Advertising via sail numbers? 55

Originally posted by JimC [QUOTE=boatshed] I have in the past turned up at an event and been given a 50 point hit

And I'm assuming this was with a class of boat that complied with the class rules, ie was in-class ??

If so, the RO made a nonsense of the race.   That's no different to giving a hot shot helm a PY hit because they're a national champ and have won every race in the last year.

If a boat is declared out of class in an Event like the Tiger, it shouldn't be granted entry.    Without any historical data, the right of the RO to assign an arbitrary PY will be either beneficial or detrimental to that entry.  The chance of it being spot on is zero.    If it's a beneficial PY, it is detrimental to all the other competitors.

Randomly hitting the out-of-class entry with +50 points PY will, if they bothered to compete,  inevitably result in a pi$$ poor result and probably retirement.   And there is no saying how many in-class competitors race they will trash that day.

As I said, if there was prize money at stake, say £100k for winning, everyone would enter out-of-class boats and lobby the RO for a lenient PY hit.  

Thank god we compete in an amateur sport

Originally posted by pondmonkey Originally posted by boatshed Every competitor should then protest the RO.       If the RO decide it's a valid entry as a LipstickX, with an appropriate PY, then the other competitors have a choice... Race it or f**k off

Yep, that's it.   I'd choose to not bother going at all. 

All these forum posts are because of blurred vision and the distraction of this being a PY event.

Can you imagine trying to enter an out-of-class Laser at the Olympics ?   And expecting that entry to be granted on the basis of the RO given an arbitrary time penalty/advantage to that entry.  No, it would be told to f**k off ( to use your very precise language) because that is the only proper response.

edited

 

Originally posted by 2547 Originally posted by pondmonkey There is a genuine question over the Fireball class rules and tapes... no one has, in an official capacity, answered this question.   Anyone???

Originally posted by pondmonkey so you'd not let some one race at a PY race with a rooster sail on a Laser?

I'll answer with a question.   Could one enter the Laser Olympics with a Rooster sail ?

Just issue the out of class boat with an Experimental Number (which can be the same as the normal class PN in a case like this, where the sails are the same size and shape) but state that boats with experimental numbers can't win the main trophies. So, you get a result, but not the 100k prize money...

The same would apply to me taking my Minisail along, I guess. It doesn't have a published number, just what I sail off at the club. If I went to an event, I'd far rather they used the number I think is roughly correct, but banned me from winning the huge prize money or bottle of wine, than they gave me a 50 point slashing and made the race a nonsense from my point of view.