How windy is too windy

[QUOTE=Sussex Lad] [QUOTE=m

[QUOTE=mozzy] [---]

If my Spice crews only lasted 6 dunkings some of them wouldn't have lasted the weekend..... 

It's always been thus, the race officer decides, it's not you or your decision, he's the one that gets sued, even back in the day. I remember making myself very unpopular (I know, difficult to believe but it happened) refusing to allow racing on the third day of a Moth Europeans back in the eighties at Hythe. The practise race had been a disaster with a hundred Moths spread for three miles on the beaches from Hythe down to Seabrook and that had been in a force three, luckily the wind went offshore and for two days the racing was held in pretty flat conditions then the last day we were faced with 25 knots SW and a big shore dump and incoming tide. I didn't think a ) they could sail in it given the mess they'd made of the practise race and b) didn't want to risk the rescue boats and crews. I can't tell you the lambasting I was given by the lead guys not wanting the decision to rest on the offshore days, a lot of bravado I reckoned, so I called their bluff and said OK you guys go out demonstrate your skills and if i think you've got a handle on it and that means no capsizes, I'll launch the boats and call up the committee boat which was in Dover Harbour.
By this time the shore break had already done the job for me, they decided against it.

But even doing that was wrong, we'd still have had the responsibility of pulling them out if and when it had gone pear shaped. Race Officer decision is final - end of and it's not really fair to put him/her under pressure.

How often does one need to make the point that its not necessarily going to be you holding the club or organiser responsible? Widows, parents, carers, insurance companies, all of these are liable to sue if something goes badly wrong. If a court says there's a responsibility it doesn't matter one tiny bit if any of us think there ought not to be.