Editorial Andrew Hurst Strike one
The first round of the SailGP series was afflicted by less-than-perfect sailing conditions but fortunately an F50 foiling cat, sired by the AC50s of Bermuda, doesn’t need much in the way of wind to do its thing. After round 1 the argument over whether or not this series was simply set up to take a pop
at the America’s Cup after the USA loss in 2017 can be consigned to the bin. It is a great show and if it went well enough in Australia in less-than-perfect circumstances then from here it will only get better. San Francisco could, as we saw in 2013, be more than cool, especially if the race officer can turn a blind eye to the anemometer from time to time. And as good as it is to have another high-profile sailing event aimed at the public, SailGP is also, rather like a giant Extreme Sailing Series, giving opportunities to some very talented younger sailors as they try to get the attention of Cup teams. So it’s a win-win. We have not always voted for Larry Ellison’s
attitude to sailing – the court battles of 2008-2010 were demeaning and as bad for the sport as I hope SailGP will be good. Not entirely the fault of the 2010 Cup winner, both sides in that cat-fight should have stepped around their respective Praetorian Guard and sorted it out man to man. The fight, the Cup hiatus and the millions wasted (always) on lawyers were childish and petty. Having said that, Larry Ellison has done a huge amount for the
sport – more than making up for the nonsense of Valencia. Multiple Cup efforts have meant hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into the pockets of dozens of fortunate sailors, shore crews and, most importantly, the raceboat industry, making many people very wealthy along the way and pushing the sport forwards on a wide basis. We would not have had the Godzilla, or the AC72s or the AC50s, and now the F50s without Ellison. Someone worth billions of dollars does not need sympathy, they
didn’t get there without stepping on a lot of heads along the way. But I did find it shameful that when we nominated him for Seahorse Sailor of the Month, Ellison received many votes from his Cup rivals but very few from members of Oracle Team USA. That certainly made me revise my opinions of a few people. So if this latest act in the Russell and Larry show is a success
it will be thoroughly deserved for the man writing the cheques (sorry, checks). Ellison’s money continues to flood into the sport, ultimately, and often well down the food chain, to everyone’s benefit in terms of the technology trickledown. Maybe more important is the public awareness of sailing is getting a further boost at a time when this sport could use every column inch (or pixel) it can get.
And now that the two new versions of the F50 wing are well
advanced we can soon look forward to seeing these boats sailing faster in a wider range of conditions. The weather challenges of Australia really will become a thing of the past. The bigger light-air wing is a good step, but the smaller, more
robust heavy-air wing offers the mouthwatering prospect of these boats finally racing in some properly sporty weather. Either way it’s yet more millions.
Last word A few months ago we lost American Dragon Olympic bronze medallist Don Cohan at the age of 88. Sailing was an important part of Cohan’s life, but only one of many including a lot of hard work in the charitable sector. Cohan came to sailing late, tackled it head on like everything
else and before long won an Olympic medal. Though he had overtaken most of them along the way, in that short space of time Cohan quickly became very popular in the Dragon fleet, enough to deserve extra effort when it came to taking him down a peg or two should an opportunity appear... So it was that Cohan came down to the dock one day during the
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‘What’s good about an Orma… it’s the fastest way to get between discos – Laurent Bourgnon here winning the 1994 Route du Rhum. A lot of talk this month about sailing heroes, the man who sailed 540nm in 24 hours solo on this overpowered tri was a hero
1972 US Olympic trials to find his boat had sunk with only the top of the rig left sticking out of the water. Later when dock-out began one of his rivals walked him around to the other side of the pier before directing him to his carefully secured boat. Then he took Cohan to his trailer and apologised for his missing spare rig.
WELL, YOU ASKED Please give us some advice that will make
straight into the bin – Jacques Custard (and the easy winner of the Gwyneth Paltrow helpfulness award)
our lives heal and shine – tweets Yoko Ono Add a little olive oil to some chopped-up kale, it’s easier to scrape it
tell you that? Randmaa scores a 72-hour penalty in the Golden Globe
but I don’t know if I can
If you’re commuting from Barnsley to Sheffield a McDonald’s coffee is now 10p cheaper at Tankersley than at Meadowhall
Retail Park – Bob Chester Pour boiling water on a frozen windscreen to clear ice. Cover the cracks that result
cold temperatures – Consumers Energy in Michigan go for a customer satisfaction award as temperatures dip below -25 degrees
TURN IT DOWN We understand the timing of our request is not ideal given today’s
q
fix the plumbing – Australian Private ‘Pop’ Clement, company cook, shoots an enemy rocketeer, Cholon, Vietnam
with masking tape – Chips Keswick, Chairman, Arsenal FC
THAT’LL BE A NO Uku Randmaa: I have a question… how can I say it… can I be sure that I’ll have the wind if I’m sailing east? Shore radio: If you go east it will stay light, you need to head north to catch the westerlies,
A GOOD MAN Winning a sailing regatta while fighting one of your cancers was certainly an
inconvenience – Don Cohan, Olympic medallist
WISE WORDS Life is short and unpredictable – Helen Keller
Eat desert first – Keller
Seahorse magazine and our associate raceboatsonly brokerage site are both at:
seahorsemagazine.com The editor is contactable by email at:
andrew@seahorse.co.uk
SEAHORSE 11
GOOD ONYA I knew when I saw him lift up that drainpipe he wasn’t coming round to
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HENRI THIBAULT
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