60 SECOND INTERVIEW WITH
2001 GREAT LAKE RACE CHAMPION
JOHN DANE III
We recently had a chance to talk to John Dane about his big victory. For those who don’t know John, he has been racing in the GYA for over forty years. Chances are, you probably can’t name a regatta in the GYA, that he hasn’t already won at least twice… ok… other than Knost. Here is how it went:
NOYC.org: You recently won the 2001 Great Lake Race. How does it feel to pass up over 100 boats?
JDIII: It certainly was exciting, however with the wind, rain and lightning we were very busy and did not have a chance to savor the moment.
NOYC.org: Were their any boats that you thought you couldn’t catch?
JDIII: With the first four legs being reaches, I was particularly worried about whether we could catch all the sprit boats that started ahead of us since the conditions favored our type of boat. In fact when you analyze the conditions, if a well sailed sprit boat did not win with those heavy air reaching and running conditions, then they would possibly never win.
NOYC.org: When you were passing your old man & Gene Wallet on Final Finale, did you go over them or blow through their lee?
JDIII: Truthfully, we stayed very low on the second, third and fourth leg to stay in clear air and we did not actually see Big Jack when we passed him. I asked him after the race when we passed him and he to was occupied and did not see us pass one another.
NOYC.org: How many legs did you fly your CODE ZERO?
JDIII: We never flew the code zero. We used the small runner on the first , third and fourth legs with the heavy air jib close reaching on the 2nd leg. It was on the fourth leg with the running chute that we really caught the fleet. It appeared everyone was gun shy on flying a kite due to all the storms around. It was only after we were going thru Tiare’s lee that Benz got rigging a chute on Tiare.
NOYC.org: Is a CODE ZERO a must have sail on all sprit boats now?
JDIII: I would not say it is a must sail since so many around the bouy races are windward leewards. However in the right conditions it can make a non-masthead sprit boat like Tiburon perform better in light air.
NOYC.org: Who did you feel the biggest threat in the 2001 Great Lake Race was?
JDIII: Mad Max; last year’s winner and Java which rated the same as us.
NOYC.org: Gary Jobson just wrote an article on how non-productive yelling and screaming was on race boats in September’s issue of Sailing World. Any comments?
NOYC.org suggested answer for John: (Yes, my crew forwarded me over fivecopies of this article to my house…paper clipped and highlighted! Firstof all I don’t yell, I just talk loud cause my crew is deaf! Second, WhenI’m loud, I am very constructive! THIRD, ALL I KNOW IS THE LOUDER I YELL THE FASTER MY BOAT GOES!)
REAL ANSWER FROM JDIII: I like your answers, however I am trying to reform my ways having been a graduate of the Buddy Friedrichs school of communication. I have been known to raise my voice on the racecourse, but this is simply done in a caring and sensitive manner to encourage my crew. Since most of my crew return every year, I have concluded they either are deaf and do not hear my tantrums or they understand that I need to talk loudly to be heard above the continual noises from Kyle Smith and Conrad Kuebel.
NOYC.org: Is Tiburon for sale, if so what is the asking price?
JDIII: Micheal Gray and I just bought out Mark Watson as the third partner. The boat is definitely not for sale. We’re having too much fun.
NOYC.org: The word is out, that after your controversial win and boat swap in Key West this year, you have decided to charter a Farr 40 for next year’s event. Any truth to this? Comments? Who will be some of the people on this dream team?
JDIII: We are exploring the idea of chartering a Farr 40 however the charter prices have stunned us. In fact Jack saw one proposal and thought it was a 1/3 down payment on the boat, not just a charter fee. Unless we can find someone who wants crew and helmsmen, I think we’ll end up back on Tiburon in Key West. Given last year, that is not all bad.
NOYC.org: Other than the 2001 Great Lake Race victory what was your biggest sailing accomplishment?
JDIII: This is truly a tough question. Probably the biggest win was winning the first Soling North Americans with Mark LeBlanc and John Cerise in 1969 at the age of 19. This gave me some national recognition in a new Olympic class. However I am sure if I think about this question tomorrow I’d probably come up with a different answer.
NOYC.org: Can you commit to sail for NOYC’s 2002 Challenge Cup Team yet?
JDIII: Depends on how nice Benz is to me during our regattas this coming year. Just kidding. My first priority is to the Pass yacht club, however if we cannot field a 4-boat team then I am open for an invitation.
NOYC.org: John, thanks for taking time from your busy work day for our sixty second interview. Any parting comments?
JDIII: Thanks for the invitation to talk about the Great Lake race. My crew and I really like the staggered start method employed and look forward to sailing in more of these races.
-steinkamp
