Good old days were pretty damn good

We keep making the world better, but are we? Bill Crane reflects on how the good old days were pretty damn good:

In the ’70s and ‘80s, juniors sailed high performance dinghies, crewed on Solings and Tempests, and also on IOR boats. There were sailing icons whose exploits were legendary, and we were among them. Sailing was exciting. It was technical. It was analogue. It was an arms race. It was a moveable feast! It was demanding.

We studied tactics, sail design, mast bend, materials, technique openly – winners and loser. Sailing featured heroes that seemed bigger than life! The names still resonate: Elvstrom, Fox, Melges, North, Blackaller, Turner, Conner. They not only talked the talk, but they walked it. They also shared it. They let us live it with them. Their egos were huge, but they opened the door and invited you into their world.

But today, we seemed to have lost sight of our heroes. There are no big men sailing Finns and Stars, the technicians are being replaced by stunt pilots, and the strategies and tactics have been replaced by straight line speedsters. The America’s Cup was nationality vs nationality in slow demanding boats that required strength, teamwork, and seamanship.

The world has changed, and sailing has changed. Some say it is dying. Perhaps it is, but in the past, it wasn’t just the sailing. It was the spectacle, the raucous characters, the egos, and the dreams.