The Bosun ponders a controversial segment of offshore racing
There’s a popular clubhouse joke that goes like this. Q: Why has Joe switched to racing two-handed? A: Because he can only find one poor sucker willing to sail with him.
Harsh, maybe. But, as with all humour, it contains a grain of truth. The two-handers have become a distinct sub-group. They stand apart from mainstream offshore racing, yet wish to compete in its events and be eligible for its trophies. They seem to have developed an elevated view of their own significance.
I have nothing against the two-handed fleet in principle (although, in practice, ‘safety in numbers’ is undeniable). No doubt they are good, brave sailors. But it’s their self-serving claim that short-handed racing is a benefit to the sport as a whole that sticks in my craw.
It is an assertion unsupported by fact.
Time and again we read statements from their fraternity that two-handing is a response to the difficulty of finding crew, and that it somehow attracts more people to participate. To my mind that is false logic of the “if my grandmother had wheels she’d be a bicycle” variety.
You don’t need to be Einstein to figure out that the two-handers probably decrease total crewing opportunities. That weakness is at its worst at the entry and training levels. The owners of two-handed boats aren’t beginners, and they can’t take an inexperienced partner because the risks at sea are too great. So, it is predominantly existing sailors who race two-handed, not newcomers.
There is also likely to be an inverse proportion effect at play here. Many two-handed owner/skippers have downsized from a larger, conventionally-crewed yacht that is then sold and often withdrawn from regular competition. The more boats race two-handed the fewer conventional yachts compete. Net result? Fewer people get the opportunity to learn the ropes and race at sea as part of a competent crew.
There are early signs that, after an initial boom, the numbers of boats racing two-up in the major offshore events are now static. They might even be falling gradually as the novelty of short-handing wears off and reality sets in – usually after a tough offshore race. Meanwhile, most overall fleet numbers are down. There are, of course, multiple factors contributing to that decrease, but two-handing can’t be excluded.
There is another related issue looming if World Sailing accepts the Oceanic and Offshore Committee recommendations for a new approach to the Manual Power rule. That would have a direct impact if applied to the two-handed fleet because most use computer-driven autohelm and would therefore be scored separately from the conventionally-sailed entrants. A result such as the recent Sydney-Hobart win for the two-hander Min River could be impossible.
Is that fair? Mandatory minimum crew numbers for a ‘fully-crewed yacht’ have been reducing. The term is now generally accepted as meaning three or more crew – just one more body than the two-handed cohort. Whether that is a sufficient difference to justify one group being allowed to use computer-driven autohelm while the others cannot is debatable.
The whole situation is complex, but we need to find a fair and logical solution before this division in the sport becomes toxic.
The Bosun
