Red flag finish

[Hydro doc]

What is your feeling about finishing the race after the lead boat finishes the second lap and red flag has to be thrown? In NBRA, the red (the red flag is used to stop the race) flag is thrown if anyone goes in the water. Many feel that the most dangerous time is the first turn at the start of the race. Most turn overs occur on the third lap, do to the rough water. APBA has a rule that addresses this issue, NBRA rules do not.

[Ram4x4]

Personal opinion, if the red flag has to come out, then racing needs to stop, regardless of lap. That's it's purpose. The blue and white flag is for continue racing, but with caution. Anytime someone is in the water and on the main portion of the course it is dangerous, not just turn 1.

I can give a real world example from just a few weeks ago. Driver flipped boat at start, but everyone came around again before flag was thrown. I was literally 90 degrees parallel with the flipped boat and driver and had I not glanced to my right I would never have seen him.

The reason he was so difficult to see was that the boat was upside down, so not a lot sticking up, and the driver was behind the boat relative to oncoming drivers, so his bright yellow helmet wasn't visible. Had I run down the straight 10-15 feet further to my right, I would have probably hit him.

[modhydro]

Dane,

What Len is talking about is that in APBA when the red comes out while the lead boat is on the final lap you score the heat on the second lap. That is what he means by finish the race. It is in the scoring sense, not racing on the water. In NBRA they start that heat over again. In both organizations red means the same thing: Stop racing.

[Ram4x4]

Ahhh...ok. I've been in a couple of those too. I guess the APBA rule is a time saver then (not having to re-run the heat).