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More correspondence from you on the subject of our impending subscription, Wight Lightning and Oracle

Sunday March 10th 2002, Author: Andy Nicholson, Location: United Kingdom
Feedback on the proposed name of Peter Harrison's new GBR Challenger - Wight Lightning
From Matthew Barton
Nice to have an America's Cup boat named after the cheap, strong cider that many underage drinkers cut their teeth on. Must be a sponsorship opportunity in this somewhere...

Interesting. My first thought about 'Wight Lightning' was that it was something out of the Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta flick Grease and thus we would be seeing Peter Harrison's boys with lard in their hair, revving their engines on a Saturday night...

From Penny Aikenhead
It may be a little too obvious to some, but I think that it is time that the Isle of Wight was recognised for the amazing contribution it has made to the popularity of British Sailing. A good name and a clever pun.

Or perhaps the Isle of Wight could recognise the amazing contribution yachting has made to their local economy?

From Donald Tofias
To my British friends: I like the name 'Wight Lightning'. We truly enjoyed our first time on the Isle of Wight last summer on W-class racing yachts Wild Horses and White Wings - one of our best regattas ever. The people of Cowes were wonderful after 50 years of sailing - the 'round island race (my personal best day racing on the water ever), the weather, the water, the nautical history coming alive, beating America's elapsed time.
But here in the States the mention of 'White lightnin'- would mean moonshine or illegal booze, made deep in the valleys of the rural south, transported in fast modified cars to elude the police and federal revenue agents (in those fast cars lie the roots of today's nascar racers, so it does connote speed), but I hope not anything illicit. Might I suggest the tender for- 'Wight Lightning' be named Southern Cracker you get that double meaning too I hope.

Southern Cracker might have been more appropriate for the old OneAustralia...

From Matt Willis
Not really the stuff of America's Cup legend, is it? Too many connotations of dodgy cider... Having said that, most of the recent America's Cup campaigns haven't really been blessed with catchy and inspiring names either. TNZ didn't even bother to give their winning yacht a moniker last time around. Challengers seem to go for 'Young/One/[insert country name here]' approach or the name of the company that sponsors them. What happened to the days when the names of the yachts said something about the country that they represented - i.e. 'Endeavor', 'Resolute', 'Crusader', 'Enterprise', 'Southern Cross', 'Intrepid'? Perhaps I'm getting old, but it seems the GBR lads have missed a trick here. Still, it could have been worse - it could have been 'Jubilee Joy'.

Yes, it could have been much, much worse...

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