racing over the ’90s and certainly also high-end racing becoming more and more professional, early on Piet decided not to follow the trend of having a pro team and constantly building new, nor having a one-design or box-rule boat. So he continued his handicap racing, crewed with mainly amateur
sailors, accepting the pros and cons, and focusing on local racing whether from Breskens or Cowes, his second home, plus extending the season and the fun by racing in the Caribbean. Piet was certainly not a follower of fashion when it came to choice
of boats, certainly not once no longer focused on the Admiral’s Cup. Whether building new or buying secondhand the offshore potential played a large role in his decisions. And, as I see it, besides ‘being different’ there was often an element of loyalty in his decisions, recognising previous efforts, successes and friendships. Over the past 15 years he often questioned me about the TP52,
Piet Vroon (above) and racing his successful Ker 46 Tonnerre. This design delivered a string of wins including class victories in the Caribbean 600 in 2011 and 2014, the 2010 Round Britain and Ireland and the 2010 Round Ireland Race. Her 51ft successor, Varuna, also designed by Ker, competed with similar distinction until Piet Vroon finally stepped back from offshore racing in 2016
he rightly felt Breskens was a much better place to race. It was Piet’s close friend and helmsman Frans Maas who in
1964 designed and built (in steel) Piet’s first Tonnerre de Breskens which raced in the Dutch team in the 1965 and 1967 Admiral’s Cups. In 1973 Maas renamed his by now internationally renowned yard Standfast Yachts and so Piet had three boats called Standfast, a name originating from the Scottish Grant whisky family’s clan motto ‘Stand Fast’ – distiller Charles Grant Gordon being one of the early clients of the Maas yard. ‘Stand fast’ suited Piet perfectly. The polyester Standfast 40, designed in 1971, was the most
successful boat the yard produced, with 116 launched by 1984. Piet, Charly and Frans had their 40, Standfast II, built in 1972/73 with which they raced the Admiral’s Cup in ’73 and ’75. Before that they raced the 1971 Admiral’s Cup with a Standfast 43 and for the 1977 Admiral’s Cup had a new 40 built, Standfast III. In 1975 the Standfast 40 Goodwin owned by Dutchman Jan van Drongelen was part of the Dutch Admiral’s Cup team and won its class in the Fastnet; second were Piet, Charly and Frans with Standfast II… Late ’78 Piet bought the Ron Holland 44 Marionette VI, built by
Joyce Bros in alloy, and renamed her Formidable. He raced her as part of the Dutch team in the ’79 and ’81 Admiral’s Cups and the ’80 and ’82 Sardinia Cups. Formidable II was a Dubois 43 built by Woof Brothers (UK) in 1983. That year Formidable II was part of the Japanese Admiral’s Cup team, then in 1984 Piet took her to the Onion Patch, Bermuda Race and Sardinia Cup. In 1985 Piet raced the Admiral’s Cup for Belgium. But Piet always had to have a boat in Breskens, just in case he felt like going out… ‘for a spin’. I remember a Hylas Frers 51 named Magicand a Standfast 47 named Cash Flow. Formidable IIIwas launched in 2005, a Lutra 56, but before that
came Tonnerre de Breskens II, Piet’s 2001 Fastnet winner, a Lutra 52 built in 1997 by Green Marine. Piet had had to wait till 2001 to win the Fastnet Race overall, his 20th attempt by then. Other big 21st century wins followed including joint 2010 RORC
Yacht of the Year with a Ker 46, plus the Jazz Trophy for winning IRC overall and the Stradivarius Trophy for best overseas yacht. Repeat wins followed in 2011 and 2013 plus in 2013 the Keith Ludlow Trophy for Piet personally as the navigator of the yacht that comes first in IRC overall… not much to argue there. The Ker 46 also produced class wins at the RORC Caribbean
600 in 2011 and 2014, the 2010 Round Britain & Ireland and the 2010 Round Ireland Race overall win. In 2014 Piet bought the Ker 51 Varuna, renamed her Tonnerre de Breskens IV and competed in both the 2015 (3rd in IRC 0) and 2016 (6th in IRC 0) Caribbean 600 races, aged 85, facing tough competition from the Maxi72s. With her he also won 2015 Cowes Week in 2015 and the IRC National Championship in class. As you can see, Piet and his team won countless races, mainly in the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland and the Caribbean, but also in the Med and USA. Thinking it all over, I guess after the hectic ’70s and ’80s with
Admiral’s Cup and Sardinia Cup racing, including selection trials with plenty of other events in the mix, then the demise of team
and why they are so successful. In a way he knew the answers but he kept checking his observations, ‘confirming’ his own choices. A very good listener and observer, open to the ever-changing world around him, while on the other hand loyal to the people and methods that got him as far as he did... doing things his way. Piet was committed to fair sailing, at the level he sailed in the
’70s and ’80s not always the norm. Frans Maas and Piet for sure loved to tinker with boats and were not shy to experiment where they expected a rating advantage, but in all my years with my ears to the ground and racing next to them I never had reason to doubt how they raced or how their boats rated. Once asked what attracted him to yacht racing Piet answered
‘the challenge’. To continue with ‘And then it becomes a habit’. Piet rarely needed a long sentence to pin a person or situation
down. Such short observations can come across as blunt and, sure, Piet could be blunt, but as I know him he rather avoided that, trusting his charm and reputation to make things go his way. He liked company and gave a lot of space to those around him. Inevitably sometimes you will then be disappointed, all in the game. From a small fishing village in Zeelandic Flanders Piet will have
been raised to be careful of city folks from Holland, with their big city attitudes. Typically anything north of the Westerschelde is still called ‘de overkant’ (the other side) in Breskens and the people living there ‘overkanters’ (from the other side). Spending time in another country, where as a foreigner you are
‘excused’ the local class system, can be refreshing. Piet did not get fully accepted straightaway by the traditional Dutch sailing elite and was even refused membership of one of our yacht clubs carrying the royal label. ‘Not interested in a farmer from Zeeland’, as Piet explained the refusal. Nevertheless, decades later he was welcome so he joined, no grudge. Piet fully supported another Dutch offshore racing institution, the Noordzee Club, a club much like the Storm Trysail Club in the USA. The past 25 years as Honorary Member. Piet enjoyed all team aspects, and not just when racing. With
his crew having a beer, a dinner, a chat, a laugh. Taking personal interest was his strength; his charisma and charm won him many friends around the globe, loyalty from employees and nice business deals. I am sure it more than once got him out of trouble. I did not set out to write this column as an obituary but foremost
to share with sailors worldwide that there are many ways to enjoy our sport, and illustrate this at the hand of the choices Piet made. I guess the only option he never considered till very late in life was to stop racing. He raced his way and obviously that way got adjusted to the options available over time, but not many will have the Round Britain and Ireland on their bucket list, certainly not at 80+. Financially, certainly later on, Piet had more options than most
but wisely stuck to the size of boat you still have a chance to sail competitively offshore with amateur crew, around 50ft. With age he slowly became less active onboard which in a 2015 interview he commented on in his typical dry style: ‘Now I am ballast my job is to keep the cheque book dry and not fall overboard.’ To continue with, ‘But keeping the boat upright is terribly important
for its performance’. Be assured that also as ballast Piet enjoyed his racing and did not miss much of what was going on. Sail on, Piet: widower, partner, father, grandfather, sailor, skipper,
friend, entrepreneur, boss, ‘king’, legend. Rob Weiland, TP52 class manager
q SEAHORSE 37
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