There is video footage taken when oneAustralia cracked apart and sank during the America's Cup race in 1995. There are national awards presented yearly to top sailors at fancy banquets. There is even a machine that simulates the experience of sailing - without the user ever getting in the water.
The sport of sailing has no shortage of drama, history or gadgetry, but until yesterday when Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced that a Sailing Hall of Fame would be established in Annapolis, the sport had no single place to tell its full story.
"It will inspire sailors and get the youth out there and preserve the history of sailing," said Gary Jobson, an Annapolis-based sailing commentator for ESPN who has been trying to create a sailing hall of fame for years. "It will provide an international sailing landmark for sailing enthusiasts."
Jobson added that the Hall of Fame would cement Annapolis' reputation as a sailing capital. Newport, R.I. - another city that often boasts of its sailing - is home to the tennis hall of fame, Jobson noted.
Jobson, who sailed alongside Ted Turner on Courageous when they won the America's Cup in 1977 and has been an outspoken advocate for the sport, was also given the honorary title Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay by Ehrlich at yesterday's event. Jobson is the 17th sailor to be given the title.
While the details for the Sailing Hall of Fame - and what will be in it - are being hammered out, organizers said yesterday that they hope it will be a repository for all things sailing.
"This has opportunity written all over it," said Janet C. Baxter, the president of U.S. Sailing, an organization that governs the sport. "It is the opportunity to showcase the sport."
In remarks at the announcement, Ehrlich stressed the tourism potential of a new hall.
"We appreciate the sport," he said. "As political leaders, we appreciate the importance of the [boating] industry and the jobs and the dollars. ... It is a beautiful day to be governor."
He added: "Visitors will come and spend dollars and go home - which is perfect."
The America's Cup Hall of Fame at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, R.I., attracts 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a year, said Norene Rickson, a librarian at the museum. Mystic Seaport, a sprawling sailing center in Connecticut, attracts about 300,000 visitors a year, said Peter Glankoff, a spokesman.
