Shortening the course for backmarkers

[Dreadnought]

It's none of my business...

...but can race officers please be aware that it is within our rules to stop boats on any lap of a race. Once a shorten course has been displayed it would make good sense to finish any boat that crosses the line, regardless of what lap they are on.

[ChrisR]

Who in particular is this aimed at???

[Dreadnought]

All of us.

[harryv]

Surely there is no need to shorten the course for backmarkers when there is only one race on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It would be best if we can avoid shorting the course unless there is really light winds and the backmarkers can't get round. I appreciate the quicker sailors don't want to wait for ever to start the second race on a Sunday.

[Dreadnought]

There are also the patrol boat staff to worry about. They never complain but it's wrong to make them carry on until dark.

If people don't get a finish when the faster sailors do, they might be drifting about with a dying wind and get timed out anyway. If it's a two lap race and it takes an hour and people have only sailed one lap in that time, they are unlikely to finish another lap in the half hour time limit. They end up with DNF instead of a place.

[harryv]

That's true. We need to think about the safety boat.

Yes, if there is hardly any wind about, the slower boats won't be able to get anywhere and it's no fun for them either. Makes sense to shorten the course in those conditions. We should try to keep the 2 laps for everyone if there is enough wind yes?