Mr Justice Holman, a High Court judge well-versed in Family law … sorry, quick digression. Family law almost always is divorce or incredibly unpleasant cases involving child abuse; anything in fact to make for unhappy families.
Anyway, to get back on tack, Justice Holman said last week that prenuptial agreements are not normally “slam dunks” when couples split and fight over money. His opinion is, I’m sure, sound but I’m interested in his use of the term slam dunk. Erroneously I believed it to be a manoeuvre on a sailing boat when there is a man overboard, namely to turn the boat around as quickly as possible to return to the location of the missing crew member.
I now find that it is a decisive winning shot in basket ball and I’m impressed at the breadth of the judge’s knowledge. So often judges are seen as being out of touch with things – “who are the Beatles?” I have never seen Sir James Holman playing basket ball although he is tall enough to be a good player. I have seen him sailing and that is why I am surprised at his using the phrase slam dunk in its basket ball sense. In sailing terminology it means something entirely different and with no relevance apparent to me to prenuptial agreements. David Dellenbaugh on his website Sailing Breezes explains.
The “Slam Dunk” Tack
In the slam dunk maneuver, a boat on starboard tack (S) crosses just ahead of a port tacker (P) and then tacks as P is ducking her. If S does this right, she will end up with total control, to windward and slightly ahead of P. Though this maneuver is commonly used in match racing, it’s a bit risky for fleet racing, and you don’t normally need that kind of control over one other boat. However, I am including it here because it’s educational from a rules point of view.
As the two boats converge with each other on opposite tacks (positions 1 and 2), S has the right of way (rule 10) so P decides to keep clear by ducking. At postion 3, P begins to bear off to pass astern of S, and S starts luffing into a tack. S still has the right of way here, but according to rule 16.1 (Changing Course), if S changes her course (as she is doing) she must give P room to keep clear. In addition, S may not change her course if as a result P would immediately need to change course to keep clear (rule 16.2).
So S has to be careful here. She wants to tack as soon as possible to pin P, but she can’t change her course right in front of P. Usually the best move for S is to wait until P bears off enough so her bow is pointing behind S’s stern. Then S can turn fully into a tack, since this course change will no longer interfere with P.
At position 4, S is head to wind and still on starboard tack, so she still has the right of way. However, once when turns a little more she is subject to rule 13 and must begin keeping clear of P. At position 5, rule 13 turns off. S is now a windward boat and in control.
A bit lost on the man over board reference. Doesn’t seem to feature in your excerpt from Sailing Breezes.
I had always thought that “slam dunk” referred to the most advanced biscuit dunking manoeuvre when the whole biscuit is submerged in the cup of tea and removed for consumption before any disintegration occurs. This would be more Sir James than basketball.
A “slam dunk” occurs when a basketball player with the ball jumps up higher than the rim of the basket and literally forces/stuffs the ball through the net HARD. Sometimes, after getting the ball through the net, the player will hold onto the rim for a nanosecond and sway gracefully in mid-air (usually with a look of satisfaction).
The “slam dunk” in basketball is a joy to watch because it demonstrates skill, athletic talent and intimidating self-confidence. There is never any doubt when the player jumps up with the ball during the prelude to the “slam dunk” that he will miss the shot.
In divorce proceedings, a pre-nup is no guarantee that the agreement will go through the net with any force for a score.