Adventures

T-Shirt Etiquette and other preparations…

What a week, and wow there is some action to come as well.
To bring you up to my head spinning state…
Last weekend I was in Western Australia for the WA Tasar State Championships at the venue for the Tasar 2015 World Champs. We had an awesome weekend in the “south-west” including a trip to Wise Winery, which is just a must do! A big thanks to Kayne and Louise Binks for lending us their boat which we renamed “Sniffel” for the event. We scored a 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 in the 22 boat fleet and had a great time hanging with the locals and getting to know our surroundings for when we are back in under a months time for the 120 strong fleet! Going to be epic!
Here is this week’s show in case you want to listen in to the adventures, including a re-hash of the T-Shirt etiquitte protocols as we head into regatta season (see the full article below) and plenty of VX One action with Andrew York “Yorky”, a chat about the MC38’s with winning Dark Star skipper John Bacon, a catch up on what is to come in terms of photography with Andrea Francolini, and call from Klaus Lorenz who is in Miami for the Melges 32 World Champs with the Envy Scooters team!

This week already I have been to the Team Ragamuffin launch, and I was lucky enough to do interviews with Syd Fischer himself as well as two brilliant sailor girls, Liesl Tesch and Vanessa Dudley (amazing image above by Andrea Francolini). All the action will be in this week’s show.
On my radio show, I am about to head to Sail Sydney to see if I can touch base with a few legends, I will also have a wrap of Abu Dhabi and a preview of the Big Boat race next Tuesday and the Extreme Sailing Series!
So we can both get our heads around what is on for Sunset Radio this week, here is a list of my line up for this week! I will be broadcasting live at the following events:

  • Sunday 1800 AEST for my regular show direct from Woollahra as Sail Sydney wraps up
  • Tuesday from 0930 AEST for the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge
  • Thursday – Sunday for the Extreme Sailing Series in Sydney – stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter and this website for more precise times!

Also coming up I have live broadcasts for:

  • Rolex Sydney Hobart
  • Tasar World Championships
  • Moth Worlds
  • Volvo Ocean Race in port race and leg start, Auckland

So yes….. that is why my head is spinning!
So many preparations, for so many adventures… and I am so so excited to be sharing them with you!
Sailor Girl xx
T-Shirt Etiquette, by Andrew York

If you have not already become aware of it there is an art to wearing the right clothing at a sailing regatta. I am not talking about your Brian Rockford tracksuit or your Polo shirt (Lacoste is old hat) but your humble T-shirt. You can tell everything about the sailor by the T-shirt he wears.
It has been common practice since before the Ark to sell T-shirts at regattas, so any sailor worth his salt should have a wardrobe full of them. But for those of you are new to the game or have not had the sense to partake of the ritual of buying T-shirts at regattas, here is some advice.
When you go to your next regatta buy a T-shirt, but under no circumstances should you wear it there. Put it away for use later. Rule number one of T-shirt etiquette is: Do not wear the T-shirt of the regatta that you are at. If you do this it is like wearing a neon sign telling everyone that you are a rank amateur.
Now if you are new to sailing it is acceptable to wear T-shirts from your previous sport to the first few regattas. T-shirts emblazoned with “1982 Ice Hockey World Championship” or “Olympic Rowing Team” will create a good impression with your new friends. But if you do not have any of these an old America’s Cup one damning the New York Yacht Club will do.
At your second regatta you may think “you beauty I’ll wear the T-shirt of my first regatta”. If you do and it was held only a few weeks earlier you had better be careful not to run into any smart arses who will ask you that embarrassing question. How did you go?
After a season or two you might have a nice little collection coming along. This is when you can feel at ease pulling out a T-shirt to wear. You will not be caught out at any three day regatta but you are still only at the first plateau on your climb to become a master of the art of T-shirt etiquette.
Now if you have been in your class for quite a few years and have not been getting any where near the top of the fleet, wearing all the right T-shirts will not be impressing anyone because they will all recognize you. Your only alternative is to get out of the class and start off in another one. It may not be the most constructive step if you wish to improve your sailing but it will improve the diversity of your collection no end.
To make the best impression on your new friends wear the T-shirts from your previous class to the regattas in your new one. This brings us to rule number two of T-shirt etiquette: When wearing T-shirts at a regatta a T-shirt from a different class out ranks any T-shirts of the class you are sailing in. The above rule is generally true but there are a couple of exceptions I will quickly run through. If you are sailing in the Etchells Nationals your 1970 Sabot T-shirt is not going to impress anyone so leave it at home. This applies to all your junior class T-shirts if you are over 21. The exception is your Shell Youthsail T-shirt. This T-shirt tells everyone that you are exceptionally talented to be chosen to attend or that you come from a hick town where others are more backward at sailing than you are. It is acceptable to wear this into your mid-twenties and if you have a mate with a screen printer you can keep on wearing it after he has neatly screened “Coach” onto it.
If you are good looking, talented and happen to have bribed a few selection committees so that you have secured a place in your class’s World Championships or at least a major regatta overseas the next step is easy. It is a well known fact world-wide that a T-shirt from an overseas regatta is worth a cupboard full of local ones. So buy the T-shirt of the regatta and keep your eyes open for a T-shirt you like. When you see one just stroll up to the guy wearing it and offer to trade. If he does not like the one you are wearing tell him about the great ones in your collection back at the motel. If he says he has a great collection also it is polite to offer to bring your collection around to his place for the big trade. However if it appears that he is wearing his only good T-shirt drag him around to your place and rip the shirt off his back as soon as he has chosen one of yours. It is obvious that he knows less about T-shirt etiquette than you, so he is not worth wasting any more time with.
Americans are masters at the art of T-shirt swapping and usually bring a suitcase full just to swap. They are however suckers for the quality Australian product and you may be able to get three or four to one with a couple of your best T-shirts.
The Japanese seem to have really neat designs on their T-shirts but you have to get in early to find the biggest guy from Japan at the regatta to swap with.
Just as T-shirts from overseas are valued, the ones from the most remote places are prized. The Poms who work in Saudi Arabia however are dumb enough to let you trade one for one for their Red Sea Sailing Club T-shirts if you can talk fast enough.
By now it should be clear that the correctly chosen T-shirt is the ultimate status symbol. To make the biggest impression you simply wear the T-shirt you brought back from overseas when you were sailing in the World Championships in another class.
Congratulations you can hold your head high as you are now a master of the art of T-shirt etiquette. There is only one way you can improve on this and I think it has already been done. Win the America’s Cup against the yanks for the first time in 132 years and become a national celebrity. Then all you have to do is embroider the initials J.B. onto your T-shirts.

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