Prescriptions for Bumper-Car Syndrome

When it comes to rules compliance, fleets have their ups and downs. I have seen fleets cycle through years when most everyone dutifully does their turns if they foul, and no one rocks or pumps to excess, and then experience years when there is lots of contact, lots of prohibited kinetics, and very few actual protests. I've received many letters and telephone calls from competitors looking for ways to increase rules compliance in their fleet.

No fleet is perfect. A few misjudgments and, therefore, rule infractions are bound to occur. New sailors often don't know the rules well. However, if a bad case of "bumper-car syndrome" develops in a fleet, it can really hurt participation. You don't want fleet members selling their boats because they've experienced too much aggression or damage, and you sure don't want to hear someone comment about your fleet, "Don't join that fleet—no one sails by the rules.

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