Team Smurf
"TAKING THE PISS" is a Commonwealth term meaning to take liberties at the expense of others, or to be unreasonable. It is often used to mean (or confused with) taking the piss out of, which is an expression meaning to mock, tease, ridicule, or scoff. –Wikipedia
Well, LOL, count us in as confused, because this term popular with Aussie, Brit and Kiwi sailors, and hence widely heard in the America's Cup and at other grand prix events, is commonly used in the latter sense of the foregoing – "mock, tease, ridicule or scoff."
In honor of this photo taken Sunday morning on San Diego YC's front dock, SAILING ILLUSTRATED hereby establishes the "Taking the Piss" category of posts, and will be pleased to receive any and all reader submissions that are in good taste – more in the way of "Twinkle in the Eye" than ridicule or scoff.
Surely the crew of Tom Holthus' BADPAK (SDYC) enjoyed this little joke at their expense when they arrived at the Club Sunday morning. Unlike the other PAC 52 teams who are attired in the standard (these days) boring grey-black team gear (frankly, they look like a bunch of coal miners), BADPAK has bright blue tops matching their hull. Hence, they have been nicknamed "Team Smurf." We can only hope that more teams, grand prix or otherwise, take a page out of their more colorful book.
