An item from last night's Suttlebutt by Tucker Thompson follows. We see his writing from time to time in Spin Sheet and some of us will remember him talking twice at the 2002 Winter Program when Alain Vincey chaired this activity. We all have different passions, whether it be watching Royalty at the State Capital, NASCAR, or in the case of one of my old friends and past member, John Adams, living to beat Tim Blackwood just one more time. Whatever turns you on, you have to get a warm and fuzzy from reading Tucker's article. If you are not into warm and fuzzies stop reading right here.

SCUTTLEBUTT 2342 ˆ May 11, 2007 (www.sailingscuttlebutt.com)

Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing).

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (Tucker Thompson is in Valencia, Spain, and is part of the Versus television team of commentators providing coverage of the America's Cup. Thompson will be filing reports for Scuttlebutt through the end of the 32nd America's Cup Finals, providing his unique behind-the-scenes perspective.)

Sailing needs the America‚s Cup. There are those who do not like the event, and it is easy to criticize from their homes and offices about sometimes boring races, slow boats, exorbitant budgets, and giant egos. And these are the people who love sailing just as much as the rest of us. But most of us can only relate to what we know. So if it seems there is too much money being spent on carbon fiber giants being followed by frenzied media and captained by the super wealthy than it is fair to say that most will see much more personal reward on a good beat to windward aboard their own boat at home. That is fair enough, but I would hasten to bet that the America‚s Cup critics are for the most part very likely to be those who have not had the pleasure of seeing this spectacle in all of its grandeur first hand. I had not seen it either.

Something magical takes place, however, when you first walk through the Port America‚s Cup gates and see these floating titans first hand. You can feel the energy of the crew, and it resonates through the vast crowds. The impressive bases line the waterfront in orderly fashion. The Cup village is a virtual sailing city. You pass multitudes of sailing themed restaurants and bars and stores with little brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton and all sorts of America‚s Cup memorabilia. It‚s hard not to be awed by the history of this event when you see the model exhibit of all 31 previous Cup winners and photos of sailing‚s most respected legends. Then you come to a towering building that seems to stretch towards the sea, and there on the second floor in the middle of a crowd sits the 156 year old Cup itself. You can‚t help but be impressed, and you haven‚t even seen the sailing yet! -- Complete report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/t2p