people who have done this before and have offered to help. We have very positive feedback from people excited about seeing a another New Zealand campaign of this kind.’ Just back from Europe, where he spent time with the race organ-
isers in Alicante, Rae is impressed with the new leadership structure under Johan Salen, Richard Brisius and Richard Mason. ‘It has a good feel about it. It is going back to being run like a sailing event, rather than the great big corporate giant it had become. It seems a lot simpler and decisions seem to get made more quickly.’ One of the decisions yet to be announced is the course, but it
is expected this will also be simplified with fewer stopovers and more time in port between legs. The format in the VO65 Class requires a mixed-gender crew of
nine, three of whom must be under 26, three under 30, three women and three who must have done a round-the-world race or equivalent before. ‘This is creating a lot of interest,’ said Rae. ‘It forces a younger group onto the boats, as opposed to people like myself. When you start talking to potential backers and you mention this younger generation and mixed-gender make-up it definitely has a lot of appeal. ‘Bianca is the skipper and I am backing her 100 per cent to do
a great job,’ says Rae. ‘She has a great attitude and she has done the miles. What really excites me is the chance to bring a new generation of New Zealand sailors into offshore racing. Now that the formal announcements have been made we can start working seriously on securing funding to pay for the boat and ship it back to New Zealand. The plan is to start campaigning and training out of New Zealand later this year. ‘I like to think I can drag in the right kind of people to help coach
and mentor the crew and I will be putting in a lot of miles offshore myself, racing in lead-up events and helping prepare the crew.’ For sentimental reasons Cook and Rae are hoping to secure the
Turn the Tide on Plastic VO65 for their campaign. ‘I obviously know the boat pretty well,’ said Cook, ‘and Trae sailed on it when it was Team Vestas Wind before that, but nothing has been fully decided.’ Rae is confident the boats are good for another race around the world. ‘The 65s are still in good nick, so the racing should be close.’
Like many of the older salts in New Zealand, Rae laments the
lack of offshore racing in the regular calendar. The ‘old days’ when sailors thought nothing of sailing 150-mile events over the weekend and back to work on Monday are gone. Some frequently sailed 100 miles just to get to the startline, but time pressures have seen these races all but disappear. There is still an appetite for long races, however, as demonstrated
by the rising popularity of short-handed racing in New Zealand, which has several fixtures of 100 miles or more along with epic events like the recently completed two-handed Round New Zealand Race and next year’s over-subscribed Round North Island Race. Rae recalls how he dreamed of doing the Whitbread Race as a
youngster and was knocking at Peter Blake’s door when he put together the Ceramco New Zealand campaign for the 1981 edition. ‘Blakey turned me down because I was only 18. I was pissed off at the time, but I got my opportunities after that.’ He is hoping this programme will rekindle dreams of racing round
the world in the next generation of New Zealanders. Ivor Wilkins
AUSTRALIA Burnt Knowing something of my history, our ‘always caring’ editor asked me to add some timely personal experience to the science so ably covered by Edit [Harken] elsewhere in this issue (page 50)… I will never forget the first time I was told I had skin cancer. I was
walking through a shopping mall and my dermatologist called me on my phone. He was very good, and said it didn’t look serious and that I should come in to see him for more tests. But by then I wasn’t listening, I was frozen to the spot thinking, ‘Why me?’ Well, why not me? Let’s look at the facts. Born in the 1960s on
the clear-skied Channel Island of Jersey, I grew up on a beach, surfed every weekend and after school (and occasionally during school…) and from 12 years old sailed on everything I could. Then I became a shipwright and a professional sailor onboard Swans then Fifes, Maxis and J-Class, crossing back and forwards across the Atlantic (meaning an eternal summer) then a Pacific crossing
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www.harken.co.uk SEAHORSE 25
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