Jonathan wrote:

Yet a question about wax will generate more conversation here.

Jonathan, if it weren't for dreamers willing to take chances, we'd never
have come ashore in the first place. Perhaps the reason a "wax thread" gets
more business here than a "why not subsidize this" thread is that practical
day-to-day people are interested in practical day-to-day" things. All
politics is local, or something similar.

I have listened to the "technical trickle-down" theory of offshore racing
for a very long time, and I must admit that there are certainly aspects of
everyday sailing that have benefited from offshore exotica. But asking
folks to pay for an individual's dream is, in many cases, just another
instance of dueling with windmills.

Not that I don't wish you guys all the best. Be careful out there.

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

Armond Perretta wrote:

But asking
folks to pay for an individual's dream is, in many cases, just another
instance of dueling with windmills.

Actually, many innovative efforts depended mostly on private belivers
because large enterprises favor conservative CYA in their investments.
When large company comes "on-line" it's either because they see a
no-brainer profit or because one individual can call his personal shots
regardless. We don't have any real obvious profit here, and the
individual aspect is just a one person contributing, writ very large.

I suspect that real (bureaucratic) corporate money would essentially
squeeze out Bruce Schwab, at least in the medium to long run. So this
situation looks to me to be normal not in any sense an U.S. peculiarity.

I suspect that his best bet would still be the individual appeal to
people close to boating. There are likely only 200 or fewer monied or
connected families or individuals in the U.S. that are "into" boating.
An inclusive list probably exists in the records of any of the America's
Cup programs of the past 10 years. This would be the first place to
promote this type of project. Besides direct donations, these people
could be asked to legitimize Bruce's program amoung their immediate
peers, as well as the local sailing community. William F Buckley springs
to mind. He loved sailing and his son spent much time with him on boats.
That is the sort of person I'm talking about, where you get a solid
sailing connection in the family with a certain amount of money and
potential influence.

After that (continuously repeated) appeal, it would make sense to ensure
that small sailing clubs around the U.S. knew his name and dream and
make sure that it's totally easy to make a small contribution. Ideally,
he'd put his name in front of every sailer out there, and some kind of
pyramid scheme would be needed to do this. Small clubs and groups seem
the most likely way to get started. Perhaps a "need list" or wish list
of small items which small groups or individuals could contribute would
allow them to get involved. Heck, maybe Doyle would agree to "retire"
one of his sails after the race and have it inscribed with the name of
every individual who contributed - then it could be hung or "flown" at
the Maritine museum in SF for one year or something. Thousands of
tourists go through there every year, and daddy could show his name to
his kids...

People respond to the opportunity to make a difference and/or to be
recognized and Bruce actually has much more to offer in this respect
than most other racers. However, grass roots movements need some
fanatical genius to manage and organize all the bits and pieces and that
person is hard to find.

Rufus

Armond Perretta wrote:

But asking
folks to pay for an individual's dream is, in many cases, just another
instance of dueling with windmills.

Actually, many innovative efforts depended mostly on private belivers
because large enterprises favor conservative CYA in their investments.
When large company comes "on-line" it's either because they see a
no-brainer profit or because one individual can call his personal shots
regardless. We don't have any real obvious profit here, and the
individual aspect is just a one person contributing, writ very large.

I suspect that real (bureaucratic) corporate money would essentially
squeeze out Bruce Schwab, at least in the medium to long run. So this
situation looks to me to be normal not in any sense an U.S. peculiarity.

I suspect that his best bet would still be the individual appeal to
people close to boating. There are likely only 200 or fewer monied or
connected families or individuals in the U.S. that are "into" boating.
An inclusive list probably exists in the records of any of the America's
Cup programs of the past 10 years. This would be the first place to
promote this type of project. Besides direct donations, these people
could be asked to legitimize Bruce's program amoung their immediate
peers, as well as the local sailing community. William F Buckley springs
to mind. He loved sailing and his son spent much time with him on boats.
That is the sort of person I'm talking about, where you get a solid
sailing connection in the family with a certain amount of money and
potential influence.

After that (continuously repeated) appeal, it would make sense to ensure
that small sailing clubs around the U.S. knew his name and dream and
make sure that it's totally easy to make a small contribution. Ideally,
he'd put his name in front of every sailer out there, and some kind of
pyramid scheme would be needed to do this. Small clubs and groups seem
the most likely way to get started. Perhaps a "need list" or wish list
of small items which small groups or individuals could contribute would
allow them to get involved. Heck, maybe Doyle would agree to "retire"
one of his sails after the race and have it inscribed with the name of
every individual who contributed - then it could be hung or "flown" at
the Maritine museum in SF for one year or something. Thousands of
tourists go through there every year, and daddy could show his name to
his kids...

People respond to the opportunity to make a difference and/or to be
recognized and Bruce actually has much more to offer in this respect
than most other racers. However, grass roots movements need some
fanatical genius to manage and organize all the bits and pieces and that
person is hard to find.

Rufus