For sailors young and old, inexperienced and experienced, protesting evokes emotions of fear, anxiety, apprehension, sometimes anger and humiliation. And that’s assuming the decision went your way! For the ‘losers’, the feelings are even worse. For these reasons and more, most of us avoid protest situations at all costs.

Participating in the protest process need not be a negative experience – on the contrary, it is most often a fascinating learning experience and adds real value for club members.  The goal for all involved should to have it be a positive and educational experience. It is an important way for us to demonstrate our love of the sport of sailing and our respect for fellow sailors as competitors.

Vice Commodore and Chairman of the Sailing Committee Emmet Dalton explains the benefits of open protest committee hearings: “First, it removes a lot of the mystery and anxiety about the protest process without being in it. A lot of people don’t protest and they don’t know what goes on behind that closed door and often don’t want to find out. Secondly, at club racing level there are very few protests, because there is a belief that there are a lot of skills and techniques that you need that many people don’t feel they have. By being able to watch them, you’ll get better at it. Thirdly, in almost every protest, somebody learns something about the rules. By opening up the process, you expose that many more sailors to that learning experience.”

We are looking to recruit protest panels for the 2017 season and invite members of all racing pedigree and ability to participate in this valuable experience. Contact the Honorary Sailing Secretary here to apply