Around the World of Sailing

27 February 2002

This weeks features:

Finish Line

No one would ever have crossed the ocean if he could have
gotten off the ship in the storm.

-Charles Franklin Kettering 1876-1958 inventor of the
electric starter
for car engines.

Water Level Update

Weekly Water Level Update
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/oc/1024/frw.htm

Below you'll find water level info that pertains
to Lake Michigan and Huron.
For information on other lakes see:
http://huron.lre.usace.army.mil/levels/weekly.html

Reference Point
Difference from Chart Datum -4
Difference from last month -2
Difference from last year +5
Difference from long term average for February -17
Difference from Record High -47
Difference from Record Low +13
Forecast for 22 March 2002 +1

Rowing Reporter

The Rowing Reporter is a weekly column of commentary and
observations by Ike Stephenson, Marine Informationist. It
concentrates on the home waters of Around the World of
Sailing, Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake.
****************
New Occasional Long Format
This is one of an occasional Rowing Reporter on a single topic that
is a little longer in format. Please send comments on this
to ike@torresen.com
*****************
Translating Sailing

What's the problem with selling sailing? It's that the
sailing style must translated as there is little direct
experience with it.

An auto salesman has certain objections to overcome. Maybe
he has to answer questions about financing etc. However he
does not have to explain what it feels like to ride in a
car. The customer already knows about the convenience of a
car. They likely experience a car every day.

The sailing promoter doesn't have this advantage. Although
he knows the relaxation and exhilaration of sailing, the
customer likely does not have direct sailing experience.

This article looks at some ways sailing has been
successfully translated and obstacles in the way of this
cultural communication.

A successful sailing translation occurred in the case of
British sailor Ellen Macarthur. She became popular enough
to be considered for the same awards as soccer players.

The main burst in her notoriety came when she sailed the
Vendee Globe solo around the world race. She feels the solo
experience is important in translation "I think that anyone
can imagine what it's like to be alone. It's something
that most people experience and regardless of the sailing
side, that is something most people can connect with."

Many Americans drive a car solo. In their mind they maybe
an entire crew. This is replicated by the solo sailor. They
do everything from climb the mast to replace wind
instruments to interpret weather information.

Perhaps the do it all from cook pasta to change engine
filters solo sailor is more translatable than the specialist
navigator at his computer while others on deck sail the
boat.

What type of attention does a well translated sailing event
draw? For the current Volvo Ocean Race there were 1.5
million unique Internet visitors during legs 1-2. For the
most recent America's Cup there were 1.9 million visitors.
The 1998-99 Around Alone race drew 1 million visitors to
it's site.

One reason for the difficulty in translating sailing may be
because it is not clear what sailing actually is. I became
aware of this conflict of perception when I received the
following question: "what is the difference in the terms
'yachting' and sailing? For example, on your web site you
talk about sailing while on the America's Cup web site they
talk about yachting..."

Sailing is defined as to travel on the water by action of
wind upon sails. Yachting is defined as the pastime of
racing or cruising in a yacht. The term yacht can mean a
sailboat used for racing, or a motor driven craft used for
pleasure cruising. Each word has its devotees. For
instance there's both a Sailing and a Yachting Magazine.

One of the differences not mentioned here is an economic
distinction. Typically yachting exists more towards the
upper end of the economic scale. For instance visit
http://www.superyachtsociety.com/default2.htm. You'll see
large vessels often over a hundred feet long.

A recent article in the aforementioned Yachting magazine
read: "Perhaps there is once again a market for traditional
American yachting." Among the attributes the writer
attributed to traditional yachting were as follows: having a
crew of 3 (captain, cook and mate/steward), the crew living
in a strictly defined area and entertaining aboard. Such
items may require more financial investment than the typical
person can afford.

Contrast the idea of having a 3 person crew to assist in
leisure with the life of a professional racing sailor. This
consists of: six days of physical training, boat work, 2
boat testing that involves little competition.

These examples present yachting as more of an amateur
endeavor or doing something as pastime vs. a professional
sailor who is earning a livelihood. People who have manned
sailing craft for money have always been known as sailors.
A person who can afford to have a craft and people to assist
him is a yachtsman.

Now visit http://www.torresen.com/butterfly/. Here you'll
see information on the Butterfly sailboat. It can be raced
or sailed for pleasure. By definition then it could be
either yacht or sailboat. I think the price, measured in
the thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, establishes
it as a sailboat rather than yacht.

Finally I'll touch upon the power vs. sail issue. By
definition a yacht can be either power or sail. You can
sail from point a to point b in either a wind power or motor
powered craft. However, the actual sport of sailing can only
be done in a sailboat.

To conclude I'd say this: yachting tends to be more
expensive and can include power or sail boats. Sailing is a
more broad based concern that can only be done with wind
powered craft.

However, perhaps those results are USA centric. They may
not apply in New Zealand a sail focused country. A recent
newspaper article read, "The one time face of New Zealand
yachting Chris Dickson." The New Zealand Herald lists
yachting as one of the topics in its sports section. In New
Zealand yachting and 'yachties' are extremely popular up to
national hero status.

The first case of the solo sailor Macarthur shows that the
public can understand sailing on a wide basis. It seems
that the concept of one person doing it all ,as we all do in
daily life, works. As Macarthur says, "Physical strength is
part of it, but you sail with your mind as well."

We also see that sailing, even though it is called yachting,
translates extremely well in New Zealand.

The USA has conflicting visions in yachting and sailing.
Evidence shows that to get past the current 5.2 million US
sailors a translatable vision of sailing which combines
physical activity, and mental challenge on an individual
level could successfully be presented.