£3m gets you a Lordship ...

That's a really tough one as at nearly every event this year I've attended someone has made a complaint about a race management issue. Where does the line get drawn? 

I used the words Ridiculous to an RO this year in regards to starting a race with half the fleet not even at the course yet because launching facilities were to slow to get everyone off the shore in time. Do we just put up with that kind of nonsense because we can't be vocal about it or risk face getting protested under R69?

As paying "customers" are we not allowed to hold them to a decent standard?

I’ll bite on this.  IMHO if you said the RO’s actions were ridiculous (definition: worthy of contempt or derision) rather than the situation (e.g. “your decision to start that race was ridiculous” vs “that race was ridiculous because the wind was unbelievably shifty”) you have breached 57.1.1[language that might convey incompetence of race official].

Also see section 9, the bar is not gross misconduct, and calling an RO’s actions or decisions is a breach of good manners.

I have known club members quit the club (and the sport) on the back of rude complaints about their RO efforts.  In a volunteer sport this is clearly absurd.  Even if paid, it is common courtesy to thank officials and provide feedback in a constructive, polite manner.

57.1.1 Use of language that might convey incompetence or prejudice of race officials

So what happens in the reverse situation? The race officer is rude to a competitor(s)?

I know from multiple sources that this has happened at a championships in the last couple of years but I'm effectively only party to one side of the story and will not risk identifying the event.

Is that good enough though?

I could be censured under rule 69 for saying to a race officer "come on, this is ridiculous" after the 8th general recall where we cant cross the line on starboard and no sign of moving the pin back a few lengths, but the race officer can say/do what they like with no effective recourse available.

I fully get and I am onboard with the volunteers speech, I have race officered open meetings myself. When I pay to enter the event I expect good service. There are - unfortunately- still ROs out there who think that we turn up so that they can run an event, and they are exactly the sort who play the cards suggested. They are in the minority but out there.

So we're talking about both incompetent and rude.

As I sort of said before, there is a typical personality here, and it's not going to pay attention to any advice offered, so better save your breath.

Let's, optimistically, assume that we're not dealing with a completely arrogant, lazy dope, but rather someone who is trying to do a proper job, but not doing it very well.

What's the effect of some shouted comment from a competitor as they sail past?

Suppose they have made a bad call.

What they <i style="font-weight: bold;">can't do is cancel a penalty signal, or even worse, give a 'square-up' penalty.

So what does a yelling at on the water achieve?  precisely nothing except to distract them from getting the next incident right.

Say we're in the five minutes before the Warning Signal.

What's the RO supposed to be doing:

And some dude sails past offering some 'helpful' advice.

For every not-very-competent race officer, there would be about 50 competitors who aren't very competent at conducting races either, and, btw, probably at least one or two competitors who are rude and arrogant as well.

So, in a fairly stressful period, just how much value, at best, should the RO place on some shouted comment?  Answer, probably not all that much, if it's going to distract them from the tasks they know they have to do.

Shouted 'discussions' between boats about rules and race management are rarely effective.

If you really do think you can offer something helpful to the RO, by all means have a go, but have a thought about timing, and effective spoken communication and rapport.

If a club has a mad bad RO on the books, and they're dug into the organisation, the problem is with the organisation, not the individual, so yelling at the individual is completely counterproductive.

The problem is that the club lacks commitment to good race management.

If it's your club, then you probably have to enter into the politics of the club.

If it's an 'away' club, then the letter of complaint is the starting point.  If the individual is a RYA accredited race official, a formal incompetence complaint to the RYA may be useful.  If all else fails vote with your feet and don't come back next year, but if you do that, for goodnesss sake write to them and tell them why.

Spot on, as so often on here and the other place your are the voice of reason 

That's a fantastic bit of selective quoting, making it look as if i'm saying almost the opposite of what I actually was. 

Ridiculous........

One thing I have learned in life is that if you ask for feedback/advice you have to make it very clear that you reserve the right to note it and not use it, otherwise some get upset when their advice isn’t heeded.