APPENDIX M

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROTEST COMMITTEES. With Further Advisory Notes from the RYA Racing Rules Committee
Excerpt:
When it is possible that a party may not know a member of the protest committee, introduce and name the protest committee members (including yourself) when asking for objections. At regattas with many hearings before the same protest committee, type the name of each member in 24 pt across the middle of a piece of paper and fold and tape it into a ‘toblerone’ shape to put as a name-plate in front of each protest committee member. It will speed the introductions. If a protest committee member is a Regional, National or International Judge, you might add the initials RJ, NJ or IJ to the name. While only the parties are entitled to be present, it is good policy to agree to requests from others to observe, on the understanding that they can say nothing, that they sit behind (and so out of eye contact with) the parties, and that they cannot then be called as witnesses. When a protest involves children, the presence of a parent as observer is desirable, if only so that the parent can appreciate that the procedure was correct and any penalty was appropriate on the facts found.

This piece goes trough Appendix M with commentary from the RYA Racing Rules Committee.
Very usefull information. You can find the complete piece under FILES.