The origin of Messing About In Sailboats

  • The original quote is from Kenneth Grahame's Wind In the Willows: "There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

Messing About Twitter Feed

« Fish on Saturday | Main | Naming a Boat the Cockney Way »

December 08, 2007

Comments

Rennmaus

"...but it may not be all doom and gloom in the long-term..."
It won't be the AC either! Just another regatta with the same regulations as any other. How interesting - yawn!

To be frank, I am not a purist, so I find 1 on 1 match racing a bit dull. I can appreciate it. I just don't love it. I used to row and I find the Oxford and Cambridge Boat race boring too.

Lets face it, AC has gone from being an exclusive sport for a few of the very rich to an inclusive sport for the ultra-rich or for corporations.

I would rather see it progress and become a more broadly appealing event. It's better for sailing

tillerman

No no no Mr: whoever you are. The AC should stick to its traditions, or rather return to them. Let's keep the AC as an exclusive event for ultra-rich crazy old coots. There are plenty of other sailing events for the great unwashed masses. (If you've ever been in the men's changing room at Cedar Point after Sunday frostbiting you will know what I mean.)

It's funny as I commented anonymously on my own blog by accident. I am "Mr Whoever" you are. Damned if I know how I managed it.

My view - and clearly not a popular one - is that the AC has evolved beyond the crazy old coot stage. As a result it's more popular for the masses, unwashed though they undoubtedly are.

50 ft foiling cats will be fun to watch for a bit but I doubt it will sustain the same level of interest as the AC32. That's not good for sailing.

Secondly while there are a couple of middle-aged crazy old coots called Ernie and Larry, driving this thing neither use only their money any more. What's best for their sponsors will factor heavily. Ironically, Ernesto's proposal would be great for BMW and Oracle as it would raise the visibility of their association with AC.

To play out the crazy old coot approach further, the AC would have to get rid of its sponsors. Clearly it's beyond this.

OK. It happened again. The two anonymous comments are from Adam Turinas - author of this lowly esteemed organ.

The comments to this entry are closed.