J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum Events and Scheduling Taking a Penalty

Working on the SI for the NA. The standard penalty is "Two Turns". Is there a valid reason for changing this at the Championship?

In 2006 and 2007, you had the choice of Two Turns or the yellow flag Scoring Penalty (20%). Last year the penalty was One Turn.

With the long races planned for the Championship, I do not think One Turn is a sufficient penalty. The problem with giving a choice is that it puts a burden on the fouled boat to watch the violator to see which, if either, penalty they take.

I am inclined to not change the default rule, but I will listen to other opinions!

Eric Robbins

Eric - when we organized the 2008 NAs we discussed this. The reason for going with one turn is that a boat would be more likely to do that, rather than take a chance with a protest. The consensus was that with two turns, someone would say screw it, and take the chance in the room.

The choice of penalties, like the need for throwouts, is one of those debatable subjects often colored by personal experience. Unless there is some compelling reason, most regattas and particularly championships should stick to standard RRS, meaning RRS 44.1-2, Two-Turns for Part 2, One-Turn for RRS 31 (Touching a Mark).

I do think it's helpful to offer a less severe penalty than DSQ prior to a protest hearing or better yet in conjunction with arbitration before a full protest hearing. People get to the social events sooner.