Coma Off Point Loma

Editor-at-Large Herb McCormick reminds us in a Sailing World article about America’s Cup 1988. That's 1 9 8 8. You recall . . . this one was the one that somehow Kiwi Michael Fay’s 90-foot monster-speedster got snookered into a match against Dennis Connor’s absurd (but really fast) catamaran.

Unless one was brain-dead, even non-sailors figured out in one glance that this so-called race was a fraud. Cries of “Fix!” and “Ridiculous” were heard around the world. Yet, everyone had to admit that it took a lot of nerve, imagination and just plain “balls” to pull off this so-called “win,” for the USA. Your Blog Host Biff recalls tipping his hat at the time to Mr. Connor, Mr. America’s Cup, as he refers to himself today. He did it; he conformed with the Protocol (rules) at the time. And won, weirdly and squarely.

But in this global Theater of the Absurd (a.k.a. America’s Cup politics), we may have to face something like this again in 2009, if one of the Challengers-to-be has its way.

Is Larry Ellison really asking the world champion Alinghi team to hope out of its winning sloop this coming year and race/face off against BMW/Oracle - - IN CATAMARANS - - to see who really are the best sailors? Why not in windsurfers - - wouldn’t it be a lot cheaper and they could almost be checked in as carry-on luggage and repeated in country after country? Maybe a two-man model? Stay tuned.

(Incidentally, sailing a catamaran takes an entirely different skillset that sailing America's Cup sloops. No matter who won, it still would NOT be a fair contest. America's Cup yachts traditionally are sloops, not cats. Why? They just are.