Left: with so few sailors needed in the last three America’s Cups and at most 80 employed in the current Volvo it is as well the last few years have seen a big growth in maxi and superyacht racing. Even when the ‘white’ sails are push-button or joystick controlled the big downwind sails need a lot of manpower to tame and a lot of expertise and experience to ensure no one gets hurt. The rule racing these large boats is never to be a man short – a rule taken very seriously on the 225ft carbon ketch Hetairos which often races with at least 40-45 professionals onboard. Then there are the six or seven J-Class racing which, with giant sailplans, enormous loads and narrow decks with no lifelines, are manned almost entirely by pro sailors for the same reasons as 80 years ago. On the busy Comanche (above) it’s a different game, with no powered winches, so as to be eligible for course records; note the superbly executed carbon brackets for the hinged mainsheet track running the full width of the transom
on safety. Not allowing professional helming on superyachts would definitely reduce the number of participants but perhaps some research should go into having the owners helming their yachts for some of the time? Neither the TP52 nor Maxi72 rules or bylaws mention the words
Corinthian or gentleman’s sport, but that does not mean the majority of owners in these classes take a different view of their racing than those in other classes which do. The Maxi72 and TP52 are pure racing yachts of very equal
performance – if not racing boat for boat as a matter of choice, they compete at nearly zero rating difference and the result is very similar (a narrow rating band is used to accommodate wholly legal minor variations in rated measurements on what are quite large yachts). In these classes close racing is part of the fun and generally
employing experienced pro sailors is also seen as an essential element in keeping it safe. Close racing certainly adds pressure also, on conduct and integrity. To keep it fun requires, besides good rules, frequent checks, high-level race management and umpiring and a good social setting whether this is the class of choice, the event of choice or a combination of both. I firmly believe that the element of camaraderie is important at
any level of sport, whether pro or amateur. Special is that boat owners are the amateur element as well as in charge and ultimately responsible for boat and crew. This in combination with ‘paying for the lot’ might explain a need for the Corinthian and gentleman’s element, even for those very much used to owning and running large companies. Or maybe exactly because of that… Sailing is their hobby, not their work. The Corinthian approach is often sought in solutions for limiting costs. Every class has its cost debate, just as every class has its
big spenders and those who are always criticising or blaming spending. The debate in itself is as useful as it is unavoidable but it can also create frustration if there is no intention to listen to each other nor room for finding some middle ground. Cost is hardly ever frustration number one but for sure cost is excuse number one. There is no good argument against ‘too expensive’. Using a term like Corinthian in rules adds ambiguity. Each
individual has his or her perception of the spirit in which a game shall be played; for a moment try to imagine the task of class managers and race officials attempting to find a correct balance in making decisions touching the spirit of the game. Then again, to be fair, part of the reason I am still enjoying my
job is that the level of appreciation and support is high. Once the game is seen as not played by the rules, certainly the ones involving morals and integrity, Catch-22 is never far away. If not in assessing whether rules are broken then certainly when it comes to the correct penalty. Whereas in some circles not being invited for a round of golf is penalty enough, in others this is seen as class justice. In general it is quite easy to hang somebody but rather difficult
to unhang… So no harm in being quite forceful in checks and estab- lishing evidence but go carefully once it comes to conclusions. To finish off lightly, consider the story in which a woman explains
to a raceboat owner madly in love with her that she cannot marry him because she has promised herself never to marry a liar and he must be such a person as he claims to be a sailor who loves her more than his boat. Her logic is that he either lies about being a sailor or about loving her more than his boat. I know an owner who tried to find the middle ground by giving
his wife the same amount in cash as he spent on new sails. Occasionally she would ask the captain ‘is that not a new sail?’ where occasionally he would tell his captain ‘better not mention this one’. Serious test of loyalties. At least the captain’s. I do not think I managed to get much closer in defining Corinthian
or gentleman’s sailing but perhaps I managed to trigger some more thought on what these terms mean to the reader? Rob Weiland, TP52 and Maxi72 class manager
q SEAHORSE 33
INGRID ABERY
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