What an Abbott Yngling and a Guild Guitar Have in Common
Turns out, matching equipment to one's expectations is a really bad idea.
January 17, 2011
When we won the 2004 Yngling Olympic Trials, the first person I wanted to thank (after my teammates and husband) was Bill Abbott. Bill had built our boat, but that was only part of why I was so grateful. What I really wanted to thank him for was his attitude.
The decision to buy a new Abbott Yngling eventually led to winning the 2004 Olympic Trials.
Flashback to November, 2000: The Yngling is announced as the new Olympic women’s keelboat. Teams scramble into threesomes and good boats are scarce. Because winning the Trials is a long shot and I don’t yet have any teammates, I figure I’ll buy a boat appropriate to my expectations. In other words, something that's been around the block a few times, rather than a new Olympic-ready speedster.
“That’s a really bad idea,” Bill told me when I called to ask about a used boat I’d seen advertised. “You want to compete with the big girls, you’ve gotta have top notch equipment.”
Now Bill’s a two-time Olympian, so I figured I should listen. He’s also the consummate soft-sell; after an hour on the phone with him I rushed to mail out a deposit check for a new boat. (FYI, the molds hadn’t even been built yet.)
A few years later, I made a seemingly unrelated purchase: a really nice Guild guitar to replace the mediocre Yamaha that I'd had since my tenth birthday. A ridiculous splurge? Perhaps; I will never play at a caliber to match my new six string. But having such a nice instrument does inspire me to play more, and it definitely helps me play better. My equipment is leading the way, just like it did in the Yngling.
Fortunately, purchasing that nice guitar didn’t eat into my savings as much as a brand new Abbott race boat. But it reinforces Bill's philosophy: the unexpected benefits of using equipment that is much better than me.
The new boat, four months after sending in the deposit—and only weeks before the first team qualifying regatta
Bill’s approach (along with the two excellent boats he eventually built for our team) was a large part of our successful Olympic campaign. The commitment I showed by purchasing a new ride encouraged two great sailors to join my team, which led to a big regatta win in 2002 and earned us the #1 slot on the US Sailing Team. Suddenly we were players, one of the “big girls.” Something we never would’ve accomplished in a used boat.
By the time we won two races at the Olympics in our second Abbott Yngling, it didn’t matter one bit whether Bill had really believed in my ability or was simply trying to close the deal. What mattered is that we never would’ve made it to the Games without adopting his attitude: buy equipment that will lead the way.
Dennis Conner won back the America’s Cup the same way. He called it No Excuse to Lose.
Since our trip to the Games only six years ago, the Olympic campaign trail has changed drastically here in the US. Sailors compete full-time, and international performance leads directly to significant financial support. For 2012, Women’s Match Racing (which replaced the Women's Keelboat event) will sail supplied Elliott 6m's, moving the top-quality boat variable from sailors to organizers. For 2016, the equipment list will likely be different again.
Winning the 2002 Rolex Miami OCR in our new boat.
But the Olympics, for most of us, is the end of the campaign trail. To get there, the top-notch equipment need remains the same.
Outside the Olympic world, different classes have vastly different gaps between “top end” new and used boats, as well as a wide variety of “affordable” used boats. In the Snipe Class, used boats hold their value for years because the class rules specify a very stiff hull laminate. Boats riding the development curve (like Moths and 49ers) will have a shorter competitive life span. But every class has its two categories; the bulk that will fill out a local fleet, and the few that are capable of winning international championships.
Most of the time, decisions between a boat that’s “okay” and one that is “top-notch” are a lot less obvious than my fateful Yngling decision—and a lot more important than my guitar purchase. With no Olympic Trials on the line and less time and effort devoted to sailing, it is much harder to justify a top quality boat.
So why should that great ride still be a high priority, no matter what your sailing goals? Because it’s the easiest thing to get right.
Of course pocketbooks and their depth will ultimately determine our boat choices. But stretching the wallet to buy a top end boat might just mean we commit more time and effort to sailing.
And it will definitely make the sailing more fun, knowing our equipment is leading the way.
