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I

n 1998, I entered the Melia Palas Atenae Hotel

in Palma along with Saeed Hareb and his young

office manager Nayla Attiah. It was Saeed’s first

ISAF meeting since he had been chosen as a

Council member for the International Sailing Federation

annual meeting.

In 2014 on a return visit, I entered the same hotel in

early November for yet another ISAF meeting. The hotel

hadn’t changed and the group of delegates huddled over

a coffee table in the corner hadn’t changed except their

hair had got greyer. It did not bode well and I wasn’t to

be disappointed. My well-honed skepticism that things

would stay stagnant was sadly almost justified.

Much of the problem lies in ISAF is the Byzantium

system of governance. Whilst outwardly appearing

democratic, it is heavily tilted towards the group

of Western countries that first established the old

International Yacht Racing Union, ‘IYRU’ in 1906,

to later become ‘ISAF’ in 1994.

Sailing is an Olympic sport. And it is the Olympics

that fund a large part of the ISAF budget (nearly 65%).

Also, the IOC has strong (read dictatorial) views on any

participating Olympic sport when it comes to diversity

and fairness. When sailing became an Olympic sport,

money became an issue. In the countries with good

sailors, the member national authority (MNA) can

access funds from government, national Olympic

Committees and sponsors. More gold = more money,

simple. The IYRU ran the Olympic regatta and made the

rules. So the rules and the boats almost exclusively suited

the continent of Europe and the mythical continent of

North America.

By organizing the governance of IYRU with an unusual

power structure called “council”, the sailing body was

divided into groups that had an uncanny resemblance

to the old colonial period. Consequently, all the MNAs

that formed the sailing body did not get equal say, as

decisions are made by the council, despite the fact that

every year there is an annual

general meeting made up of the

individual members. In Council,

where the representatives are not

universally elected, there is not

even proportional representation

(one country = one vote), as some

countries get one and a half votes

and others less

than a tenth. To complicate matters

even more, the council is meant to

act on the expert committees (again

made up of unelected members)

and that is a very random process.

After the 1992 Barcelona Games,

the IOC started to restrict the

number of competitors and the

Olympics became very profitable. There are 28 sports

in the summer Olympics and they share the booty, not

evenly, but everyone gets money. But it is not just the

money from the Olympics; it is all the money that is

poured into these sports by governments trying to prove

they are the best. Sailing is no exception.

So, by cunning means, the more developed countries

have managed to keep most of the spoils to themselves.

That is up until now.

Apart from Tokyo in 1964, the Games have tended to be

mostly in a Western dominated arena. The IOC realized

that much more money can be made by including the rest

of the world’s continents, notably Asia then followed by

Africa. In 2000, after Sydney, the message went out to all

the summer Olympic sports, “be inclusive or get lost”.

That brought on the pain especially for ISAF.

ISAF have fumbled with the concept, tinkered with

the edges but not got very far until after Beijing when

the Asians finally got their act together. The Asian Sailing

Federation was overhauled in a fairly bloody manner

and they led the charge at the ISAF conference to change

the ISAF governance. Ably assisted by the Europe and

Oceania (that’s Australia, New Zealand and a whole

bunch of Pacific island nations) Continents they proposed

that much of the ISAF decision making be delegated to

the Continental Sailing Federations.

I won’t go into the details but the shock and horror was

palpable. At the same time that the fall of the Berlin wall

was being celebrated, the fall of another type of wall in

ISAF was not.

That’s how I got to be at the entrance of the hotel.

Along with the machinations over the Abu Dhabi World

Cup final it was going to be a busy week. And it was. I was

grateful for the presence of Moh’d Al Obaidly. Moh’d is

Abdulla Al Obaidly’s son who has studied in the USA on

a Presidential Scholarship and returned to work in Abu

Dhabi. His sharp mind provided valuable insights into

how we best proceed.

Sailing in Abu Dhabi is poised for a bright new future.

Add the Abu Dhabi Sport’s Council’s enthusiasm to

promote sailing and Abu Dhabi is possibly on the verge of

becoming a major regional sailing centre.

By the time this column hits the racks, the ISAF

Sailing World Cup Grand Final will have wrapped up. It

is another step to making every leg of the Sailing World

Cup a standalone event as, with the exception of Abu

Dhabi, the World Cup is part of an existing regatta. As a

standalone event, ISAF and the sailors can secure valuable

sponsorship and sailors can aspire to be professionals as

in golf or tennis. I could write long on this topic but the

editor made it clear that this was a guest column and I

wasn’t to drive the readers away.

If I’m asked back again I’ll go into the unfortunate state

of local keelboat racing. Until then have a nice sail on

some of the best waters in the world.

Sailing in Abu

Dhabi is poised

for a bright new

future. Abu

Dhabi is possibly

on the verge

of becoming a

major regional

sailing centre

Opinion Barry Harmsworth

Memories are not made of this

Barry Harmsworth returns to lament over the luffing tactics used by

the Western members of ISAF over its newer members, even if their

enthusiasm to compete is more than prominent.

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