Good to hear that the event is on again.
I think that the most important thing is for you to really enforce the rule this time. We talked tough about it last year, but then it wasn't enforced. By not enforcing it last year, it kind of set the precedent for future behavior.
You can not have an arbitrary rule like "300 yards". Any thing that is subjective and open to what people think 300 yards is will not work. As I see it there are a few things that would work.
#1. GPS tracks. You could either rent them to riders or they could use their own. If any rider is in question we go to the track. This is also pretty cool for your website as there are two companies that can do live broadcasts of the event. They did this at the Fuerte Speed event and it was killer.
#2 Marks. This might be difficult but you could actually have large marks set well offshore in areas that don’t have swim buoys. Maybe the rules would actually be that riders need to round these marks on the way down.
#3 Jet Ski enforcement. You might be able to work a deal with Riva Yamaha or someone similar to support your event with 3 skis to escort the riders down the coast. There would be a lead ski, a middle ski, and a trailer. When the ski sees that a rider is in too close they display a yellow flag. Two yellows give a red and the rider is disqualified. It is really most important to police the front of the pack as the remaining riders will largely follow similar tracks. This might be a very good option that is actually workable.
#4. Just like in any sailing race you have the provision to “protest” a rider for riding in the swim areas. The protesting riders needs a witness and if it is determined that a rider violated the rule you toss them.
In all of the instances you really need to not only set the rules, but enforce them. Aside from the fact that this is a pretty easy event to win if a few rides race along the beach while others duke it out in the open ocean, the real issue is that it is a great section of coast line that we don’t want to lose. Good luck Neil. I can’t wait until we are flying down the coast again.
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