Free? No Thanks.

We'd say one of the touchier topics in this sport is the notion of paying people to go sailing in an otherwise amateur arena. Virtually any other sport that pays people does not have that money come from the owner's wallet. In big boat sailing it does. Now, when an owner pays someone to go sailing, there is an expectation of some return for the dollars vested, and that return is almost always expected to be in the form of winning. And if not an outright win, then somewhere near the top will usually suffice.

Now, the last time I checked, only three boats can occupy the top three spots of any regatta, and generally speaking, the top three, Win, Place or Show, is where you want to be. Okay, maybe a fourth or a fifth in a tough fleet is acceptable. So, if you have a 25-boat fleet, that means that 20 of them go home at least somewhat disappointed. And that means that for those owners who are paying people to sail, and don't finish in the top, they are probably going to grow tired of the nonsense and end up putting a roller furler on the boat and go daysailing instead.

Now, some owners simply do not wish to pay people to sail on their boats, and that is perfectly understandable. But what if an owner of a struggling program had the chance to have good sailors, with proven records, sail with him for free? And the owner said no thanks? It's a true story and here it is:

A Farr 46 (ex-Capricorno, ex-X-Rated, a so-called ILC 46) showed up in San Diego a couple of years ago, purchased by a funny older man who had had some success with his previous boats. That this was a step up in performance with a new learning curve was a given. The boat floundered around, never really getting the results that anybody with a half a brain could see were there for the taking. In fact, some incessant whining from the boat to the slack-jawed yokels on the San Diego PHRF board found them the recipient of a six second gift. You see, in San Diego, if you underachieve on the racecourse because of your own ineptitude, they can then relate to you so they give you time. This little gift from the board did little to stop the bleeding, and the Farr 46 continued to do nothing on the course. 'But this wouldn't really do the program any good for the long run.'

One day we received a call from the owner, whom we had sailed with a few times on his previous boats to good success. Turns out he was tired of getting pounded and wanted to make some changes on the boat and would I come out and be his tactician for a couple of series, just like the old days. Gee that sounded great, but I thought that was not the proper fix to the boats multitude of problems. I mean, I might be able to come out, talk him through the race course, help people do their jobs better, and no doubt the result would be improved over what they had been.

I told this owner, an otherwise bright guy, that this boat is infinitely more complicated than his previous one, and that a review of everything involved should be in order. I told him that I would come and bring a couple of guys to help in the critical areas (main, headsail and bow). I told him we were not here to take over his boat, but rather to help everyone learn to do it better on their own. I had just come off from steering an 1D 48 for a season, so I was pretty up to speed as to what felt right and what didn't. Oh by the way, the offer of this talent and time was free to the owner. No charge.

Being sensitive to this owners' wish to steer his own boat, I again reiterated that I was not here to sail his boat, but that to best analyze things, that I should at least steer a weather leg. It would help me get a feel for the boat and help him in the long run. Now, if I've spent a quarter of a million dollars on a boat that I know is much more capable of what my crew is getting out of it, and if I've got an offer, for free, from a guy who I know can help me, aren't I going to take advantage of it?

Not if you are this owner. He called back the next day. He had decided that he really wanted to sail his own boat with his own guys, and he was declining my offer to help. Which, by the way, is completely his own prerogative.

The PostScript? The boat got smoked in the regatta that I was supposed to go in, and has done no better in a couple of others. It is now for sale.