Whereas doing a little critical spring cleansing the opposite day (I’ve now realized that apparently I’m a hoarder), I got here throughout just a few pictures from again within the day – 1988 to be actual.
This photo is of my sizzling little gf on the time, and me posing with the SDYC Lipton Cup, which my staff and I had simply received crusing the sunshine air IOR rocket, the N/M 41 Reliance. representing SDYC. This boat was initially ordered by Dennis Conner, and was a semi-turbo model of the 41’s, of which just a few have been made. God rattling, was it fast. Considered one of my favourite boats ever.
On the identical weekend, DC and the Stars and Stripes America’s Cup catamaran have been out practising and came visiting to us, apparently to want us nicely . What transpired subsequent left all of us speechless, embarrassed, and shocked.
As they sailed by, Dennis yelled over to us, “I need to want all the crew of Reliance good luck, apart from John ‘Benedict Arnold’ Craig, who’s a traitor and doesn’t belong on that boat.”
What within the precise fuck??
Precisely. The backstory is that John Craig, now retired, labored for Stars and Stripes throughout the earlier America’s Cup, however when Sir Michael Fay introduced his problem for the 88 Cup, JC, being a Kiwi, went to work for the Kiwi staff. No actual shock there. JC and I sailed many miles collectively, with a ton of them on Reliance, so it was solely pure that I selected him to be part of the Lipton Cup staff.
To additional illustrate DC’s obvious vitriol for Craig, earlier than the Lipton Cup, he had the late and really nice Jack Sutphen name me to the membership for a non-public assembly. Jack knowledgeable me that the board (learn: DC) would like if I didn’t have Craig on Reliance for the regatta.
Holy christ on a crutch! Speak about being placed on the spot, fuck! Sutphen was such a superb man, and I might inform he clearly regretted being put in such a place to ask this of me, however proper then and there, I needed to decide – Ought to I do what the Membership (DC) needed and kick Craig off the boat as a way to keep within the good graces of the Membership and DC. Or ought to I again my expensive buddy and hold the crew intact?
I needed to course of all of this in a short time, realizing full nicely that if I selected to maintain Craig, the membership might simply take away me as skipper and exchange me with every other excellent sailors from the membership.
I mentally mentioned “Fuck it”, rolled the cube, and informed Mr. Sutphen that I wouldn’t sail the boat with out Craig on the boat. What a ballsy, some would say silly or boastful or regardless of the fuck type of transfer, however I felt a real want to stay up for my buddy and easily didn’t need to bend the knee.
Jack thanked me and mentioned he can be in contact. To say that I used to be on pins and needles for a pair days can be an understatement. Right here I used to be, on the precipice of getting the chance to be the skipper in a massively essential occasion for the Membership. Had I simply thrown that away?
When the decision got here from Jack, he mentioned that he appreciated my loyalty to the crew, and the Membership was blissful for me to proceed as skipper of the boat, and that additionally included John Craig.
OMFG, I stared down the beast and received! Now motivated greater than ever – if that was even potential, we went on to compile a 1-3-1 document, and efficiently received the Lipton Cup!
Whereas a few of my quotes will not be precisely phrase for phrase, that is precisely how this story went down.
Anarchy dominated!