Incident at the Hatchery on Thursday, July 14th

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[isobars]

A fin can cleanly cleave a thick-walled reduced-diameter mast without leaving a mark on the fin, and I've seen one board seller deny responsibility for in-transit damage when even its heavy-duty bag was clearly damaged in exactly the same spot, manner, and direction (from aft, no less). Some people can't accept responsibility for their actions even with corroboration.

That collision in which I skewered Tin's board was 90% his fault -- he refuses to wear glasses despite being legally blind; he once rammed the state of Washington because he couldn't see it -- but I still paid for his repair because he was on starboard and I had just jibed onto port 20 feet short of the Oregon shoreline. He said he had seen neither me nor the approaching shoreline.

This raises one simple question for me: Did Terry contribute fault to this collision, or was it a direct result solely of Pete dive-bombing into a crowd unwilling to crash or slash to avoid a collision? Gorge sailors should expect and allow room for other sailors to rip 90-degree slashes off lips, but 10-second strafing runs are harder to anticipate and evade. (Hurricane sailmaker Doug Van Zandt used to say he needed a Baby-on-Board-type sign on his back that reads "CAUTION: Rider makes sudden downwind cuts without warning.")

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