Links on Monday: Boats and VOR Request for Redress

Just to let you know I've returned from Denmark yesterday - were I attended Spring Cup 2009, a match race event in Middelfart - very late. I've tried to catch up with mails this evening and just have time to write a short blog post before looking for my pillow....

Thibaut send me a short mail and announced on his website developments with his diagram program "Boats": He writes: A small teaser so that you know what's cooking for next version of Boat Scenario. Next version already has:

• Tabbed view to have multiple scenarios open
• Trimmable sail angle
• optional laylines drawing
• Printing support including PDF generation of the formatted call
• Overlap lines
• and the Export of an Animated GIF

Looks very cool and the GIF is certainly very good for presentations.

Next: Tefefonica Blue seeks redress
From the official noticeboard:
Request for Redress
Boat Requesting Redress: Telefonica Azul ESP 12
Represented by: Bouwe Bekking

Telefonica Azul claims that the Race Committee and/or Organising Authority made an improper action or omission by locating the start line and 2nd passing mark of the course (mark d) in an area where at least 1 uncharted shallow area existed.
Telefonica Azul hit one such uncharted shallows that was 0.23 nm from the start mark (and 2nd passing mark) of the course, prior to the start of Leg 5. Furthermore, the Race Committee and/or Organising Authority failed to supply a port with adequate depth to allow Telefonica Azul back into the harbour. This resulted in a 3 hour delay in getting back to the marina to begin
repairs resulting from the grounding. Delays due to the grounding and the delay in returning to port resulted in Telefonica Azul starting leg 5 approximately 19 hours after the start signal.
This delay had direct impact on Telefonica Azul’s position at the New Zealand scoring gate and at the finish.
Signed: Bouwe Bekking, 29 March 2009

Remember rule 62.1? A request for redress shall be based on a claim or possibility that
- a boats score in a race has been made significantly worse,
- through NO fault of her own
- by an improper action or omission of the race committee or organizing authority

The jury will need to find answer to each of these conditions before it can award redress;
Was the 19 hours loss significantly to have influence in the scoring? Or were there perhaps other contributing factors?
If the shallow water was uncharted, how can the sailors expect that the RC could know about that? Is it the responsibility of the RC to send out a sounding-chart mapping boat of the start area? Is this an omission, for which the PC can be blamed?
Should the OA have provided harbour access with sufficient depth for returning boats ? Could that be seen as an omission?
Is hitting something under water something the sailors could have avoided? Was it close to shore and could logically be deducted that something might be there - even only a reasonable assumption?

If all these questions lead to a redress: what should that be?
For instance if the Jury award redress for 19 hours. The delta between Green Dragon (28/03/09 18:15:40) and Telefonica Blue (29/03/09 03:55:00) is 9 hours 39 minutes and 20 seconds. That would make TB 4th instead of 5th!

I'll keep you updated or you can look for news on the VOR-site.