Even though I’m a words-first journalist, I’ve never questioned the 1:1,000 ratio colloquially applied to words and pictures. If anything, it might be a touch low. Sometimes, however, it’s hard to know exactly which words apply. Such is the case with the rather ordinary photo at right, which I took on Sunday, the final day of the 2010 Melges 32 Gold Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It actually says a lot about the event and the class.

Crash Davis spent three weeks in The Show once. For the better part of a month, the fictional hero of the Bull Durham hit white balls for batting practice, did his windsprints in modern-day cathedrals of concrete, sifted sand, and precision-cut grass, had someone else carry his bags, ordered room service whenever he was hungry, and made long-legged, brainy women swoon.

When it comes to buoy racing, today was my longest day. I refrained from using that for the headline out of respect for all the Allied soldiers (my grandfather included) who participated in the Normandy Invasion. That title is, in my book, retired. No day will ever be longer.

© Michael Lovett

Skipper Bill Porter and bowman Joe Lauver sail Conundrum out to the racing area on Day 2 of the 2010 J/22 North American Championship.

For many competitors, the final day of the 2010 J/22 North American Championship was a disappointment. A lack of wind prevented racing—though it didn't prevent the RC from towing the 51-boat fleet several miles out into Lake Erie, where we spent the next few hours bobbing around in a wavy, though windless, sea. 

When the committee abandoned racing at 1:30 p.m., the real race began: the race to pack up and go home. Aboard Bill Porter's Conundrum, we were lucky enough to pick up the first tow, which put us near the front of the line for the hoist.