A few days ago a colleague whom I had yet to meet in person but with whom I’d been in contact by phone and email and with whom I share a love of the sea, referred to me as his “sea brother”. That surprised me, but pleased me greatly I have to say.

The 2010 or 2011 edition of the America’s Cup will go down in history for its prologue. And not just for the legal and naval battles it’s generated. The latter by the way may see two multihulls competing for the Cup – but that’s something we’ll only know for certain when the final ruling is made on February 10th. The big news really though is the veritable scrum of teams that have decided to give it a go.

Seen from above, an aircraft carrier looks like a small airport: the runway takes up 80% of the main deck from which also rises an imposing steel control tower bristling with antennae and parabolas. As I drew nearer to the Garibaldi, it suddenly looked enormous, a grey mastodon floating in the blue of the Mediterranean, a small rectangle of Italy plying the ocean wave.

What is it exactly that makes classic boat rallies so different from modern ones? The boats, you might encounter. But no. It really has nothing to do with the boats but the attitude of the sailors themselves (whose age by the way is probably nearer that of their wooden craft than not).