At a certain point in life, for everybody, there is a time when you simply can’t go back. It matters not how good you once were in your “good years”, or many championships or big races you may have won, shit changes as one ages.
That point is different for everybody. For the purpose of this article Paul Cayard does not count. I mean, The Star and the Etchells Worlds at like 65? Get the fuck outta here.
And yes, it depends a lot as to what kind of sailing you do – If you are a decent PHRF racer, you can lose a step or two, and still hack around the course well enough to win a few pickle dishes each year, all the while convincing yourself that “I’ve still got it!” But on the higher levels of virtually any size serious race boats, youth tends to dominate and them’s just the facts, bruh.
This brings me to Dee Smith – a sailor of unquestioned ability, matched only by his unbelievable douchebaggery. Back in the day, when he raced in the big Moore 24 regattas, he was mostly always at or near the top. But I couldn’t help notice that in the recent 50th Anniversary Moore 24 Nationals, the “Bald Ego” finished in 49th place overall. Now we all know that regattas like this are brutally hard, with about a million things that can go wrong, and wrong they went for Smith.
In addition to his actual finishes of 15th, 17th and 14th, he had a DSQ, a DNF and 2 DNC. Those decent races might be great for most of us, but not for him, and perhaps indicative that he’s lost a step or three. And the rest of the races are likely bad breaks, fouling, dropping out, and maybe just going home instead of finishing the regatta out. Can’t blame him for that – I’da done the same god damn thing.
Everybody’s time in the limelight is awesome when it happens. It’s the staying there that is hard.
