RESPECT

It is with sadness I report the passing of Bruce McPherson. He was very bright,clever and intellectually curious; always exploring the deeper corners of thought.

EIGHT BELLS

John Bruce McPherson of Hyannisport (MA) passed away peacefully on March

15, 2011. A graduate of The Lawrenceville School and the University of

Virginia, Bruce spent most of his life as a designer. In 1966, Bruce moved

to New York City to work for yacht designer Sparkman and Stephens, becoming

Olin’s right-hand man in many ways during the ’60s and ’70s.

In 1975, he designed and built the Maltese Cat, his own 30′ racing yacht.

He later designed and built his dream sailboat, a 36′ 20-knot cruising boat

known as CAYUSE. Bruce spent his recent years on Cape Cod exploring his

interest in responsible wind energy.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at Union

Chapel, 15 Wachusett Ave., Hyannisport. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may

be sent to Cape Cod Maritime Museum, 135 South St., Hyannis, MA 02601,

designated for the “McPherson Sailing Skiff Project.” —

http://tinyurl.com/8Bells-031711

The following is written by Peter Wilson, with whom I have sailed and respect enormously. For me it touches a cord that transcends sailing, and questions our essential values as a society.

IS THE ‘FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE’ STILL RELEVANT?

By Peter Wilson, US SAILING Umpire/Senior Judge

As a racing sailor who is also a coach, judge and umpire, I worry that the

‘fundamental principle’ which is the foundation of our (mostly) ‘self

regulating’ sport has become significantly less relevant. As a consequence,

our racing rules appear to have less value to competitors, and the behavior

we expect these rules to encourage is not as prevalent as it used to be.

Quoting from the RRS, “Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by

a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental

principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will

promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.” Most of us would agree

that this means; 1) If I hit a mark and whether someone sees me do it or

not, I should take a one-turn penalty; 2) If I tack to port because I can’t

fetch the starting pin and force a boat on starboard to tack when she can

fetch, I should take a two-turns penalty whether or not the other boat

hails protest; and 3) If a boat fouls me in a way that significantly

worsens my position in the race, I should enforce the rules and protest.

However, what I have observed on the race course over the past fifteen

years, in the U.S. and abroad, is a growing percentage of sailors who do

not enforce and follow the rules. I see sailors break rules with contact

between boats and ignore their infraction, even when the other boat

protests or the infringing boat gains an advantage in a flagrant foul. I am

not talking about incidents where who is at fault is unclear and no penalty

turns are taken or no one is protested. We all do that from time to time.

I’m talking about the apparent trend towards an obvious level of clear

infractions with no action by either party. What seems puzzling is, if it

is so easy to exonerate, why does it happen so seldom? Why do sailors break

rules and keep on sailing if no one protests? Why do sailors use kinetics

when there are no judges around? And a related question is, why aren’t

there more protests taken to the room? Are the rules not as relevant in

today’s world as they used to be?

Perhaps the best analogy is speeding on the highway. Lots of us drive above

the speed limit. But when the radar detector says we are approaching a

trap, or we see a cop parked up ahead or coming up behind us, we slow down.

But most of the time, the ‘speeders’ speed. Similarly, when there are

judges or umpires enforcing Rule 42 (kinetics) on the water, body pumping,

rocking, and sculling seem to disappear when the judge boats are close by,

but they often reappear when the judge moves on to observe other boats.

And, when judges whistle their observation of a foul with the option to

protest, competitors usually take their penalty.and when the judges are not

around (or don’t whistle/protest), not much happens. Just like speeding, it

seems as if one doesn’t break a rule unless an official says we do.

(My only remark of a minor sort would be that I have never agreed with the rule against pumping. It is a skill that must be developed to do well. That said, until the rule is changed it is still a violation. )  But this is a remark that is not at the core of Peter’s thesis.