Would Commercialism Destroy Sport of Sailing? Don’t Bet on It

The downside of the new exposure sailing received during the America’s Cup was that the world could see what a silly exercise protests could make of the sport.

Anytime the Kookaburras were involved, the races were seldom over when they were over. The finishing gun signaled only that it was time for the sea lawyers to take over, and many times, one measly rules violation overturned the result.

Sailing has been the most reluctant of sports to get in step with the times. In the United States, it often has seemed a sport of the ‘80s . . . the 1880s. Only now is it starting to see the light by yielding to an international trend toward--hold on to your tillers--sponsorship and prize money.

It’s called commercialism, a word that dies in the throats of 19th-century traditionalists who fear it will destroy their pristine sport.

On the contrary, it should enhance the sport by creating a new, higher and separate level of competition for the professionals who have been hammering the weekend amateurs with an unfair advantage.

But if the sport is to find public appeal in the 1980s, two things must go: protest hearings and handicaps.

An important test of that concept will be the first Yachting Pro/Am scheduled April 11-17 at Long Beach by promoter Bruce Golison, who has staged the successful Sobstad Race Week the last three years. Golison promises to offer between $105,000 and $340,000 in prize money to a maximum of 35 boats, which will pay $15,000 to $20,000 in entry fees.

With that much money involved, Golison says, “I expect you will see every name rock-star sailor in the country, plus a few foreigners, sailing the owner’s boats.”

Hired guns? Sure, but names are what will promote the sport--names and more certainty that the first boat across the line is really the winner.

Handicaps are absolutely necessary for fair amateur competition, in which sailors sail their own production-type boats in mixed fleets because they often lack the numbers to establish one-design fleets of their own. But even they usually aren’t sure where they stand until the race committee adjusts the finishing times for handicaps back at the dock.

That may sustain some suspense for the sailors but would mean a loss of interest for anyone else.

Golison’s event, like the recent Great American Speedsailing Grand Prix at Long Beach, will have no handicaps--just boat against boat.

And he hopes to avoid the protest problem by putting the race jury on the water, like referees. That idea was tried last June during the Rolex Match Racing Series, which was part of the Maxi Worlds at Newport, R.I.

Tom Ehman, one of six United States Yacht Racing Union senior judges serving the event, explained it to the sailors before the first race.

“This will be the first time that a jury’s decision, ipso facto, will determine the outcome of a protest situation,” Ehman said. “For the sake of eliminating hours of protest-room deliberation and increasing spectator excitement with first-over-the-line winners, the system deserves some experimentation.

“It’s tough on the judges, but we’re running the sport for the players and spectators, not the judges. I think most international judges are up to the challenge.”

There were skeptics, but it worked. In 10 races there were seven protest situations, but only one penalty was imposed. The guilty boat was ordered to do one “360,” turning in a circle as the rest of the fleet sailed on. It hurt, but it wasn’t necessarily fatal.

There were two key points: The judges didn’t initiate protests but rendered decisions if one or both boats hoisted the traditional red flag, and their decisions were final.

Ehman, the new director of the Sail America syndicate, estimated that all decisions were delivered in less than 15 seconds, which is a considerable improvement over 3 o’clock the next morning.

Better yet, the sailors liked it.

George Coumantaros, who owns the maxi Boomerang, said: “The referee procedure they have given us seems very good. I just pray we don’t have to do a ‘360’ when we have our spinnaker up.”

Sailing Notes

Three days of competition in the biennial Rolex Swan California Regatta start today out of the Balboa Bay Club. Swans designed by Ron Holland and German Frers will sail in three classes: racing, cruising and modified. Hugh Beatty’s 44-foot Black Swan placed first overall in 1983 and ’85. . . . The Long Beach Single Sailors’ Sea Festival Regatta will start at noon Saturday off Island White in Long Beach Harbor. It’s open to everybody--monohulls and catamarans--with handicap ratings, including cruisers and live-aboards. There also are one-design classes for Catalina 30, 34 and 36, all non-spinnaker, and Catalina 38, spinnaker. The club’s name refers to marital status, not crew complement. For more information, call Gordon Lords at (213) 436-8530. . . . The annual all-Catalina race for all classes of that boat is Aug. 15 at Long Beach. . . . The Catalina 27 nationals will be run Sept. 4-6 at Long Beach. . . . Boating entrepreneur Jock West plans to post $1 million in prize money for a 12-meter series to be sailed in four locations starting next June. The boats would be identical fiberglass 12s designed by Ted Hood, who defended the America’s Cup in ’74. West says he already has $5.5 million in sponsorships. . . . Meanwhile, another $1 million event for 30-foot monohulls is planned on Corpus Christi Bay in Texas May 6-14. . . . The Great American Speedsailing Grand Prix of June 20 will be shown again on Prime Ticket Sunday at 7:30. Randy Smyth, steering Rudy Choy’s 62-foot Aikane X-5 catamaran (known as Longpre Automotive for that event), held off Alan O’Driscoll’s 32-foot Beowulf V to win by three seconds. . . . The 10th Lido In-the-Water Boat Show for sail and power craft is scheduled next month at Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach. The first phase will be for used boats Sept. 10-13, followed by new boats Sept. 16-20.