Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008 - (Page 80)

OPINION The mirage of worshipping technology Is it really provocative? Finishing off this edition of OceanRacing by talking of old boats, while the competitors in the Jacques Vabre are chasing after those that took part in the Mini-Transat, and while those in the Barcelona World Race have left to look for the albatrosses and when the most up-to-date monohulls reach speeds, which were beyond those of multihulls thirty years ago. Is that provocation? No: the question worrying classic yachting today taken to the extreme is the same, which concerns us all today: "What use is it to race?" Races between classic yachts in the Mediterranean have taken on an importance that we cannot imagine in the Atlantic. Each year we see the arrival of yachts, which are more than a century old and which cost a fortune to maintain. The events bringing together classic yachts in St. Tropez, Cannes, Imperia… see competitors turning up in their hundreds. There are a lot of races, a lot of starts, a lot of commitments, rounding buoys, exciting finishes, and prize ceremonies. It is a wonderful sight in spite of the fact that these boats are slow –even a large schooner rarely goes beyond thirteen knots… That just goes to show that a great show does not depend on speed, which a lot of racers and race organisers today should think about –but I’m moving away from the subject. What exactly is the subject, if it is not that these classic yachts, egged on by the devil of racing, are today embarking on an anachronistic arms race? That by chasing after trophies rather than authenticity, some of these works of art can lose their originality? Where all the manoeuvres used to be carried out by hand, you can now find enough winches to open a chandlery. Where there used to be spars in silver spruce, there is now more and more carbon fibre. What is the purpose of gaining a tenth or a hundredth of a knot on a boat whose design and technology are at least half a century out of date? What use is it to offer these boats from yesteryear more contemporary performance levels? When a very rich businessman takes over an old classic boat still in its original form, and modernises it, sometimes lengthening it, in order to do better than his friends, isn’t it a bit like boys in the schoolyard boasting theirs being bigger than their friends’? Why invest in carbon, titanium or stainless steel instead of trying to do as well as the teams of the past with the same means? Ah, it is of course easier to buy all you need than to carry out the same manœuvre twenty times –but the competition thus becomes less a measure of the ability of the men than the size of their purses. How ironic to see these museum pieces seized by the demons of another age! As what happens to them reveals a lot, not about the habits of Mr. Herreshoff, Fife, Nicholson & Co, but of our own trends. About our fantasy about Asterix, who can see a magic potion in mega-up-to-date equipment and sees in technology the remedy to all our ills… It’s true we need good equipment. It’s clear that in our sport the technical element has an important role and there is no doubt that in professional races, the hardware is crucial. However in our weekend regattas, is that really the case? How many amateur teams train outside of races? A tiny minority. How many skippers study the local weather phenomena? Not enough. How many owners spend time studying and working on the rules? Too few. When you think about it, there’s something missing. To finish, what are the professionals, who have jobs other than full time racing doing in these friendly competitions? They see in sailing a leisure activity (which is moreover expensive) rather than a way to earn their living, and a way to push back their own limits. What pride is there in winning, when you know that there are hundreds of pros, who do a hundred times better in conditions, which are a hundred times more difficult –if it is not sailing better, being more efficient in muscle power, or using one’s senses or one’s brain? Sorry to keep on about it, apologies to one and all, but the result of a race, where no one’s career is affected, is simply to show that you are the best sailor. And if you can show you are the best sailor, when it is not a question of earning your living by doing so, is it not simply a way to show you are the top dog? Daniel Charles http://www.victorinox.com http://www.victorinox.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008

Cover
Edito
Contents
What they said
News
Portfolio - The news in the picture
Transat Jacques Vabre - Monohulls in power
In the words of the skipper - Michel Desjoyaux, A little bit more
Barcelona World Race - A couple sailing around the world
Imoca - Growth crisis in the Imoca class
Transat 6.5 - A whole series of records
Mini Class - Anatomy of a winner
Multihulls - What sort of trimarans tomorrow ?
Volvo Ocean Race - Second generation
Trials - Mach 45 : an unusual IRC
Match Racing - King Richard
Tactics - A good start
Portrait - Jacques Caraës
Lab - Tubular or wing mast ?
Forty years ago - Chichester, the lonely sea and the sky
Equipment - Shop window
New products - From the drawing board to the boatyard
Opinion - The mirage of worshipping technology

Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008