When I recently spoke at a junior sailing regatta, I thought I'd have plenty of stories to regale and inspire these young sailors about the heroes of our sport and the lessons we can learn from their examples. But early into my presentation, I looked across the audience and noticed blank stares when I mentioned a few household sailing names that readers of this magazine would instantly recognize. Sensing something wasn't resonating, I paused and asked them a few questions about a handful of sailing's legendary and now Hall of Fame sailors.
Crickets.
Not a single one of them had ever heard of Ted Turner or Buddy Melges. It was the same with Dennis Conner and Ted Hood, so I tried my luck with a few more contemporary greats. Mark Reynolds and Paul Foerster? Nope. How about Betsy Alison or Anna Tunnicliffe? Surely, they would know of Anna. Nope. Blank stares.
I was stunned, and afterward I wondered why, or how, these young sailors didn't identify with any of these modern-day champions. And the more I thought about it, I realized it's not just our youth sailors that struggle to identify the greats of recent years. It's adult sailors too. When prompted, my peers will most likely call out the likes of Conner and Paul Cayard or Dawn Riley.
How is that so? Conner's peak of notoriety was more than three decades ago when he lost and won the America's Cup and paraded through the streets of New York. But so many other outstanding American sailors since then I have had great and inspiring successes, earning their Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman recognitions.
This is a problem. Who are the modern-day greats that these junior sailors will identify with 20 years from now? And why are our present-day champions not resonating with the rest of us in the same way the greats once did?
This story is from the Winter 2023 edition of Sailing World.
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This story is from the Winter 2023 edition of Sailing World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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