides snacks for the coach boat. From another perspective, if I were PRO, would I consider some random parent part of my team? Probably not
  Ric Crabbe Today 12:48
• Language language language
  Personally, I think people over-wordsmith, forgetting how regional and cultural language is. 
  
  

  • If a phrase is used in RRS it makes sense to mimic that phrase, using it as it is used in RRS.
  • If a phrase is defined in RRS the we must use it as defined.
  • Drawing from legal conventions is fine but remember, that the average sailor isn't legally trained.  Common use may naturally override the legal intention in the general population - - unless some time and effort is spent on training.  Also, even legal norm is regional, so that doesn't always work.

  
  Everything else should be appropriate to the region and culture (and even the times) where it's mainly being used.
  
  I think it's these regional differences which give rise to most rules discussions/disagreements.
  
  Next time you're in a rules debate, stop and wonder if it's at all possible that the other person may be exactly right in their region and culture using their interpretation of a word or phrase.  Could the problem simply be regional 'language' differences which need resolving first?
  
  (While it irks me to see Microsoft's British English, American English, Australian English, and Canadian English - to me there is only one true English - I do have to accept it as a real thing!)
  
  Anyway:
  RRS 86 talks of 'changes'.  It doesn't mention 'amendments' . So I use the word 'Changes' with respect to that rule. "This changes RRS XX."  Sure, changes and amendments are the same to some people - the difference may be negligible, but why complicate things?  (Actually, as I see it amendments are a sub-set of changes.)  Still, I have no need to get worked up if I see amendments or changes used.
  
  "A kid may take up to 6 chocolates."
  
  Huh? Sorry, it's not ambiguous. Take six chocolates, kid, but not seven!"
  Benjamin Harding Today 09:27
• Why is the "red flag" needed?
  Its something tbat puzzles me. How did notification of an intent to protest, basically, in my opinion, a secondary concept that doesn't affect how boats manouver and avoid each other, come to be this sacred cow of a rule that overides the basic principle and natural justice? Go back far enough and it wasn't even considered necessary.
  Jim Champ Today 09:15
• Should "Basic Principles" be added to RRS 4 & 5?
  Rob, now that the BP's are no longer a rule I think they are now lacking clear status (and connection to anything).  They are now statements without a clear anchor. They seem to be floating in the non-descript humor of the universe.
  
  If they are not rules, but something everyone agrees to as a principle, then I think they would benefit from being something that all entities in sailing agree to "accept" as such ("agree to accept" as "principles" ... using the language of RRS 4 & 5).
  
  PS: this still keeps them out of rules that can be broken and protested based upon. 
  Angelo Guarino Yesterday 18:54
• Judges walking the Dock
  From a game theoretic point of view, this is not strange at all. We have ended up in an equilibrium where all the sailors use a trigger strategy. This means that they don't protest unless the infringer has protested them earlier. This is, if all the other sailors also use this strategy, individually rational for every sailor. There doesn't need to be any explicit agreement on this, it can emerge naturally. Of course I'm not saying this is good, neither am I telling the sailors who I coach to use this strategy, but that's how it is. I think the most important is to have the RC protest every single contact with a mark, if no penalty is taken, and a proper rule 42 enforcement from the judges.
  Jaakko Haataja Yesterday 18:07

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