New Year, New Angles

Evening briefing, SAIL 2011 Flotilla in BVIs

It is pretty hard to make a five year plan as a journalist. Sure there are the goals of writing for different mainstream publications, adapting/advancing pure journalistic approaches in new media platforms and even making new business alliances. But one thing I have always been suprised by is the diversity in stories and new angles on seemingly straightforward ideas.

SAIL Magazine BVI Flotilla 2011

Here’s an example. This fall I was invited by Sail magazine to be a guest expert on an adventure flotilla through the BVIs with Sunsail. In addition to assisting the other eight boats with their navigation, sail trim and generally enabling them to find their own cruising cadence and confidence, I realized that the flotilla concept was a very new thing to Americans. Though there were some foreigners on the trip, the itinerary was looser than the European model which has a more ducks-in-a-row approach.

There is a lot to be learned from bareboat chartering in groups and some online articles, videos and print features will be helpful to the vast majority of sailors who would like to be more adventurous in their sailing but need a slight safety net and even a nudge to get going.

I began reporting on non-racing yachting events with my coverage of the 2011 World ARC, a fantastic around the world cruise-in-company if you will. I was with the group in Grenada and wrote about it for Sail. Then I covered the more entry level offshore event associated with the World ARC which is the Caribbean 1500, bringing sailors from Hampton Virginia this fall to either the Bahamas or the Virgin Islands. What a fascinating angle to our sport. These rallies are growing in numbers each year and there is a lot of inspiration to be found for sailors and non-sailors.

PUMA recovering mast in first leg of 2011 Volvo Ocean Race

On the racing front, I have been challenged to be covering the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race again, both I have written about in the New York Times in 2011. The new format of the AC has put a sginificant amount of emphasis on the “show” being a main component of competition. The new challenge is to educate readers on the exciting nature of the game while drawing them in through the people. A feat yet to be done, in my estimation, by any media yet. The same holds true with the Volvo. Though most coverage in the mainstream comes from breakdowns and disaster, it is time to use new media to our benefit to show the mainstream audiences all the pieces of what is inherently a very compelling event.

There has to be a way to give mainstream and even sailing-saavy audiences a taste for the robust and far-reaching connections both ends of the sport have in common: a thirst for adventure in a very pure sense, one found in very few experiences.

Legends of the Fall

Early 1980s US Sailing Team Poster: Perry and Ullman included

It has been quite some time since I have posted, but fortunately that time has been filled with travel and assignments that I hope we all will be reading throughout this fall and winter. From researching green home design for an article to interviewing filmmakers and boatbuilders, my writing has taken me through some diverse concepts this year. It was the National Sailing Hall of Fame‘s induction ceremony last week, however, that captured my imagination and passions.

Now in its sixth year, the Hall finally had it’s inaugural induction putting it, and the sport, on the map along with the mainstream sports that have their own meccas for worshiping fans. I have been writing about the Hall since it’s inception and am in regular contact with Lee Tawney, one of the masterminds behind the facility in Annapolis. Watching clips of the ceremony held at San Diego Yacht Club brought back memories of flipping through Yacht Racing and Cruising magazine, seeing Buddy Melges in a Star, Dennis Conner driving a blue-hulled (and blue-decked) Williwaw with a blooper flying, Ted Hood in a sail ad and of course Ted Turner in his train engineers hat.

The striking take away from all these legends of our sport who are now officially recognized is their entrepreneurial spirit. Whether it is the traits they have developed as a sailor that have allowed each and every one of them to knock-it-out of the park in their businesses or their business saavy that has helped them become successful in sailing, or both, who knows?

Think about it, most of the major brands in sailing are the last names of famous yachtsmen. Just take sailmaking alone: North, Ullman, Hood are all enormous companies internationally. In boats, one stands out, too: Hobie Cat. Hobie Alter was also inducted last week.

I gained some insight into this phenomenon while sailing in the US Match Racing Championships in Newport Beach two weeks ago. I had the pleasure of racing with Dave Perry, our country’s most notable rules expert and one of the most recognized sailors in our sport, and stayed with Dave and Linda Ullman. What a treat that was. Ullman, among other accolades, is a three-time 470 world champion. He sailed in the late 1970s and early ’80s with fellow Californian Tom Linskey whom I worked with when I was an intern at Sail magazine.

