The option to signal a general recall, calling the whole fleet back to restart, is predicated only on the race committee being unable to identify all boats that are on the course side. Nothing more. There are many myths and misunderstandings on this…
MYTH #1 – If more than 1/2 of the fleet is over early, the RC should signal a general recall.
FALSE – If the race committee can identify who is over, an individual recall is proper, regardless of the number of boats over early.
MYTH #2 – If the RC can’t identify all boats that are over early, they must signal a general recall.
FALSE – Sometimes a boat or two “slip through the cracks” and aren’t identified. While not inherently fair to let that boat (or boats) start when they were OCS, its equally unfair to the boats that started properly to call everyone back. The RC must weigh the disadvantages of each type of unfairness and use their best judgment.
MYTH #3 – If the RC signals a general recall, it’s because the racers “messed up.”
FALSE – Not necessarily. The rule says “… or if there is an error in the starting procedure...” It isn’t necessarily the sailors’ “fault.” Many of the rules in Part 3 are written in a way to allow the race committee to correct mistakes. Rule 29.2 is one of them. Typically, the first thing the RC should look at after a general recall is the starting line. Often, a wind shift has made it less square, piling boats up at one end, or it may not be long enough for the size and number of boats trying to start. It isn’t necessarily the racers’ fault. But it does allow the RC to make changes to provide for better, fairer, more competitive racing.