Wow, you must have been in on some of our regattas! I think the only reason I was on the boat was to drive when the crew got too tanked to find the finish line ( I was too young to realize the fun of drinking & sailing).

I do recall one race on a 35+/- foot 4KSB where, upon the "tactician" (the guy who just stepped up the companionway and who was looking aft) said "Hey, we're the only ones with a spinnaker up", at which point the wind picked up, burying our leeward rail. My dad (steering at the time) had the tiller pinned on the opposite rail and said, calmly, "hold on..."

It is hard to recall what exactly transpired next above the din of clinking bottles and general chaos. Literally hanging vertically from the stb. lifeline watching untold numers of rum bottles and budweiser cans floating off the port rail, I believe we were in full broach position for almost 30 seconds. Eventually, someone thought "perhaps I should ease the spin sheet", which flew out of the **** and eventually flogged off the spinnaker entirely.

After it was determined all personnel were accounted for and no injuries, the crew made it clear in no uncertain terms that we HAD to retrieve the floating bottles so as not to be left carrying on without proper "motivation" to ensure our "safe return to the clubhouse". As a 4KSB, we hadn't really drifted far from the flotsam, so it was a matter of minutes to fetch said "motivation" (another reason I firmly believe I was aboard at the time).

Good times.

Maybe the advent of sportboats and high performance multihulls has led to the decline in drinking while racing. Of course, it might also have contributed to the rise in drinking AFTER racing, but that's another story....