Just as Mecca is to the Muslim, a Guernsey will face Wisconsin at dusk, a sailor will inevitably make a pilgrimage to Newport. Oh, I’ve been close before. We grabbed a mooring late one night running from a hurricane that was coming up the eastern seaboard as we were headed down, skipped out early enough to avoid the collection boat and stashed the boat in Wickford. The only problem was our car was left in Annapolis. That was one long trek home to Pittsburgh.
This place reeks of sailing and money; it’s no wonder the America’s Cup was held here all those years. John Cox Stevens, J. Pierpont Morgan, Vanderbilt, Turner, Conner, et al. Their palaces are up on the cliff above the ocean. The confluence of skill and money are necessary to make a Mecca for sailing, but I wonder about all the people who were abused to acumulate that kind of wealth.
Well we don’t expect much out of this boat show but you have to try. It’s about contacts and some research on new electronics.
I wonder if there’s an appropriate chant or tradition to observe here in sailor Mecca. Have any ideas?
