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Dave Perry: winning in life


Author of the one book our editor unfailingly recommends to every novice and aspiring champion he meets, this is one sailor he has banged on about interviewing for years. Ex-Olympian Carol Cronin finally answered the call…


Whenever I’m challenged to explain our sport to non-sailors I borrow a metaphor from Dave Perry’s first book that describes sailing’s field of play as a football field – one that’s constantly changing in both dimen- sions and texture, forcing players to adjust on the fly. Thirty-five years later Winning in One Designs is still a (the – ed) must-read textbook on what its author calls ‘possibly the most complex sport in the world’. I’ve always admired Dave’s ability to


communicate clearly (and usually humor- ously) with any audience, so it was an honour to share a November lunch with


50 SEAHORSE


him at his alma mater, Yale Corinthian Yacht Club (YCYC, pronounced ‘Yik- Yik’). Surrounded by walls full of trophies and photos, we spent a few hours wander- ing along the timeline of his life to under- stand how he became such a respected sailor, sportsman, teacher and rules guru. ‘I was born in 1954, into a family that


loves sailing,’ Dave begins, sliding his feet out of his customary flip-flops to cross one bare foot over the other knee. He still lives in Southport, Connecticut, a former seaport at the western end of Long Island Sound. ‘We lived a five-minute walk from the Pequot Yacht Club. Even before I was in the junior programme I used to go and help sweep out in the morning. I was a little wharf rat.’ Dave has five younger sisters, and ‘every


one of us was into sailing’. His dad raced Atlantics, and their mom also sailed now and then. ‘I just couldn’t wait to get on a boat. It was as natural as having breakfast.’ When Dave was eight his father showed


up at little league practice with a Sunfish on the car roof. Once dad was confident that Dave could right the boat himself, ‘he


just let me go’. His best day’s sailing ever was at nine years old, on a day with small craft warnings; his dad helped him rig and pushed him out onto the choppy harbour. ‘I was bouncing off the rocks, but that’s a Sunfish! And my grandmother sees me out there and calls my dad: “Do you know that David’s out there?” My dad says, “He is??”’ Dave laughs. ‘Oh God, I loved it.’ He also remembers seaweed fights, and


popping rudders off other kids’ Sunfish. ‘We didn’t even start junior sailing until 10 years old. You did your first race at 12, and that’d be on a Blue Jay.’ The combination of Blue Jays (for the


kids) and Lightnings (for the adults) was perfect, he continues. ‘Three kids on a boat, right? You could go under the deck; I’d have little forts, and comic books, and Bazooka gum. Pulling the cover over like a tent… I don’t even know what we did, we just had so much fun.’ In his early teens he began crewing in


the Lightning. Looking back, results were less important than learning seamanship skills and what he calls the ‘adult-youth synergy’ that was so formative for him. This leads to an observation that


age-limited learning – so popular today – doesn’t help create lifelong sailors. ‘I wouldn’t have made [a sailing career] if it weren’t for my pretty relaxed upbringing.’ Another important aspect of that child-


hood was excellent competition. Though he first met his lifelong friend David Dellen- baugh at little league practice, their compe- tition on the water started quite young and hasn’t stopped. ‘He’s only a year older, but


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