Jonathan wrote:

I've seen a lot of really bright people on this forum over the
years, with a lot of insight into different aspect of the sailing
world, and I am hoping a dialogue might develop as to why American
corporations, in general, so far, are not interested ...

First of all, _some_ American Corporations _are_ interested. Until it was
subsumed by BOC, Airco, a New Jersey-based industrial gas company then
headed by Richard Giordano, was a big supporter of sailboat racing. The
reason was simple: Giordano liked boats. Later the "BOC" Round-the-World
Race merely _appeared_ to be a Brit-only effort. Giordano had moved to the
UK to head up British Oxygen.

Similarly, Larry Ellison of Oracle and one or another of the Disney brats
have been supporting sailing and sailboat racing for a very long time,
thanks both to big wallets, and to a personal interest in the activity.

This is nothing new. Corporate America, in the guise of individual business
moguls, has contributed heavily to funding yacht racing for a very long
time. You won't find a lot of the McDonald's set on the membership lists of
the Cruising Club of America or the NYYC, and that's where the "old" Cup
money originated. Corporate support for this rich man's pleasure dates back
beyond the days when the yacht "America" was stealing all the silverware
over in the UK.

The simple fact is that American corporations are not interested in spending
money to promote sailboat racing because American _consumers_ are not
interested in sailboat racing. The average American considers the activity
an elitist affectation, and he or she is not going to devote a precious
Sunday afternoon to watching an ESPN presentation on the sport. You are
talking about an activity that is essentially unknown, and unloved, on Main
Street USA.

Until you can convince corporate marketers and advertisers that there's
money to be made by plastering their names on the sides of a few arcane and
slightly dangerous racing boats, you will not have much luck.
For my part, I'd rather see the money go to better and more ethical
accounting and business practices. Once Enron has repaid the millions in
retiree pension money that has somehow vanished into Ken Lay's swimming
pool, and once Halliburton has refunded the millions in overcharges _still_
going on in the Mideast, there'll be plenty of time for yachting.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.tripod.com