Update


One less well-known piece of the scow puzzle that was reignited when David Raison and his Mini thrashed the Mini Transat fleet in 2011. To windward in this shot from 1901 is eventual Cup Defender Columbia while to leeward is Thomas Lawson’s little heard of scow Independence. Lawson’s was an impulsive entry into the Cup trials: he refused to join the New York YC and so was ineligible even had he won selection. As it was, the unusual yacht’s first races went poorly against her conventional rivals… but then she began improving dramatically with every outing. It is now generally conceded that the Bowdoin Crowninshield designed Independence was the fastest yacht afloat that Cup summer… though certainly fragile. Once eliminated, Lawson had his likely breakthrough boat scrapped at Lawley’s of Boston who had built her; she was in commission for a total of three months


role of anyone on the boat as back-up or if someone is actually missing. We have a boat captain, a composites expert, a boatbuilder and a sailmaker. These are what we refer to as our human capital skills, above and beyond just being sailors. You let the people you surround yourself with deal with situations according to their skillset. SH: How do you manage the radio traffic in an emergency? CE:VHF communication can be challenging, especially when dealing with multiple languages, but that is the reality of what we do sailing around the world. We have a crisis plan which is required by the race organisers, and this is helpful as it is important that things happen in the right order. For instance, the boat captain checks for damage, the navigator communicates with the relevant boats. A lot of things happen at the same time. In my position as skipper I am usually the one ensuring those things happen efficiently and when necessary simultaneously – but some things take the entire effort of the crew. SH: And where do you position yourself physically? CE: Whoever’s running the operation should be careful not to be on the helm as then you are stuck there. So the companionway is a good place once things settle down. Having said that, the fastest way to square away a boat and drop sails is in your race positions. SH: How do you remove the chaos from a chaotic situation? CE: A lot of the decisions are made when you choose who to surround yourself with. This crew has so much Volvo experience. We have a saying onboard: ‘It’s never the first mistake that is the


12 SEAHORSE


problem, it’s the second mistake…’ You really have to assess the situation clearly and ensure you are not doing more harm than good. SH: When it matters, how accessible is the emergency equipment? CE: Very accessible. It has a dedicated stacking bag and everyone knows what colour it is. Even when we are stacking in a normal race situation the safety equipment is prioritised, and so we are very aware exactly where it is. SH: Alex Gough went over the side on Scallywag but he was able to assist in his own recovery. How do you get a person out of the water if they are injured or unconscious? CE:We have a well-practised system with a swimmer on each watch. But we evaluate the risk for the conditions extremely carefully and assess how well we can manoeuvre the boat prior to ever putting a crewmember in the water. SH: You were in Hong Kong – how did you first hear of what happened? SH: Watching the tracker. As more information became available the official crisis plan kicked in. Our team manager was informed by race control that there was an incident. He and I spoke and headed down to the race village and both of us became integral to the crisis-management process with the VOR and sponsors, plus of course next of kin and families. SH: When you did rejoin them what was important for you to do? CE:Be as supportive as possible. Being removed from the situation


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