I remember the meeting of the International Rules Committee where is was decided that the rule on Drogue attachment was going to be changed to allow them to be attached in two places instead of the original one.
At last I thought, and then it was decided that they should be pulled back into the boat when the motor is running, thus defeating any benefit achieved by attachment at two points. WTF?
I think that the main reason for this caveat was ensuring that the drogue wasn't caught in the engine, which can cause problems in a big wave when drifting onto a dam wall or suchlike.
Personally, I think it's much better in H&S terms to leave the sodding thing out there in a big blow and to keep your ar$e firmly planted on the seat. Much less chance of a man overboard.
I remember out in Ireland in 2006, that a rule was introduced under the guise of H&S which said that anglers who had boat seats that sit across the gunnels (such as the Rutland type seats), had to get off their boat seats when under power as it was deemed there was a high risk of them going over the side!
Fortunately common sense ensued and all of the competitors just ignored the rule.
I tell you, there's probably a few more on here who could vouch for the fact that these Rules Meetings are often a bizarre and unusual experience.
Graham
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