Avoiding attrition

For 25 years, the online Scuttlebutt archives hold nearly everything ever published, and this commentary from Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck remains as true today as when originally shared a decade ago:

When I really think about what sailing is, I break it down into two parts. They may even be equal parts. The first part is the sailing. It gives us something to do, often with other people. The other part is when we’re done sailing, we gather somewhere and talk about it. We share stories, maybe tell a few lies. Certainly have a drink.

Whether racing or cruising, sailing provides for these deep bonding experiences. If we sail often enough, it soon defines who we are. Some people are ‘golfers’. Some people are ‘runners’. We are ‘sailors’. And near as I can tell, the only way we can really screw things up is when we take it too seriously.

Sailing is recreation. Sure, there are some people making a living at it, and a lot more trying. But most people are in it for the fun, and once any of us loses the love for it, we’re screwed. Taking it too seriously, making it too competitive, requiring us to work too hard at it, is the path toward attrition.

After I won a class championship, one of the class stalwarts pulled me aside to share some advice. He said, “Craig, you’re doing great things, and I’m certain there is more ahead for you. But I want you to know, the challenge isn’t the climb up the mountain. The challenge is the climb down.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I never forgot it. Over time, I got used to a certain level of success in the sport. Expectations were created by me, and by those around me. But success was a result of hard work. And when my growing family required more of my time, the time for training and preparation got less of it.

Soon it became hard to play the game at the level I was used to playing it. The game became less fun, and as a result, I became less active. And then I remember the advice I was given. Without realizing it, I was “climbing down the mountain.”

I have helped myself by sailing different types of boats, and appreciating more of what I can do than what I can’t. But it has made me think about how so many areas in our sport have heightened the competitive component. For those who want that, it’s great. But for those that are not fully willing to keep up, how we may just be evolving ourselves into extinction.

So keep it fun, share it with others, don’t measure it, and remember to tell a few lies afterwards.