Appeal won

We won the appeal. The appealing authority chose to focus on good and fair racing, and so the race is cancelled, and we are all awarded average points. It might not be a perfect solution, but it sure is better than accepting anything as a race. Besides that, this ruling sets the scene for an important discussion on how to regard racing in SL in the future. Should crashes and computer skills determine the outcome, or should racing skills determine who wins. I sure know what I want.

Me relaxing after a crazy week with the protest.

So what is all the fuzz about? First up, we made history. This was the first appeal ever to take place in the history of SL sailing. Secondly, the appeal went directly against the old salts in the protest jury. They were not amused. I have heard things, I will not repeat here. Suffice it to say, I was chocked by the reaction to the result of the appeal. After a few days of hyperventilating the RD and the RCs of the OW started to think rationally again, and they carried on.

Going for a cup of tea.

More importantly the debate is on. How do we define racing. How much computer trouble can cause a cancellation. A few simple tricks from RL can make it all easier. Add a per race sailtime limit; Add a max restarts limit. Add a no starting later than - limit. Counting boatcrashes during race may also work. If all boats have the same amount of crashes, it might be a valid race, but winning the race as the only boat not having a crash... then ur not winning by sailing skills.

Ooops, there's my ride back home to Tradewinds.

There are several schools of sailing in SL. Some people seem to enjoy arcade style sailing, and they even find the fight with computers to be fun. Others seem to prefer a type of racing, where the sailing skill defines the winner. I am not saying either is right or wrong, but we need to establish a common understanding of "foul weather". If we put a sort of definition of good racing in the NOR, plus the time limits mentioned above, then I believe the future will see less protests on bad weather. Those who like reboot-races can do so. Those who like sailboat racing can do so. Let the NOR indicate the type of race.