Talking about news liners being in sync, after reading the December 19 article about the 35th America’s Cup concerns in the wake of the House of Assembly issue, I recall it being one of the first things I thought about on that eventful day of December 2. The thought that AC35, which is a classic sailing event, can run into sociopolitical turmoil is an absolute paradox given Bermuda’s history in sailing.

I sit at the edge of history when my generation would have seen the last vestiges of our sailing past. The long boats, or water taxis, had a lucrative business quite visible in Hamilton Harbour. More to the point, when somewhere around 1845 when Royal Bermuda Yacht Club had its opening, it received a letter of congratulatory support from the Native Bermudian Yacht Club, which was already prominently placed on the island in Hamilton Harbour and in operation and racing before RBYC.

The native yacht club was run by black Bermudian sailors that dominated the waters during those times. I am proud because one of the founders was my great-great-grandfather, George M. Deshield, and my great-great-great uncle, Richard Deshield, among others.

In those early mid 19th-century days, which coincide with the origins of the America’s Cup, racing was a popular Bermudian pastime. Given our seafaring prominence, it would be hard to conceive that we did not have some impact on aspects in its origin. Black sailors during those times, aside from racing their own ships, were hired by wealthy whites to sail their ships in many of these races. The history of sailing is mutual, our economy for many years survived on it. During the 18th century, two thirds of our workforce was engaged either in the sea or on land related to the seafaring economy. Races were inextricably entwined.

Today, with the changes in economic dynamics, the oceans have increasingly shifted towards wealth. Aside from the commercial fisherman, owning a boat is a luxury. Whether it is a motor craft or sailing vessel, the maintenance and upkeep is something the vast majority cannot afford. Thrusting and blowing engines during holidays, with dollar bills flowing out of the exhaust pipe, is a display of vanity and a gleeful show of opulence and class. Yachts and sailboats bring another level of opulence that separates the beer drinkers from the wine drinkers.

The America’s Cup is the top of the food chain of sailing, but in a sport where we are historically, hence culturally, enmeshed, it’s in our DNA. The big question is, why is it that the event is seen as an elite affair and not something the whole island embraces as akin to its history? Is it because of by whom and how it is being pitched? Is it because of the likely bump in tourism and visibility that gives its credence? Is it political modelling that shows what “we can do” versus “what they can’t”? Or is it just simply a great idea, which some naively thought would be embraced by all?

To have buy-in, there must be ownership. The subject of inclusion has no boundaries, particularly on an island this size. If the America’s Cup is under any threat, it’s a leadership problem because it is the leaders who have failed to sell not only the concept but the culture of it.

I began almost two years ago, when the America’s Cup idea first became public, with the axiom “this is our party, too”. I sit now on the sidelines, read the news and watch the drama unfold. This event is indeed our party, too, and that message needs to come from the rooftops.

Here we go again. Who is it that can sell that message and mean it with visceral passion? This may be the litmus test for the present leadership: to take a maritime event with such shared cultural history that is now seen as elitist and make that event not just a perception but of relevance to all.

I like to live with hope, and hope must be based on something very possible. I truly believe the America’s Cup is a blessing for Bermuda and we are fortunate to have it on our shores.

This is the Christmas season when the song Go tell it on the mountain is popular. Someone among the ranks of government must emerge with healing in their wings to “properly” tell this sailing story for Bermuda. This is our heritage, which we are wont to celebrate and we cannot allow the narrowness of privilege, absurdity, or the lack thereof, result in politics that take away our gifts.