A Year in Review, Third Quarter

Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck reflected on 2019 and shares some of his picks from the third quarter of the year.

Breaking the rules of yachting etiquette
While I did not find it in the Racing Rules of Sailing, there seems to be a general consensus that I have been guilty of perhaps an even greater infringement. You see, when we race our Alerion 28, we display an ensign off a stern staff, and I never knew that was against yachting etiquette. Full report.

Editor’s note: For full disclosure, I was not the lone offender but the ensign is now for day sailing only.

Arguing gender attributes in court
It’s popular to say how sailing is a gender neutral sport. Sure, some boats require different sized people for particular jobs, but steering tends not to be one of them. However, the argument goes sideways when male skippers tend to always top the rank. Full report.

Editor’s note: A review of how we close doors when we create opportunities.

Puppies can only grow so fast
If dogs age in seven year increments (aka, dog years), aspiring Olympic sailors age in a similar measure, which translated means a year to go before the Tokyo 2020 Games tends to be a short time to grow from a puppy to the head of the pack. Full report.

Editor’s note: When the US Olympic Sailing Team found itself off the pace, there was no quick fix to the problem when a pregnancy takes 40 weeks and 20+ years is needed to train the prospect.

Turning a ripple into a wave
I get it…how can one person’s actions have an impact on a global trash issue? Yes, we’ve read all the reports about plastic in the ocean, but Asia is the big problem, not the rest of us. Plus we already have a recycling culture… what more do you want?

One person’s actions, combined with others, leads to change. Regardless of the big offender, change occurs when the ripple becomes a wave. As for recycling, have you been reading the news? Most of it had gotten shipped to China to process, but that stopped a year ago. Now there’s recyclable trash getting stored in warehouses, waiting for a solution. Full report.

Editor’s note: We all need a Howard Beale moment and scream “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

How to run better races
The Irish publication Afloat has been tackling the topic of race management, with Olympic helmsman Mark Mansfield, who is now a sailing coach, providing some sailor-focused thoughts for Race Officers. However, with all due respect to the esteemed 4-time Irish Olympian, I oppose his advice with regard to adjusting start lines. Full report.

Editor’s note: When non-nonessential technology slows down the expediency of running races, yet does not improve the running of races, we have a problem.