How many times have I seen this happen, several boats are over the starting line early, and what is the correct action to do? No drought the premature starters must return and restart, but what about the "other" problem.

This other problem is, should a general recall be made as a cure-all, or just recall the boats that were over early? More often than not, a general recall is sounded and the heat is restarted. Now why call for a general recall? The only reason to is when several unidentified boats are over early and it's impossible to tell.

The problem with a general recall is the boats that were not over the starting line early are going to get penalized for following the rules! I think this is unfair. It is the responsibility of the Starting Judge/s to identify to boats in error. It is also the responsibility of each skipper to be a sportsman and follow the rules, and when in error, do the penalty.

So if you are over early, and you know you are, do the restart. Start Judges, keep your eyes on the start line and call out the premature boats. If that is hard, look and id the boats who are legal and subtract the boats that are over early and call out their sail numbers. If at times when are a majority of boats are in a wad, and it is impossible to tell who is over early, then sound a general recall. Let's keep it fair!