I may well be the only person in Rhode Island who doesn't know how to sail. It wasn't part of my childhood, and prior to my mid-adulthood I didn't know a single person who talked about sailing. Looking back on it, I suspect there were some friends who sailed, but, as I have said, they didn't talk about it...at least around me.
My first experience with sailing came in the early 80's when a friend took my family out on a magnificent sailing vessel to sail around Little Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine. I was scared to death. When the ship keeled up and I found myself parallel to the surface of the water my prayer life improved dramatically. Later sailing experiences on one of the Finger Lakes proved less harrowing, but I found myself more comfortable below with a wine cooler than on the deck. I discovered that I have a natural fear of the water, probably dating back to an experience of my childhood when I came close to drowning. (A future blog posting.)
Consequently, my knowledge of sailing and my awareness of its finer moments is limited. However, living in Rhode Island means knowing that the America's Cup races are happening. Newport is the spiritual home of the America's Cup and many of the winning vessels over the past 33 races have been built in Bristol. We spend a lot of time in Newport these days, so my interest in the America's Cup is somewhat higher than one might have expected.
When the victory of the BMW Oracle was relegated to the back page of the Providence Journal sports section, therefore, I was shocked. Basketball, hockey, baseball and Olympic news filled the pages while the announcement that the United States had re-captured the America's Cup was found on the back page, and the article was lifted from another source.
I had to wonder what the sailing community in Rhode Island would have to say about this. As one of the more successful industries in a state with a miserable economy, it is inconceivable that this historic event, comparable to the World Series in baseball, the Masters Tournament in golf, and the NCAA Final Four in basketball, was not covered and was not given a more prominent place in the paper.
It remains to be seen whether the letters to the editor will pick up on this theme, or whether the sailing community has given up on the Journal altogether and doesn't really care.
Photo Courtesy: http://www.bmw.com/
Yes, the local news establishments were very much asleep on this one. Fortunately, if belatedly, the America's Cup — and the prospect that maybe-just-maybe it could return to Newport — was front page news (in the ProJo) a day or two later. Needless to say, that would be HUGE. The internet is buzzing with speculation ...
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