Race organizers should make races around the Farallones Islands safer by taking steps to take away any advantage of close approaches, i.e. to keep boats away from the zones where there is a danger of breaking waves. Here are two ways to do that:
Option 1. Determine the GPS co-ordinates of one or several central points within an island group to be rounded. The race organizer should then choose a distance from each central waypoint which will define an exclusion zone. The exclusion zone should have sufficient radius to keep boats well outside any potential breaking wave zone. The organizer would provide each boat with a suitable track recording GPS in a sealed or locked Pelican case. This GPS is not intended to be used for boat navigation, just for recording the boat's track. It could be attached to the transom or other out of the way place. Boats that go inside an exclusion zone will get a substantial time penalty for every minute inside a zone. A radius could be made bearing dependent. For example, "Boats must stay at least 3.1 miles from the central point when the bearing to the central point is between 300 degrees to 360 degrees or between 0 degrees to 100 degrees."
Option 2. Put in floating buoys which must be rounded. Require that a photograph be taken of the buoys with the islands in the background and with a unique symbol or object within the same picture. Provide disposable film cameras for that purpose. This is the way sailplane contest competitors are kept honest. Almost any easy to handle object can be used as the validation symbol. For example, the race committee could give each competitor an odd shaped scrap of plywood with a contrasting color paint hand print on it. Or it could be a piece of plexiglass with a colorful bumper sticker on it.
