by John Zisa

All good parties have two things in common, a live band and an open bar. It’s a given. Add to those vital ingredients a room full of family, friends, shore crew, volunteers and of course the adventurers; legends of the sport and you’ve got one hell of a shindig!

This was no ordinary regatta prize giving; skippers and organizers shook hands like suave newly elected politicians at their victory party, blue bloods positioned themselves to be seen with best of the ‘yachting crowd’, Irishmen translated for the Japanese, English translated for the Irish and free Tommy gear bags hung on the back of chairs ready to claimed. In the background support crews and family breathed a collective sigh of relief, friends and volunteers all happy to relax after months of urgent planning and scheming. Indeed this was less a prize-giving, more a party that was showing signs of finding its groove, and that groove was aimed at the stars.

Dinner was announced and the hungry herd piled under the big tent for a beautifully presented meal of beef and salmon, roasted potatoes and greens complimented by fine Dry Creek Vineyards red or white wine; a far cry from freeze dried grub. Brian Hancock introduced himself as the MC for the evening, thanking everyone in attendance with emphasis on the skippers and sponsors, as proper etiquette would dictate! Moving and amazing yarns of past and present adventurers convinced the crowd that the Around Alone event is more than just a race, but represents a whole way of life for many of the sailing hardcore.

The anticipated award ceremony took a long time coming and upon claiming their prizes each competitor reacted with differences that reflected their character. Two men of imposing presence, Brad Van Liew and Tim Kent shared their exhilaration with the whole assembly giving inspiring speeches; their facial expressions are permanently etched in my memory. Alan Paris professed his love for sailing as the reason for taking his time to finish each leg and laughingly condemned the fastest skippers as impatient sailors who obviously did not love their sport enough! A satellite telephone call to Spirit of Canada’s Derek Hatfield, still at sea enroute to Newport allowed him to give his thanks and give an update on his progress. Alan Paris nodded in approval at a kindred spirit who obviously wanted to spend as much time on his boat as possible and the whole assembly spared a thought to a man who was missing free Tommy gear! Derek was in attendance in every way but physical.

It was time for this gig to fire up and there is nothing better than a drunkard to get everyone into the party mood. Enter, Simone Bianchetti whose hilariously inebriated acceptance speech was coarse enough to make a construction worker cringe. If there was a woman’s leg to be humped, it was. Husbands, sons and boyfriends were advised to go home so he could teach their women how to be women; and that’s close as I can get to a quote! Hat’s off to Bruce Schwab for defending the honor of his mom.

As the tables were cleared, the band was introduced. Having gone down a storm at Emma Richard’s birthday party in England it was decided to fly them out from England to rock Newport. These professional entertainers had the dance floor filled within seconds of taking the stage. A stray passer by would have been impressed by an abundance of white man’s overbite (including mine), flashing arms, gyrating hips, swift footwork and a clumsy Italian “No guilt” approach to dancing from Simone. The party went on full bore for the rest of the evening, in fact there was clearly no desire to stop at mid night as most attended the after hours party which made this a two day party marathon! The massed assembly crowded the bar, dance floor and…..brickhouse, (Yes, the head was actually in a brick house).

The Around Alone race is presented as a professional event, which in a way it is, but what separates it from other high profile sailing events, is its focus on humanity. The race isn’t about winning for every skipper. Some are adventurers racing in highly tuned machines who end up in debt for years if not for life as a result of feeding their passion. The race is also about the shore crews who have traveled the world (and its no paid holiday!) to keep these race boats running, repaired and reliable. And there is the long suffering significant others who allow the skippers to disappear around the world for months at a time. Most important, perhaps are the supporters who cut high dollar value checks to the competitors, with little or absolutely no return apart from the knowledge that they feed a hungry but exhilarating sport with funds.

These people follow a different route in life. By choosing sailing as their occupation they forego following the normal route up the ladder of life, searching for riches, power and authority. Money is simply a necessary tool needed to accomplish a higher goal of pushing their sport to a new limit, making money is not the goal. So what do they get from it? Freedom, solitude, a personal test? Ask the skippers, there are as many different motivations as there are boats in the Around Alone race!