Thursday, April 18, 2013

Do sailors trash talk?



Trash talk: disparaging, taunting, or boastful comments especially between opponents trying to intimidate each other.

The subject of trash talk came up on a fellow sailor's Facebook page.

Someone asked, "Do sailors trash talk?"

I'm not sure if the question was innocent or ironic.

Do sailors trash talk?

What do you think?

Do you enjoy trash talk on the race course?

Or does it offend you?

Do you have any favorite examples of sailing trash talk?


11 comments:

Andrew Burton said...

we had a famously vocal trash talker/good sailor on the race course here. after one start we were on his air and he was going on; "hey you were over at the start. You need to get out of here" I looked at him and said "If you are sure I was over (I hadn't heard our number called), I'll turn around." The implication being that if he was lying, he could expect a rule 2 or 69 protest. He shut up. And he toned his talk down substantially after that.
Do I think trash talk has a place on the race course? No. but then when I was growing up, we were told it was a gentleman's (and lady's) sport. This shouldn't be like basketball, a sport played by thugs.
But I guess I'm old-fashioned and I can do something else to entertain myself if it bothers me.

Tillerman said...

Andrew, telling people that they broke a rule, when they didn't, goes a bit beyond trash talk, I think. That really is cheating.

Personally, I do enjoy a bit of banter on the race course. But I guess there's a fine line between trash talk and Banter.

Keep Reaching said...

Trash talk or banter can also depend on how well you know the other sailor. In our little fleet we all know each other very well and we exchange remarks all the time and it is all good fun. But if some of the same remarks were directed at someone at a regatta I didn't know, then that may well cross the line.

Trash talk really has no place in any sport, but it also up to the targets of trash talk not to allow it to get to them - look at Zinedine Zidane's headbutt in the 2006 World Cup. As far as I know it has never been officially report exactly what the trash talk was from Marco Materazzi, but supposedly it involved commentary on Zinedine's mother and sister.



my2fish said...

Per Luna Rossa sailor David Carr, there is a "fine line between sporting banter and talking shit".

Tillerman said...

Mark R of Slipper Musings wrote about some sailor's trash talk the other day.

2000 Year Old Man said...

Back in my day, we only talked trash. That's all there was. It was 500 years before Anglo-Saxon.

We'd say things like, "Hey, where are you going with that trash? Put that trash down! You're going to make a mess with that trash."

We were so dumb. What did we know about protests?

/ Pam said...

Over at Improper Course, we’re politically incorrect and have been talking trash and taking pot shots at the Dallas Laser Fleet ever since they banned Doug from sailing with them because “he wouldn’t be good for the fleet” which later changed to "because he has a blog" (I wonder why?) I thank you for an opportunity to share (again) some of my favorite zingers:

Then, he [Doug] was called with Fred’s UHS penalty (unfair head start) and found himself so far back he was actually sailing with folks in the Dallas fleet (sorry … couldn’t resist a little smack talk … see Tillerman’s Rule #5).

After one of my [Doug’s] favorite sailors (said sarcastically) took some liberties with the rules, I took the liberty of sailing moderately aggressively against him. These actions prompted the sailor to offer me some unsolicited advice, sprinkled with lots of colorful language that somehow made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. After 8 races, I discarded a 3 and finished with 9 points. I must say it was one of my most satisfying wins in recent months.

Doug had to leave early and left the infamous Fred Schroth to accept his award for him and say his thank yous. He [Fred] demonstrated by pulling out a sheet of paper and reading from it 'you guys are a bunch of hacks and it's no fun sailing with you anymore ... goodbye.'

By the end of the day the 60 year old man wearing a t-shirt with the big blue Butterfly on his chest was completely devastated. He would have worn his hat cam but he didn't have a zoom lens that would have even picked up his nearest competition. In his worst race, he finished about a minute and fifteen seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.

Mark R said...

For me, it is as much about intonation and manner, as it is about what is said. The comment we had on Wednesday night was obviously meant in a light hearted manner, and we both found it very amusing - so I would certainly put it in the banter category. Our sailing session was enhanced by the banter.

Perhaps that would be a good definition: Trash talk detracts from the enjoyment of sailing, banter enhances it.

meech said...

I like the example of trash talk at urban dictionary, seems particularly applicable to a sailing race:
"I'm so fast you couldn't see me with a telescope"

Doc Häagen-Dazs said...

I am suppressing my trashy comment.....

san blas sailing said...

I have been watching trash talk in san blas sometimes..
i found one interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5WTu3uyFc

Post a Comment