I asked Ullman why there are so many top sailors who also have started and run successful businesses. He delivered his answer with a chuckle and then a hint of anxiety: “I had a kid on the way, so I had to do something!” Like many top sailors of that time, before sponsorship was truly in play, Ullman had to create his own career that also supported his goals of winning championships and going to the Olympic Games. “For me it was not as emotional, it was a job,” he said one morning at breakfast, in between trading stories of crazy sailors and regattas of the past. “My family understood that I was at work. Sailing and winning was part of my business.”

Dave Perry (l) and Dave Ullman, Newport Beach, CA

More than three decades later, Ullman Sails is an international brand, well known and respected. Ullman was in the process of opening another European loft while I was in Newport Beach. I look forward to learning more about the path of legends like Ullman and Lowell North that took them through sailing and business success. They basically hung up a shingle outside a garage with their name on it and that’s how it began.

I believe there is a lot we can all learn from them and we can certainly all relate as sailors. For the young sailors today who just want to sail and see school or work as a burden, the stories of Ullman and the crop of Hall of Fame inductees this year could be the spark needed make those critical connections all successful people make where everything starts to make sense, and you can earn a living off of your passion.

Talking with Giants

I had the pleasure this week of working with yacht designer du jour Juan Kouyoumdjian and waterman/surfing legend Laird Hamilton for an article in The New York Times. I will have more time to explain the wonderful nuances between thes extraordinary people but for now enjoy the piece.

80 years old and almost ready to win

Tom Lihan sorts out Totem's forestay. He's 6'4" 225lbs, fits fine!

It has been a natural fit for me to cover classic yacht racing and restoration. Our first boat was Totem, a 1930 6 Metre designed and built by AE “Bill” Luders in Stamford, CT. With a new owner, Jesse Smith, I raced with her in the 2009 World Cup in Newport. Now, I am helping the team prepare for the 2011 World Cup this August in Helsinki.

I have written about the evolution of tuning up vintage sailboats and motorboats for The New York Times, Sailing World, Classic Boat, Newport Life and Wooden Boat to name just a few. I have lectured on the topic and I am just starting to see why art and antique car collectors have lifelong addictions. Old boats, paintings, cars are all tangible connections to the past. They are tactile and visceral. Everyone gets it when they touch one of these objects.

For this World Cup, I will once again be writing about the event. This time, it will be even more special. Finland is the home of the world’s larges six metre fleet. There are predicted to be nearly 50 classic sixes competing for the Djinn Trophy. Imagine 50 boats designed and built between 1920 and 1952, each a one-of-a-kind speed needle in wood, lining up on a staring line and racing as hard as at an Olympics. What a sight it will be, especially considering that five of the medalists from the 1952 Olympics, held in Helsinki and the last time six metres were used in the Games, will be there, including all three medalists.

Elizabth X, left, and Totem tuning May 26, Narragansett Bay

For Totem, we have been learning from the last World Cup and completed a tuning session for boatspeed and new  sails last week. Totem is a rare six in that most top boats now use aluminum rigs and laminate/spectra sails. Totem endeavors to beat those boats with a wooden mast and traditional white sails, bronze and wood hardware but with modern lines (all in white) and under-deck ball bearing blocks. Our team is Jesse Smith, Tim Fallon (two-time team race world champion) on mainsheet, Dave Moffet (J/24 world champion) trimming jib and spinnaker, Tom Lihan (Multi-naitonal and international champion in Etchells, Finns and superyachts) and me, the bow guy.

Lihan (white hat) and Fallon (blue hat) sort out Etchells cross-training

Our work last week was an extension of our spring cross training in Etchells 22s in Annapolis where we worked on crew work, boathandling and teambuilding. Gary Jobson, yachting luminary and president of US Sailing, was even there to spar with us. Last week we refined our below-deck systems, documented the fast settings for the mast and refined our ideas on new sails with legendary sailor Mike Toppa from North Sails Florida.

I will keep you appraised of how it goes. No matter what, it is shaping up to be the most spectacular sailing event I can imagine. What other race is this deep in history and talent?

