Contrary to popular belief, it takes more than two sailboats in close proximity to make a race. Or, at least a GOOD race. In fact, it takes a committee. A race committee, with a feel for the nuance of the handicap rule used in that race, and how that rule interacts with the course for that race. Like most sailors we’re competitive bastards. Any time we see another boat we start tweaking sails to beat the band. But we learned a long time ago that some boats are just plain faster than others. And we don’t get the right gratification […]

Recently, we spent a pleasant evening at a Classic Yacht Owners Association, or CYOA, event in Newport, RI. We stopped down to this terrific event to help tell the Spirit-of-Tradition story. And to participate on a panel discussion around what it means to sail as a Corinthian sailor in the classic regatta circuit. We were excited to see how the CYOA is doing in building consensus among its diverse membership of classic, modern classic and Spirit-of-Tradition vessels. We fully expect Managing Director Bill Lynn and members of the executive committee, like Charles Townsend and Timothy Rutter, to be instrumental in driving […]

Let’s face it, if you don’t look at handicap racing with the right attitude, it can get kind of silly. Tons of fun, but still silly: Handicapping fleets in classic regattas becomes burdened by the fact that handicap racing, in general, is so flawed. This is true no matter what kind of boat you own. That’s why, we believe, it’s important to look past the ratings rules and try to rearrange our own attitudes toward racing. After all, we are trying to have fun out there. And fun is not always easy. To fully expect handicapping systems to create a […]