Where are the skippers ?...

Today was eve of Louis Vuitton Final, one of the most covered yachting event taking place only every 3-4 years or so.

This is absolutely the most media covered sailing event, with hundreds of journos attending, live TV uncluding many host national TV.

Today was the press conference before racing goes on tomorrow. It was a full press room with journalist coming from everywhere in the world.

Guess what ?... The skippers just did'nt show !... Gone elsewhere, busy on just another meeting or on their way to another testing. Luna Rossa sent american team member Andy Horton and ETNZ (yes, the very nationalistic Team New Zealand) another american, their tactician Terry Huchinson.

Can you imagine Rafa Nadal sending his coach to the live press conference before the final of Roland Garros or Mac Laren sending the chief mecanician before Monaco Grand Prix ?... No. In fact, if they don't come, they are fined because it is in their competitor contract. ACM who is so quick to make things mandatory or forbidden just forget to put that in the rules !...

Sailing is complaining because it's always running short of money, but sailors, especially some of most known, sometimes surprise me in the way they handle the media part of their job.

Not only they ususally don't show, but when they do, most of the time they just throw off perfect platitudes when they are requested to talk to the world about their sport, their technique. Result : those press conferences are perfectly useless and boring.

How do you want the world to learn better about the complexity of the sport if the sailors themselves don't make the effort of explaining to the media what it is all about ?...

Is it so damageable if M. Dean Barker come to explain that they change the keel in such manner and adapt their sails in such way to cope with Italian way of sailing which is like this and like that ? That's just media want to hear so they can use in their next day comment or written story. That could give some interesting fuel to their next day coverage. But as they are short of it, they just talk about the only thing they know about : money.

America's Cup is now the only sport in the world where you are categorized not on your experience and talent but on the xxx million dollars you have put in your campaign.

Come on sailors !... Is it so difficult to take care of your own media destiny !...