Bob, with respect, the SSS already legislates a great deal about how we each sail our boats. 80 minimum equipment requirements for the 2015 Longpac, SOLAS training, qualifying sails to get to the next level of competition, survey requirements and the ability of the race committee to reject a boat that it deems unseaworthy would all be good examples of how the SSS currently interjects itself on each boat and skipper in a positive way.

Your tenure in the group is probably longer than mine (12 years), but you have to admit that we are often heavy on the gear aspects of the sport and relatively light on some of the more extreme psychological demands it places upon the skippers. More training along these lines has no downside. A fuller discussion of what happened to Mike and how it can be avoided next time is responsible and necessary.

How you sail on your own time is obviously up to you, but how we sail as members of a group reflects on all of us.