Scuttleball: Where sailors go to ball

It was in 1988 when a college hoops pool between a bunch of friends in Annapolis first got traction, each trying to prove they knew something about the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

Known around the water cooler as March Madness, from the first round on March 21 to the championship game on April 8, the 2024 tournament will once again deliver a healthy distraction as the winter and spring seasons provide their annual tug-of-war.

Aptly named Scuttleball, the pool has also previously had a charitable element, but not unlike those leeward mark roundings when the douse gets called too late, the 2024 pool is just about hoops as we didn’t get the kite down in time.

So, while there is no charitable cause this year, there is also no entry fee. However, Scuttleball continues to provide that opportunity to showcase non-sailing skills and/or leverage your name, image and likeness. You choose.

How hard it can be with past winners as Buttons Padin (2023), David Krupka (2022), and Arthur Libby (2021)? Just ask Brian Flynn who got DFL in 2023.

To enter is easy: Submit your picks on the CBS Sports site no later than 10:00am EDT, Thursday, March 21. If you know nothing, the computer will complete the bracket for you. Also, feel free share this pool with your friends, particularly the ones that you can beat.

Props to Chris Wright, Matt Brock, Ned Roseberry, and Will Princing for being early entrants.

The winner will receive personal bragging rights and recognition in Scuttlebutt Sailing News. If you are DFL, look for public humiliation and a free lifetime subscription to Scuttlebutt.