Dear readers,
I would like to open this post with a quote from our Facebook page: "I don't care about anything. I don't like the hustle and bustle and I have nothing for regatta sport, it just doesn't fascinate me. We sail to relax, so that we somehow have a mental balance to the working week. I couldn't care less how many milliseconds I'm behind, etc. But everyone as they like."
It was written by Louis Buuh (possibly a pseudonym) and is a reaction to the YACHT week by my colleague Max Gasser, who wrote about Kiel Week. I've often heard or read something like this, in a nutshell: "I have nothing to do with regattas."
I always think: "Where does this strict rejection come from? Have such people had bad experiences, ever sailed in a regatta or have they ever had anything to do with sport?"
Of course, Buuh's last sentence also applies here: "Everyone as they wish". But what surprises me is the reverse conclusion in the quote. According to this, regattas are not a way to relax and cannot provide a mental balance to the working week.
I would like to strongly disagree with this and at the same time take up the cudgels in favour of regatta sailing. There is hardly any other activity I know of that allows me to wind down from the working week as well as regatta sailing. In the heat of the "battle", there is simply no time to let your mind wander, so that it perhaps winds its way back to everyday problems.
From the tingling in my stomach before the start, the intense preoccupation with the wind, the area, the opponents, to the complete concentration in the close quarters on the course and especially when rounding the buoys; I am always completely lost in another world during these hours. It's not about winning or even milliseconds, it's simply about being as good as possible, challenging yourself and your crew and, of course, leaving as many opponents behind as possible. But not doggedly or with pressure to succeed.
In the harbour, the chat with the other crews, the elation of having mastered the task, which can lead to a deep sense of satisfaction.
I understand that for some people, having to sail boat after boat, exposing themselves to tight situations and challenging themselves physically doesn't sound like relaxation.
However, if you've never dared to sail across a starting line before, I can really recommend it. Wednesday regattas, which are organised by many clubs, are a good place to start.
And if it's even fear that stops you from starting, fear of sailing at the back and being ridiculed by others, I can take that away. There are always unpleasant contemporaries who can't resist making a remark. But the majority, and that's how I feel, will show the beginner respect for daring to go out on the course and won't be stingy with the odd tip.
Lars Bolle,
Editor-in-Chief Watersports Digital
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