Whatever happens, it seems likely to continue providing employment for the world-class
sailors this country seems to have no trouble producing. It's difficult to remember a time
when a Cup team didn't have at least one or two Kiwis aboard.
There are two reasons why it would be nice for ETNZ to win in San Francisco, apart from
attracting investment and creating jobs and the anticipation of an Auckland regatta. One is that it will hopefully restore some of the honour that once belonged to sport's oldest trophy, and the other is that it might put an end to the belief that those who are wealthy enough can buy success in what was once, and hopefully will again be, a sport for nations as opposed to mercenaries, not to mention the right to write the rules.
It is richly ironic that OTUSA has fallen foul of its own rules via what is universally seen as cheating in an earlier but related regatta, and that efforts are now being made to sheet home the blame for the puny penalty handed down to the outrage expressed by some New Zealand media.
There is no doubt that whoever was responsible for adding illegal weight to the smaller
catamarans cheated, the only real question being who knew about it. It is hard to believe
that knowledge stopped at four individuals, all well down the pecking order, but it doesn't really matter.
The standing down of four OTUSA team members, a relatively pathetic `fine' and the docking of two points won't make any difference to the outcome of the 34th America's Cup, but at least OTUSA and the rest of us now know that money can't buy a rule change. Nor can it buy remorse or shame.
Meanwhile, out here in the real world, we've seen several examples lately of things that
money can't buy, all much more positive than anything ever likely to be displayed by an
American billionaire.
For a start there's Whangaroa College student Charlotte Murray, who set out to per
suade the Far North District Council that Kaeo would benefit if it did its job and banned alcohol from most of its public places.
Liquor bans are no panacea, and like most Far North towns Kaeo has some work to do to
rein in its burglars and vandals, but here's one teenager who has shown more gumption than any number of elected decision-makers, and has achieved something worth celebrating.
Pity nominations for the council elections have closed, although perhaps there's a rule
that says councils and community boards can't do anything until a teenager asks them to.
The extraordinary efforts that went into supporting the Cancer Society's Daffodil Day
appeal is worth celebrating too, as is the success of Kaitaia's spring baby photo competition. Seventy six babies collectively raised $6807 for Kaitaia's Far North Hospice over a few weeks, much of that money being accrued by the old-fashioned method of one dollar at a time. Supporters of the winning baby raised $1102 by selling hangi and an awful lot of cup cakes. There's a lesson there for those whose first inclination is to look for a sponsor.
Kaitaia's Switzer Home, as it is still (inaccurately) referred to, has also tapped into a reliably rich vein of Far North generosity as it tries to find the money needed to build a secure dementia unit.
Some people are quietly dipping into their wallets, many of them anonymously, while
others are contributing with the sweat of their brows. Saturday night's masked ball at Te Ahu was by all accounts a great example of the latter, some of those who slaved away in the kitchen taking annual leave so they could do so.
The Kaitaia Rotary Club's recent book fair was less ambitious, but also benefited from a brand of generosity that might have been thought extinct. Young people, those of the generation who supposedly think only of themselves and treat rules with disdain, were
amongst those who fronted up unannounced, pitched in then quietly disappeared again. That probably doesn't happen in bigger towns, or at the America's Cup for that matter.
Last week, this newspaper ran a letter praising those who organised the visit to Kaitaia of
the champion Auckland high school rugby team, including old-fashioned hospitality, right down to billeting the visitors. Another great example of community spirit. The same could be said of the experiences of a pack of youngsters who headed south for a ten pin bowling tournament, and whose hurdles were detailed in another letter to this newspaper. Kindness and consideration met them at every turn, and the money that
cost was given in the true spirit of generosity.
Anyone who still doubts that the Far North has plenty to pat itself on the back for might
consider the recent science fair staged in Kerikeri, where any number of students were
recognised for their intelligence, diligence and vision. The public education system might get the staggers from time to time but every one of the kids whose work was displayed there will have plenty of doors to choose from in their adult lives. Anyone who fears, not without some cause, that today's younger generation is addicted to text messaging and Facebook should go to next year's fair, to reassure themselves
that some of our young people are excelling.
And we're proving too that we are prepared to stand up for what we believe in.
The response to an ugly confrontation in Kaitaia's main street two months ago continues
to spread positive ripples through the community, and last week a small but vociferous group of people made it clear that they do not want synthetic drugs in their town, whatever the law does and doesn't say.
The reality has always been that Wellington can't do much to protect people from harm, and positive changes generally have to be made by the locals.
Last week's protest was hardly a mass mobilisation of public anger, but it was a start, and will hopefully gather momentum.
Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, a few million more might make Oracle's boat go
faster. We shall see. But the Far North doesn't need the vicarious thrill of winning a yacht race to celebrate. We have all the reasons we need to do that right here
