American Magic, the US challenger for the 36th and 37th America’s Cup, and Nautor Swan recently announced a partnership aimed at energizing sailing in America. We’re skeptical. We’re reminded that the peak growth of participation in sailing was in the ’60s and ’70s. Building with fiberglass was hitting its stride, and people had real, two-day weekends when they didn’t look at emails and devices. They went outdoors and played. Sailboats were small, affordable, and even free! We discovered this when looking up information on our family’s first boat — a Styrofoam Snark. We found the following ad from a 1960s edition of the San Francisco Chronicle.
We know a Styrofoam Snark would be lucky to last five minutes on the Cityfront before it became flotsam drifting up onto the Emeryville shoreline, but if you took it to Lake Merritt with your family, the kids could have a blast. And you could take photos of them to show your friends, with your Kodak film camera. When you showed your friends the photographs you became an “influencer” and more people wanted to sail. Small, affordable boats made sailing boom. California was at the epicenter of that boom, with Costa Mesa builders flooding the world with small, affordable fiberglass sailboats.
Lake Merritt in Oakland was a hotbed of small-boat sailing. You can still rent sailboats there for $15/hr.
Believe it or not, there are lots of “Free” sailboats available, such as the Coronado 25 John Super is offering in our Classy Classifieds. And a Coronado 25 is the same boat world-famous yacht designer Ron Holland owns in Victoria, British Columbia.
A reminder that Economics 101 taught us all “TANSTAAFL,” which stands for “There Ain’t No Such Thing As a Free Lunch.” It would be irresponsible for us not to mention that as soon as you own it the expenses will begin — insurance, slip fees, maintenance, etc., but boats like the Coronado 25 started millions of people off on a lifetime of sailing adventures. You can spend $5,000 on a bicycle that seats one, or partner on a Coronado 25 that seats and sleeps four or more!