| "Corinthianism in yachting is that attribute which represents participation in sport as distinct from gain and which also involves the acquirement of nautical experience through the love of the sport rather than through necessity or the hope of gain" |
The term has its origin in the ancient Isthmian Games held in Corinth on the year before and the year after the Olympic Games. Supposedly started to honor Poseidon, the god of the sea, by the mythical king Sisyphys in 523 BC, the games shared many characteristics of the Olympic Games, including a truce among states at war, free passage for athletes and spectators, and a strict code of amateurism for competitors.
Originally focused on gymnastics, equestrianism and music, the games expanded under Roman influence to include such crowd pleasers as chariot racing, boxing, and running. We shall read between the lines and assume that sailing was in there somewhere, ignoring the fact that recreational sailing did not really arise as a pasttime until millenia later.
Winners of the games were national heroes, entitled to a wreath of myrtle, olive, or pine (pine being sacred to Poseidon), and received a tax remission and a stipend, as well as privileges for their children.
The founders of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, in 1872, took note of these historical games, and referenced them in naming their club. This was to emphasize their desire that the members should helm their boats, rather than relying entirely on paid crew as was done at the other clubs of the time.
Similarly, our history tells us, the Corinthian Yacht Club of San Francisco was formed by a breakaway group from the San Francisco Yacht Club in 1886. Members desiring to focus on actually sailing their boats rather than just paying someone else to do it formed the CYC on its present site. They adopted the name "Corinthian" to emphasize their intent that sailors should be sailing for the love of the sport.
Thirty-seven other clubs that we have found have adopted the same name, with only occasional confusion.