Picture by Gore Vidal Five hundred not out
When Andrew Hurst advised me that the 500th edition of Seahorse was coming up, he asked what ideas I had for content. Reflecting on that milestone, I though it might be interesting to document what is involved in the process of creating a column, and how it all comes together. Well, it’s simple really. My job is to
inform and entertain – and if I am not entertaining you, the reader, then you will go and do something else, and so I had bet- ter be on my game. First up I need an idea, something that will interest you and make a good article. Fortunately, Australia is full of incredibly talented sailors, coaches, designers, engineers and boatbuilders, and so there is a significant history of high per- formance sailing for me to access here. Secondly, I need to work on that idea so
it is of interest to you. Current stuff is good, but if a story or a person is interest- ing it should last over time. Thirdly, I need to get the story down early in the month so that I can work on it long before deadline, and every story needs work – a lot of it, going over it again and again, letting it swish around the shallow pan of my brain until the small golden flakes begin to appear through the murk. Then it is all about editing and re-writ-
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ing it, reducing it down to enhance the key elements, very much like simmering down a good sauce. Easy reading is hard writing and vice versa. One of the earliest pieces of advice my writing mentor gave me 25 years ago was, ‘nail your backside to the chair… earn your corn by writing every day, and do not move until you have done what you set out to do.’ There are some really important points
to consider when I am interviewing some- one for an article in Seahorse Magazine. Firstly, what are the questions I am going to ask them? I think long and hard over these, the athlete, coach, sailmaker or designer can only answer then elaborate on what I ask them, so research is essential and I start with simple questions here, to give them the chance to settle in. Secondly, and this is huge, I listen to
them. I don’t mean a cursory glance at them now and again while checking social media – I mean really listen. I try to do this on quite a few levels, first
by giving the person my full and undivided attention. Who is the smart person here? Who has the story, the knowledge, the wis- dom? Correct – the person sitting opposite me, and so in this situation I listen to what they say, what they don’t say, how they say what they say, what emphasis they give... the nuances involved, how they sit and move when they are talking to me, and finally what are the key triggers which
are emerging that will make a great article. Sometimes the key points happen so fast
they are easy to miss. In race 6 of the Prada World Series in Auckland last December, Emirates Team New Zealand were racing Ineos Team UK. The Kiwis were heading into the top gate for the first time and Glenn Ashby was calling the distance off the Prada mark for Pete Burling (the clip is worth viewing). Glenn talks for a total of four seconds, but if you listen closely it is a moment which speaks volumes; way more than any press conference. Ashby’s voice is calm then very rapidly becomes stressed, staring catastrophe in the face and con- firming what all the team knew... they were rusty in race mode communication, particularly in tight manoeuvres. For anyone out there taking notes, the
most important part of interviewing some- one is: Do, Not, Interrupt. You have invested significant time securing this interview, then thinking about and com- piling the questions and so let the person speak. Let them settle in, find their rhythm and recall the key parts of the story. The first things they say will often be
part of them getting comfortable talking to you, and so we call this, ‘clearing the throat’. Now that you know this you can factor it in and have a greater understand- ing when the conversation moves to firmer ground. So think about this – why would you
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