It’s an odd thing — I’ve long had problems with the water. And yet I love sailing. But I’ve never done it. But oddly (again), I’ve followed America’s Cup sailing for over 40 years. For some reason — even (no, especially) when it was slow, 12 meter yachts so far offshore no one really got to watch it up-close.
Well, it all really changed in ’83, when the New York Yacht club and Dennis Connor lost to Australia II — the first US loss in 132 years. The US have gotten it back a couple of times since, but really, America’s Cup racing has become more of an Aussie/Kiwi thing, with a Swiss syndicate winning a couple of times in there too. Even when the US won a couple of times recently, the skipper was Jimmy Spithill — and Australian.
And the boats have changed dramatically over the years. You wouldn’t recognize New Zealand’s winner from this year, the Te Rehutai. Incredible advances in sailing technology have brought us here, and I’m not really much of a fan anymore. When they’re sailing on a razor’s edge, far too much depends on single moves that can make or break a boat’s race. There’s no doubt that these guys are extremely talented (and fearless) — it’s just that something seems to be missing. Maybe it’s the beauty of it all. I mean, look at the picture above — that’s a beautiful sight for sure.
But some of the technology that has gone into sailing has produced some pretty exciting racing too in a fairly new circuit call the Sail GP Series. These are smaller, but extremely quick and nimble 50 foot, wing-sailed boats that spend most of their races up on foils. I suppose it’s an acquired thing, but I recommend you watch it at least once. If you like racing of any type, well, this one should be it. There are so many added dimensions — so much more strategy. So much you can be doing and so much going on all over the place, it has to be seen to be believed.
So here’s day 1 of the Sydney regatta, which just happened in Australia over the past few days. Racing actually starts about 43 minutes in if you want to skip the prelims. And you’ll see what I mean at the start of race 3.
I too love sailing. Actually I am totally drawn to water. It is indescribable how my mood changes when I see a body of water. When I first moved back to the states from Korea and we looked for a place to live, not really having any family back in Ohio, and having spent 29 years of my life in Korea, I somehow got the idea that I should settle in the area around Eglin AFB, where I had been stationed twice in my AF career. As soon as I started driving the numerous streets and highways that pass over the bays and the bayous, and stretch along the majestic gulf shores, I realized something deep down inside me was affected in very positive ways. I am addicted to the water. It was back in 1976, during my first tour at Eglin that I discovered sailing. Across the bay at an Army recreation center in Destin, on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay, they rented sailing vessels for a really cheap rate to mil UD holders. My supervisor took me there and we rented a catamaran and he showed me how to navigate the winds as we sailed around the expansive bay. Next to skydiving, which I experienced while in Tech School in Colorado, it was the most thrilling, liberating feeling I had ever experienced. I pestered my supervisor to go sailing with me every chance I got. Then I discovered these little jibless sunfish and they were somewhat manageable to takeout on my own, though very unforgiving should you improperly change direction relative to the wind. At least you could get out of the way of the boom on the catamaran and you had a jib to help bring you around during a tack. Later in life I was stationed at Langley AFB and one of my coworkers bought a 32 footer. I went out sailing with him and his two children quite a bit. It was a really nice boat and the waters of the Chesapeake bay were quite lively. I truly miss sailing. I think now that I am retired, my natural progression should be to master the paddle board, then tryout wind surfing. The MWR at NAS Jacksonville has SUP rentals and I think I will give it a try again very soon as long as the weather is being unseasonably warm. You should come to visit Bob, and we’ll find a way to go sailing…