my take...

ok - so you own a yacht... and it's going to race in a tournament... great...

but seriously...
is this the time?

i think, perhaps, that this might be perceived negatively by some...
perhaps as a degree of insensitivity...
and since some of the things he's said previously have rubbed that nerve the wrong way...

there are really only 2 ways to view this...

either he really DOESN'T care that people are upset he's out racing a yacht while the gulf goes to hell...
or he DOESN'T understand what the big deal is...

so he's either an asshole... or too dumb to breathe...

in neither case is he the guy you want running your company... if i'm a BP shareholder i'm looking for a replacement right now