Larry Ellison commented in a post-race interview that he thought,
once or twice, that he and his crew might actually survive the '98 Hobart
while they were in the midst of the storm.

Actually they were souoth of the worst part of it.


.... By converse reasoning it would
appear that he was convinced that his life was over, at least a portion of
the time. I'm sure that would be a most depressing revelation.



Joe wrote:
Well then Larry's a putz, and a failure as a Captain. He's a rich boy
who bought his way into a mans game and could not hang. Once he
accepted he was going to die, then be assured his crew felt the same
way. I think it's a wise decision for him to give up ocean racing all
together.

Talk is cheap, Joe. You mention how you are so manly & brave
with 60 foot waves; these were 90'+ waves. Many had 40' of
breaker on top. They were unusually steep because of a
countering current... no surfing, you'd just fall from the
crest straight down. From what I have read, it was a more
violent storm than a U.S. east coast (or gulf) hurricane.



You can not buy your way into being a good Captain.


Now there, I agree totally.

DSK

DSK wrote:
Larry Ellison commented in a post-race interview that he thought,
once or twice, that he and his crew might actually survive the '98 Hobart
while they were in the midst of the storm.

Actually they were souoth of the worst part of it.


.... By converse reasoning it would
appear that he was convinced that his life was over, at least a portion of
the time. I'm sure that would be a most depressing revelation.



Joe wrote:
Well then Larry's a putz, and a failure as a Captain. He's a rich boy
who bought his way into a mans game and could not hang. Once he
accepted he was going to die, then be assured his crew felt the same
way. I think it's a wise decision for him to give up ocean racing all
together.

Talk is cheap, Joe.

What's cheap is Captain's who has no grace under pressure. They are a
dime a dozen.

You mention how you are so manly & brave
with 60 foot waves; these were 90'+ waves.

The size is not as important and spacing IMO

Many had 40' of
breaker on top.

well 130 fter sure would be a sight to behold.


They were unusually steep because of a
countering current... no surfing, you'd just fall from the
crest straight down. From what I have read, it was a more
violent storm than a U.S. east coast (or gulf) hurricane.

Rita produced 98 fters and Cat 5 winds.



You can not buy your way into being a good Captain.


Now there, I agree totally.

And that is my whole beef...There are some things which cannot be
learned quickly or bought, and time.....which is all we have.......
must be paid heavily for their acquiring.

Joe



DSK

Talk is cheap, Joe.


Joe wrote:
What's cheap is Captain's who has no grace under pressure. They are a
dime a dozen.


Or guys who like to call themselves "Captain" because they
can wrote a check.

... You mention how you are so manly & brave
with 60 foot waves; these were 90'+ waves.


The size is not as important and spacing IMO



Right,and by all reports the '98 Hobart storm (as mentioned
earlier) were viciously steep & close together. The worst
were generated over a shallow area with a tidal current
running counter to the wind.





Rita produced 98 fters and Cat 5 winds.


One anecdote from the '98 Hobart storm was that one of the
rescue helicopters was flying low, trying to spot one of the
yachts, had SAR crewman leaning out the hatch looking
down... suddenly he pulled his head in and yelled "PULL UP!"
The pilot, seeing 110' on his altimeter, did so anyway by
reflex and felt the top of a wave grab the wheels as it went
under them.

Generally, people were too busy to take accurate
measurements of waves. Once they get higher than the mast,
what's the point?



You can not buy your way into being a good Captain.

Now there, I agree totally.

And that is my whole beef...There are some things which cannot be
learned quickly or bought, and time.....which is all we have.......
must be paid heavily for their acquiring.


Yep. But on the other hand, gaining mastery of a difficult &
complex subject is time well spent.

DSK

"Joe" wrote in message
ups.com...


What's cheap is Captain's who has no grace under pressure. They are a
dime a dozen.

I don't recall that Ellison behaved any differently than anyone else on his
boat. In fact, I believe one of his crew were injured and he was very
concerned for his well being.


The size is not as important and spacing IMO

I doubt if most professional sailors would entirely agree.


well 130 fter sure would be a sight to behold.

I believe the crew of the Andrea Gale witnessed something like that rather
near the end of their lives.


Max

Maxprop wrote:
"Joe" wrote in message
ups.com...


What's cheap is Captain's who has no grace under pressure. They are a
dime a dozen.

I don't recall that Ellison behaved any differently than anyone else on his
boat. In fact, I believe one of his crew were injured and he was very
concerned for his well being.


Well he should be.....

The size is not as important and spacing IMO

I doubt if most professional sailors would entirely agree.

What pro sailors?




well 130 fter sure would be a sight to behold.

I believe the crew of the Andrea Gale witnessed something like that rather
near the end of their lives.

zYou have watched to much dumb **** TV...sorry.

Joe
Max

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
Larry Ellison commented in a post-race interview that he thought,
once or twice, that he and his crew might actually survive the '98 Hobart
while they were in the midst of the storm.

Actually they were souoth of the worst part of it.

Now that you mention it, I seem to recall that. Sayonara was fast enough to
beat the worst of the storm. The heavy Winston Churchill wasn't, sadly.

Max