Polluted Water

What is it that our water ways are so polluted? I remember always stopping for drinks from streams whenever we were on a road trip. Were we naive or were they actually better?  Were they just as bad as now but we lived in blissful ignorance because there was not the technology we have today.

Americas cup 2013

 Americas cup 2013

Spinnaker luffing match, close sailing not seen
 this time

I get up every morning there is a race to watch the America’s cup and take a trip of remembrance and excitement. I do this partly because New Zealand is about to win the Louis Vuitton Cup but mostly as a salute to my Father, to his dedication to yacht racing, to the sport that dominated my youth and family life. Dad’s primary love was to sit with his hand on the tiller, the wind on his cheek, spotting wind changes up ahead, dodging tides and having a close tacking duel with a rival. He loved the call for “Water round the mark!”, a fast spinnaker set that hardly ever twisted, a good luffing contest as the overtaking boat tried to pass upwind to avoid a wind shadow to leeward and the overtaken boat desperately tried to prevent them. That was my father’s sailing.

A close tacking duel

Today in San Francisco, Martin Tasker also mourned the loss of those things; of close races and spinnaker gybes when skippers and crew pitted themselves against their opponents sailing skills. He thought the technicians had taken over this series, and hoped that should NZ win, we give the cup the race back to the sailor. Certainly, these modern sportsmen can’t feel the wind on their cheeks, encased inside their crash helmets. The boats, if they can still be referred to as boats because they look almost like aircraft, are so big, fast, and dangerous that close racing, and consequences of even a small touch would cost millions of dollars as well as risking lives. They will not hazard it. Boat speeds of 35knots means that they cover many yards in a couple of seconds. Boats can be only a couple of seconds apart but it is a great distance and not close enough to have a close exciting race with each other. Each race I have seen has turned into a procession around the course with only the odd breakdown to cause some excitement. It reminds me more of a formula one race rather that a yacht contest. I suppose it is the formula one of yacht racing now, but this means the sailors are hi tech drivers, getting the most of technology, not sailors, pitting their skills against each other, the water, and elements to win.

If something goes wrong with these modern America’s cup boats it is usually unfixable or, by the time they register what is wrong, the other boat has caught them from a hundred yards behind and is already disappearing to the other end of the course. A breakage or error for Dad still left you time to do a quick repair, to untwist a spinnaker, to run another sheet or a quick sail change and yet have your opponent within striking distance so the race was still on.

Dad loved the cut and thrust of one design racing where rules dictated the specifications of the boat so all boats were essentially as close to each other as possible. People then had to get the best cut sales and adjust the rigging to get the best performance from the boat within the regulations. Then it was up to the skipper to apply his tactics, strategies, and fine sailing skills to win the race. I acknowledge that these skills are part and parcel of the AC72s racing as well but somehow, from the races I’ve seen; it is secondary to attending to the technology.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the tension of the races and the spectacular grace of these AC72s. They are birdlike skimming across the water and make my heart jump when they yaw and wheelie round the buoys, the people look like beetles in their armour suits perched 5 or 6 metres above the waves in a hurricane of wind and spray as the boat heels hard in a gust. Oh, that is a great sight. Nevertheless, I still miss the old style racing.