"I really hope the Cup does not go back to the stone age and need to be dragging a lump of lead around that weighed a few ton more than the whole 115ft trimaran."

Classic!

Interview

He has such a good point on the Olympics. All the new fast stuff gets the media attention. No wonder sailing scores so low with the media here in the US, when it's all done on Flinstone era boats.

Thanks Jeremy, excellent interview.

Somehow the established sailing 'racket' seems to be dominated by old farts who love old boats. Maybe its a generation thing? The oldies are often the ones who put a lot of time and effort into pro bono, non paid, non profit work, like promoting the sport and other rotten jobs that require a lot of perseverance.

Then theres us young'ns complaining. Maybe we should all wake up and smell the coffee and take over from the tired out oldies who are promoting their nostalgic views of sailing, and who can blame them, for doing what they've known and loved for decades.

What we need is the "Mythbusters" (tm) to bust the myth that Finn sailing is better for the Olympics than Tornado sailing. That could really be explosive.

What I'm saying is if we want the fun put back in organized sailing we need to step up to the plate ourselves or it ain't gonna happen.

Don't get me wrong, because I'm all for as much media exposure as possible; but I tried to get people excited about watching the AC coverage. That certainly didn't work! Three or more hours of delays each time, only to result in cancellations two of the four days. I came away saying "Well I guess there's a good reason they don't televise sailing races." The 1-35 wind range will help, but the low-wind days won't grab anyone's attention. Imagine watching bobsleds at a walking pace.

Perhaps sailing should be televised like the old eco Eco Challenge was. It would be more interesting if edited for the exciting bits + interviews with the key players to get a feel for what they do, why it's challenging, and what keeps them coming back for more.

Dan

Dennis,


I think you make a very good point.

Regards,
Phill

Curling?

maybe we should start feeding energy INTO the windmills and making them propel wind instead of use it.

Giant fan pool :P

I got to sail in a fan pool indoors at the '94 sail expo. The monos were little tubs but it was still fun.

leaf blowers onboard!!!

How about a string of jet engines set up on shore, with diffusers to spread out the wind a bit...

BTW, I totally agree with the Eco Challenge idea. That was actually floated for the Volvo race, we went to a few meet and greets with Ken Read and his media guys. They had said that they were trying to film as much as possible and wrap it into a package, not unlike Eco Challenge and Deadliest Catch.

Mike

Shirley you jest.....