Update
board. He writes a monthly newsletter and doesn’t mention the board. Historically the board members have had responsibilities as liaisons to committees and efforts.’ As if an autocratic president wasn’t enough, Andersen inherited a CEO who ‘had no time for the World Sailing board and treated it like an inconvenient advisory group’. During his own board tenure Jobson stepped in and helped with
marketing and media, particularly during the organisation’s branding change from ISAF to World Sailing. According to Jobson, with decades of experience with ESPN and NBC covering the America’s Cup, the Olympics and a lot in between, ‘It was a natural. But Andy [Hunt, the inherited CEO] didn’t want any help. Nor did Kim Andersen. The result was that we spent way too much money doing live TV and didn’t make enough revenue off of it to justify the expense.’ According to Jobson, World Sailing stepped into an arena it wasn’t
prepared for: ‘The event business is incredibly expensive and hard to fund. Andersen and Hunt spent way too much money.’ In fact, World Sailing spent money like a crew of drunken sailors
and chugged through its largest revenue source, its quadrennium disbursement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) well before the quad came to an end. Adding insult to injury, the Covid pandemic hit and the 2020 Olympics were postponed. Andersen, World Sailing’s executive staff and board went into overdrive to keep the ship from sinking. The executive staff took mandatory pay cuts and worked from home while efforts were made to stave off defaulting on the lease for World Sailing’s central London offices. They also filed for payroll protection; searched for a replacement
for Hunt, who gave his notice in October 2019; tried to secure a line of credit; and waited with bated breath for the IOC to dole out bridge loans to member sports federations. Jobson: ‘The so-called “line of credit” comes from World Sailing’s own reserve fund. That’s the principal you never want to touch.’
Remaining in the media mix At home in Annapolis under lockdown Jobson couldn’t be busier. Everyone who is tuning into US Sailing’s Starboard Portal is familiar with Jobson’s office library, complete with its semicircular desk and walls lined with books and memorabilia of a strenuous life in sailing, media and community volunteering. Jobson has a relationship with practically every elite sailor and
is at ease interviewing Rolex Yachtsmen and Yachtswomen of the Year winners, including friend, navigator, inventor and colleague in introducing the double-handed mixed offshore event to the Olympic sailing line-up, Stan Honey. Of all the contributions that Jobson has made to World Sailing during his tenure as vice- president, the new offshore event that will be added to the Paris 2024 line-up of Olympic Sailing events is his capstone, and he has been a proponent of it since day one. With salesmanship and aplomb that would make Turner proud Jobson rolls right into the benefits of the event. ‘At the Olympics
we are supposed to represent how our sport is played. Most sailing is done in offshore boats and in keelboats. The mixed crew proved to be incredibly successful with the Nacra 17. The event will take place in provided boats. They’ll be simple – only three sails, so it’s not an arms race. ‘It’s perfect for Paris 2024. The French are so good at offshore
and shorthanded sailing. It will be a three-day, two-night event that will start and finish in a nice place. It’s made for TV and perfect for the following LA Olympics. We can do interviews from off the boats. We can use Stan’s nifty graphics so you can check in on your favourite teams around the clock. Fans can even compete against the Olympians via an e-game, which was widely successful with the Volvo Ocean Race. ‘Some people question the expense, but we will be able to sell
the boats after the event, just as we do with other provided equip- ment like the Lasers. The event achieved overwhelming support with 86 per cent of the MNAs voting in favour of it.’ Anticipating viewing the event with his imprimatur, Jobson
concluded, ‘Eight years from now no one will remember who championed the event through World Sailing committees or how it got done. I’ll be leaning against a mast on some boat or watching it with friends and will say, ‘Oh! How cool!’’
Final pitch Jobson, not one to go gently into that good night, shares his convictions on World Sailing and the upcoming elections. ‘Going forward, World Sailing’s basic operations need to be addressed. We need to get back to the nuts and bolts of being a service organ- isation that oversees measurement, adjudicates on rules and grows the sport. Going into the event business was incredibly expensive and hard to fund. World Sailing needs to reset and focus on the basics. Andersen and Hunt spent way too much money. My suggestion to the electorate is that they elect Scott Perry.’ Channelling Turner, Jobson delivers a resounding endorsement:
‘Scott lives in Uruguay. His mother is American. His father is from South America. He speaks four languages. His educational pedigree includes Phillips Academy, Dartmouth and Stanford, where he earned an MBA and a master’s in finance. He has a classic yacht and keeps boats in the Med. He’s been on the World Sailing board for eight years. He owns a flat in London. He is a world traveller, a good businessman, and is easy to get along with. If any of the candidates can make World Sailing fiscally sound, it’s Scott. We’re so lucky to have a volunteer with a career in finance.’ But some of the other candidates and pundits are quick to
dismiss Perry’s candidacy, pointing out that he’s not allowed to enter the US and making it sound as if he is a criminal… Jobson defends his friend, suggesting his US visa problem may be con- nected to Perry’s early banking career, when he went to work for a prominent Saudi family, living in Saudi Arabia and travelling extensively throughout the Middle East?
Plans Jobson will be ‘mighty busy through 2021’. Giving back to the place he’s called home for decades, Annapolis, Maryland, he chairs the board of Luminis Health, a three-hospital healthcare system that includes Anne Arundel Medical Center. He also chairs the Chesa- peake Bay Trust and Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, and remains on the board of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Additionally, he’s currently completing a book about the E-Scow. Whether he completely transitions off World Sailing’s board or is bestowed an honorary position, Jobson already plans to take a year out to write a book about US Sailing, World Sailing, the America’s Cup and the Olympic Games. To be sure, Gary is no snake-oil salesman when it comes to
As enquiries continue into the goings-on at World Sailing (as in, oops, my pen slipped) and the day of voting approaches when a new president may or may not be elected a useful gift arrives for the new incumbent from the prosperous yachtsmen of Sinaloa
18 SEAHORSE
double-handed, mixed offshore racing. He and his wife double-handed their Hood 32, Whirlwind, in Annapolis Yacht Club’s Two Bridge Fiasco race in August. She steered. He trimmed the main and spin- naker. ‘She was hesitant at first, but she did fine and had fun. Sailing needs more family stuff. As a matter of fact, I may do a little sailing with the grandkids today. Two hours is their limit… and it’s fun!’ q
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116
