Boat Racing for Charity
There is an inherent, long term tension in boat racing between money and fairness. Perhaps that's not exactly what I mean. From the beginning, yachting had an aristocratic world-view. English King Charles II, when he was "restored" to the throne in the late 1600's, unseating the Parliamentary government that had kicked out his father in the English Civil War, brought the traditions of yachting with him from Holland. The Dutch had "statenjachts" that were rigged as "sloeps" -- which gave us English speakers the terms "yacht" and "sloop" -- the most common rig for sailboats today.
Naturally, when people started racing yachts, they early on discovered that it was possible to "buy" a victory -- by making your boat bigger or giving it more sail area or ballast than the opposition. This led to rating rules, one design classes and a number of other efforts to level the playing field. Generally, a yacht's owner was expected to have a paid crew doing most of the work of sailing the boat, although the owner could occasionally take the helm himself while racing. Eventually the regulated or refereed yacht race became relatively fair, even though it was carried on mainly by professionals under the aegis of wealthy owners, who in Europe were often also titled. The America's Cup is this type of regatta.
In the 19th century, a countervailing "Corinthian" tradition evolved in opposition to the aristocratic heirs of King Charles. (What this had to do with ancient Corinth I'm not sure; it may not be coincidence that the club-like groups of wealthy young men who made a hobby out of driving horse teams in Regency England also seem to have called themselves "Corinthians.") Anyway, in this "Corinthian" tradition, the boats had to be crewed by family members or friends of the skipper; professionals could do maintenance, but they were barred from sailing in races. The Corinthian racing boats were, as you would expect, smaller and less lavish than the older mainstream yachts. This tradition survives even in some yacht club names, such as the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (italics mine). Most of today's PHRF fleets and local club racing is carried on by "Corinthian" sailors, unpaid volunteers or relatives of the owners. Even the Olympic racing events are supposed to be Corinthian.
When I started racing boats the Corinthian tradition was still in ascendancy. Even wearing a T-shirt with a logo on it could get you disqualified. Sponsorship was not allowed, professionals were strictly taboo, and I even recall a boat being protested because she carried the name of her owner's business as the boat's name, so strict were the rules against sponsorship and advertising. The only logo allowed on board was a small sailmaker's mark at the tack of each sail; its size was strictly regulated by the then US Yacht Racing Union rules. (Today, the word "yacht" is considered elitist, yet most of the Corinthian traditions have been abandoned.)
So, along comes the regatta for charity. The big one is the Leukemia Cup Regatta, which happens on September 8th this year on the Potomac. In this regatta, each boat is expected to make a contribution to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I think as a condition of entry into the racing. While there is still competition for prizes in terms of finishing position, there is also a competition on the side for how much money each boat can donate.
To me, this seems to taint the purity of the Corinthian racing tradition with a financial aspect not inherently different from that when the wealthy tried to buy victory by hiring the best crewmen or building bigger or more heavily sparred yachts. I don't know if the racing is generally competitive in this regatta, and I have no objection to an entry fee for a regatta provided it is affordable for a typical owner. However, having the status of a crew (both their entry and their "virtue") depend on their financial contribution to a cause (not related to sailing) does not hold water in my view. Accordingly, I have never raced for charity.
Naturally, when people started racing yachts, they early on discovered that it was possible to "buy" a victory -- by making your boat bigger or giving it more sail area or ballast than the opposition. This led to rating rules, one design classes and a number of other efforts to level the playing field. Generally, a yacht's owner was expected to have a paid crew doing most of the work of sailing the boat, although the owner could occasionally take the helm himself while racing. Eventually the regulated or refereed yacht race became relatively fair, even though it was carried on mainly by professionals under the aegis of wealthy owners, who in Europe were often also titled. The America's Cup is this type of regatta.
In the 19th century, a countervailing "Corinthian" tradition evolved in opposition to the aristocratic heirs of King Charles. (What this had to do with ancient Corinth I'm not sure; it may not be coincidence that the club-like groups of wealthy young men who made a hobby out of driving horse teams in Regency England also seem to have called themselves "Corinthians.") Anyway, in this "Corinthian" tradition, the boats had to be crewed by family members or friends of the skipper; professionals could do maintenance, but they were barred from sailing in races. The Corinthian racing boats were, as you would expect, smaller and less lavish than the older mainstream yachts. This tradition survives even in some yacht club names, such as the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (italics mine). Most of today's PHRF fleets and local club racing is carried on by "Corinthian" sailors, unpaid volunteers or relatives of the owners. Even the Olympic racing events are supposed to be Corinthian.
When I started racing boats the Corinthian tradition was still in ascendancy. Even wearing a T-shirt with a logo on it could get you disqualified. Sponsorship was not allowed, professionals were strictly taboo, and I even recall a boat being protested because she carried the name of her owner's business as the boat's name, so strict were the rules against sponsorship and advertising. The only logo allowed on board was a small sailmaker's mark at the tack of each sail; its size was strictly regulated by the then US Yacht Racing Union rules. (Today, the word "yacht" is considered elitist, yet most of the Corinthian traditions have been abandoned.)
So, along comes the regatta for charity. The big one is the Leukemia Cup Regatta, which happens on September 8th this year on the Potomac. In this regatta, each boat is expected to make a contribution to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I think as a condition of entry into the racing. While there is still competition for prizes in terms of finishing position, there is also a competition on the side for how much money each boat can donate.
To me, this seems to taint the purity of the Corinthian racing tradition with a financial aspect not inherently different from that when the wealthy tried to buy victory by hiring the best crewmen or building bigger or more heavily sparred yachts. I don't know if the racing is generally competitive in this regatta, and I have no objection to an entry fee for a regatta provided it is affordable for a typical owner. However, having the status of a crew (both their entry and their "virtue") depend on their financial contribution to a cause (not related to sailing) does not hold water in my view. Accordingly, I have never raced for charity.
posted by SToby at 13:47
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