The Bosun
There’s no fool like a PR fool. Those public relations hucksters are so desperate to polish their clients’ interests, that they’ll say and write anything that looks impressive. Take the latest media release from the America’s Cup Partnership, the mob being paid to pump out guff for the commercial entity that now purports to own the Cup.
Announcing the first preliminary regatta, scheduled for late September in Naples, their release asserts that the AC is “the world’s oldest, continually contested, sporting contest”. Bull dust. There’s an oil wrestling contest in Turkey that’s been regularly held since 1346. See picture, left. The Derby horse race has been run every year since 1780, and the Grand National since 1839.
There’s even a sailing event that pre-dates the first America’s Cup race in 1851. The Australia Day Regatta (first known as the Anniversary Day Regatta) has been held on Sydney Harbour every year since 1837. In any case, the claim that the AC has been “continually contested” is also false. Here are the periods between which there was no Cup competition: 1851-1870, 1903-1920 and 1937-1958 – a gap of 21 years. Not much continuity there.
And no mention that what was originally meant to be the first AC regatta (June 25-28) had to be cancelled because the site at Bagnoli isn’t ready. Ignore the facts. That would be bad PR.
