ats Seem to Win

ometime ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Lilliland Lake, in the center of Lilliland, was large enough to permit racing on weekends. The sailboat club at the marina had a place to store and rent boats. A visiting sailor could store his own boat or rent a boat just for the race. The size of the boat for the race had to be 19 or 20 feet long with a single sail and no gas engine power. A two-man crew was also required.

Over the last few months some sailors from other areas, following all the requirements, brought in their catamaran boats. The only difference was basically they had two hulls rather than just one.

The catamarans, nicknamed “cats,” were agile and fast. There was no competition for them. They won most of the races. There was a storm of protest that the two-hulled boats should not be allowed to compete in the same race and on the same course.

“It is only a sport and everyone should have an enjoyable time,” many of the cat owners complained. But still the concern raged on.

Finally, there were many ideas of what to do. One idea was to have cats and regular sailboats race on different days. Others thought they should race on different parts of the lake. Since no one could decide, they asked Professor Hamblin, the Baron’s chief advisor, to make a suggestion that would be satisfactory to everyone.

Finally, the professor came up with a unique plan that was very simple. “Just let everyone race the same as before, on the same race course. The only difference would be that the cats and the regular sailboats would both end at the finish line. The cats would complete against the cats and the sailboats would complete against the other sailboats.”

All the sailors agreed to give it a try and it worked. They all agreed not to get in each other’s way and when overtaking and passing, they would pass on the port, or left, side.

Everyone liked the trial race and they all decided to keep using the plan.

The Baron congratulated the Professor on his wonderful idea. It was a fair idea that everyone could live with. Sailing is a sport that most people in Lilliland enjoy very much.