anti-bickering sugggestion

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David Allsebrook
Posts: 3
Joined: 21 Oct 2009, 02:36
Location: Toronto, Canada

anti-bickering sugggestion

Post by David Allsebrook » 14 Mar 2013, 18:25

Radio control sailing loses prospective and actual participants because people don't consider yelling and bickering to be fun. I was wondering if we can down on the loud disputes with a Rule to forestall protests by encouraging the party at fall to quickly own up, and the injured party to thereafter shut up. We might add this to the sailing instructions:

Taking a penalty
A Two-Turn Penalty shall replace a One-Turn Penalty when a boat may have broken one or more Rules of Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing or Rule 31 unless the competitor controlling the boat hails that it is taking a penalty before a protest hail from another competitor. No competitor shall hail or continue a hail of notice a protest arising from an incident which has been acknowledged.

I look forward to your thoughts

David A
CAN 63
David Allsebrook

Hiljoball
Posts: 283
Joined: 06 Jan 2006, 00:47
Sail number: CAN 307
Club: West Coast Radio Sailing
Design: V8
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Re: anti-bickering sugggestion

Post by Hiljoball » 15 Mar 2013, 01:18

We have a rule to deal with this bickering behaviour. R2.

A R 2 DSQ is nondropable and so has much more weight that an additional penalty turn.

Bickering is no answer. If you are protested and 'at fault' do your turn, - it helps to let the other guy know that you are accepting the penalty as it may take a bit of time to get clear.

If you are protested and you feel the other boat is at fault - counter-protest them immediately - and then say nothing - silence. Then sort it out in the hearing room.

John
John Ball
CRYA #895
IOM CAN 307 V8
In my private capacity

David Allsebrook
Posts: 3
Joined: 21 Oct 2009, 02:36
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: anti-bickering sugggestion

Post by David Allsebrook » 15 Mar 2013, 01:46

That is the theory but it has a flaw. There is constant bickering, at every event. How many of those conversations turn into Rule 2 protests? Virtually none. I have only ever seen one Rule 2 protest in 20 years of RC sailing. How about you?
Why not reward sportsmanship and forestall a quarrel instead of letting it occur and deciding if it is bad enough to warrant the fuss of a protest or is just annoying. As a bonus, this would shift the onus of good behavior onto the person who committed the foul.
David
David Allsebrook

David L Alston
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Joined: 24 Jul 2012, 17:38
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Re: anti-bickering sugggestion

Post by David L Alston » 16 Mar 2013, 00:40

Good manners and fairness have never been traits one could ever associate with sailing whether it be full size or radio sailing.

After all there is much at stake here, there is much to prove. Doing the walk of kings along the bank ahead of the fleet is a priceless and an exhilarating experience. The applause and adoration of your peers is elevating and taking home the prize of a $5 bottle of wine certainly compensates and vindicates your investment of $2000 in 1000 mm long boat and traveling 100km to an event that last 4 hours if you are lucky each week.

Clearly you are a new comer to this hobby or game, for it cannot be truly classed as a sport.

You have a long path of development ahead of you and much to assimilate as you take the journey to enlightenment.

Cheating is an important aspect of radio sailing tactics. Cheat by disrupting the concentration of your fellow sailors by being obnoxious or telling jokes or ridiculing someone sailing in front of you. Cheat by making false declarations at Protest Hearings, intimidating lesser skilled sailors by quoting rules.

However equally important in your development as a skilled radio sailor is to understand and to take advantage of the fact that that no one else, including the observers , actually saw the entire incident from beginning to end since it was your screaming ‘Protest 111 on 117’ or the loud and resounding crunch that alerted potential witnesses to alleged infringement.

The better you get at this the more successful you will be at a protest and indeed winning.

You will know that you have mastered this art and are ready for national completion once you have masters banging in at a mark and tacking onto the lay line in the four boat zone causing a multiply pile up, quite gentlemanly do a penalty turn and gain 10 places and everybody think you are wonderful. Or better still not doing a penalty turn and convince someone else that it was their fault and to claim Exoneration under rule 21.

At this point in your development you will have totally convinced yourself that you are not cheating and that you are now indeed a master tactician and are ready to mentor others and give tuning advice.

This you will do most diligently , instructing them to never tack in front of someone on starboard and always to foot off and duck their transom and to never to use the time honoured desperate Dan tactic of trying to pass ahead when on port tack. You will similarly advise them to tack away if someone tacks under them.

I have always associated Canadians and Canadian-ism with good manners, kindness and consideration for others, having been a keen and devoted follower of the television program Due South and the Murdock Mysteries and so I do understand your indignation. I can only conclude that your experiance was when sailing in another country.

But believe me it is an integral part of sailing as is enduring my ramblings in addition to that of the armchair sailors that seem to invade every class discussion these days.
Regards
Badskipper

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