Sailing World July - August 2015

WE’RE SITTING BENEATH an umbrella, avoiding the high-noon rays searing the South Seas Island Resort in Captiva, Fla. It’s boiling hot, but Marty’s blood is running hotter. The morning races of NorthU. Performance Race Week were disastrous—at least in Marty’s mind—and the afternoon’s final championship races are looming. “I’m done,” he says, throwing his hands in the air, signaling his surrender. “I didn’t come here to embarrass myself. I’m 65, and I have no business being on the foredeck in those kind of conditions.” He stands and walks away. As Marty’s coach for the week, as well as for his teammates Susan, David, and Diane, I’m perplexed. I look to his wife, Susan, who, by her deadpan expression, isn’t as surprised as I. “Is he serious? I ask. “Should I…

AT 18 TONS, 105 feet, and 74 feet of beam, getting Lending Club 2 off the dock is a feat. It’s an orchestrated exit involving an army wrestling spring lines, and two motorboats. Of the total tonnage, the sails alone account for two. Four people must drag the medium gennaker to the forward trampoline, and four grinders work in shifts to hoist the behemoth mainsail to the top of the 140-foot mast. With 25 knots of boatspeed, and its windward hull flying, the boat is remarkably stable. The lack of wetted surface and the sheer amount of sail area means acceleration in puffs is instant. Its boat captain, Jan Majer, says the trimaran is capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. There’s some serious power in the sailplan, but…

RETIRED GREEN BERET Command Sergeant Major Nelson Corbin is the embodiment of a piece of granite. A career Special Forces officer with the U.S. Army, Corbin stands 6'5" with biceps resembling a bazooka. He has served seven tours of duty with Army Special Ops, and was one of the few Americans who helped hunt down Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in 1993. His 26 years of service have come with significant consequences. He has been “blown-up” and has shrapnel lodged in his side. He suffers hearing loss and has battled brain cancer. His son, Chris, lost both of his legs after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan. Nothing rattles Corbin harder than a fellow veteran, staring down the barrel of a gun, ready to commit suicide because the effects of…

SINCE ORACLE TEAM USA won the America’s Cup in September 2013, instability has been the keynote of the regatta’s organizers—in every direction possible. It took 15 months to decide on a venue for the defense. To everyone’s dismay, the choice was Bermuda, which is not even in the United States of America. Three months passed with much to and fro, until the first day of April, when Luna Rossa dropped its bombshell—withdrawing from the competition. It wasn’t the foot-stamping action of an angry Italian boss, rather the considered action of a principled syndicate head sufficiently thwarted in his challenge. Hiding behind an excuse that a size reduction of the boats was essential to reduce the cost of the regatta, rather than admit the chosen venue was too small for the…

MAGNUS GEDDA IS one of the most vital sailors of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet. Although the technician and service manager from Sweden has yet to sail a single mile of the race, his responsibility is oversight of each of the fleet’s 75-horsepower, 2-liter Volvo diesel engines. Without a dedicated generator onboard, the engine is, as the manufacturers say, the heart of the yacht. In some way or another, everything is inextricably tied to its reliability: from canting the keel to powering the watermaker, the navigation, and the power-hungry communications equipment. SAILING WORLD The engines must take a beating during the race; How bad is it? GEDDA When the boat goes straight into a wave and stops, the engine, which weighs over 550 pounds, will want to keep going forward.…

FOR MOST American Olympic sailing hopefuls, making the national team is half the battle. Beyond rigorous training and a demanding travel schedule, athletes will often compete through multiple quadrenniums before they can expect to be medal contenders. The US Sailing Team Sperry’s focus on development supports young athletes along this path, but newcomers Paris Henken and Helena Scutt have the opportunity of a new class to catapult themselves closer to the end goal. “Paris and Helena are very young to be in the positon they’re in,” says Charlie McKee, US Sailing’s High Performance Director. “Normally, you would say it’s not realistic to contend for a medal at their ages [Scutt is 23, and Henken is 19]. The difference here is that this is a new class, so there are no…