Bringing America’s Cup Judges into the fold

Steve Clark prepares the 1/4 scale C-Class wing

Just when we thought legal controversies in the America’s cup were over, the switch in the all-powerful Challenger of Record in mid-May popped up. It just so happened I had the privilege of speaking before the New York State Bar Association that week about the “new” America’s Cup. Perfect timing!

I get asked to speak on topics I have covered for newspapers and magazines and in this case, through word-of-mouth, the Bar Association found me. This was their spring meeting, held in Newport, where they discuss the wonderful mentorship programs they advance and work with legislators to streamline laws and systems. They asked me to be the after dinner entertainment and bring them up to speed on the changes in the 34th AC. They were racing vintage 12 Meters the next day…when in Newport.

It is daunting to say the least to speak in front of such an intelligent and astute group, but adding to my tension was the fact that Judge Shirley Kornreich, who adjudicated the final 2009 AC litigation, and Judge Victoria Graffeo, the appellate judge in the AC case, were both in the audience. I immediately, at the opening cocktail party, made note to those I spoke with that I will not try and speak intelligently to this group regarding AC legal wranglings as I was in over my head considering the company. It brought up a few lawyer jokes but my evening was punctuated by my conversations with Judge Kornreich and Judge Graffeo.

Both spoke with me about how absolutely foreign the yachting world was to them and the attorneys. They both pored over technical and historic books on the sport just to get a better grasp on yacht design, what makes a boat faster, how a sailboat race is held and so on. In the end, they were both still a little in the dark about the finer points but realized that the Deed of Gift is a contract, and that , in the Commercial Litigation Division, they knew well.

As I explained to the audience the current AC model, how we came to this, and what they should expect, everyone (even after a full New England clam bake and ice cream), was visibly excited about the new format with rocket-fast catamarans and POV cameras. In the end they understood how the AC got here, why the event needs to appeal to a broader audience to sustain and be competitive in sport for advertising, broadcast rights and sponsorships. It’s important to note, however, that along the way I described the lifestyles of the crews, and the skippers, how much they get paid, the vagabond lifestyle, the evolution of professional sailors and the upcoming rivalries and personalities that will make the event truly exciting to follow. That is not seen in current promotions for the event but I know they will get there.

AC talk setup, Newport Hyatt, Goat Island

When Judge Graffeo and her assistant came up after the talk to thank me, she was fascinated with the 1/4 scale working model of a C-Class catamaran on display. The basic setup of this intricate and very light carbon model, was similar to AC 45s. Legendary designer and high speed craft spiritual leader Steve Clark supplied the model and I was fortunate enough to watch him apply a new skin to the wing in his rustic shop in Warren, RI, that morning.

Judge Graffeo’s first question as she felt around the slender red hulls was, “Is there a place to sleep? Where do they sit? Do they use the AC boats just for racing or other times too?” Great questions and really to the point. A general audience wants to know these things and currently we have cut to the chase and left viewers in the lurch. It was fascinating to see a group so well versed on a significant chapter in the AC, wanting to know about the basics. I believe the represent a good general audience, inqusitive, common sensical. More people stories, more basics, I heard them loud and clear and I believe the AC folks will be addressing this in their upcoming coverage. No matter what it will be unlike anything we have seen.

Stunning Spice Island

Just a few photos of today’s tour.

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Grenadian Way Of Life

Today the World ARC ralliers took a tour of the island and saw the amazing diversity of life here, from school children waving and smiling to monkeys hopping on their backs in a dense and colorful rain forest.

I was fortunate to tag along and enjoy some time away from the water with these intelligent and quite well traveled and experienced sailors. This was a wonderful time to sample local rums at a distillery that has been in operation since the 1700s and talk about life back home – retirement, children and future adventures.

Below is a clip of a local shuffling the drying beans at a chocolate factory. A mundane but essential task for the production of delectable chocolate.

Where’s my dinghy?

The crew aboard Eowyn explain the misfortunes of their rival, the Portuguese.

Love Connection

World ARC event manager Paul Tetlow explains why singles have hope sailing around the world.

Anatomy of a Dismasting

Michael Neumann explains how Basia was dismasted on March 16.