NEW TRICKS FOR OLD SALT IN BIG RACE
The lure of racing with his son was too much for John ‘Woody’ Winning to resist
JOHN “Woody’’ Winning could well be world sailing’s oldest supermaxi rookie.
At 70, the popular Sydney sailing institution is one of the senior members of the fleet . At an age where others retire to a bar stool, not tackle a new challenge.
But the lure of racing with his son John Junior, or Herman as he is universally known in sailing circles, aboard one of the most extraordinary racing machines, was simply too much for Winning to resist, even though he has mixed memories of the famous race.
“After 20 years sailing against him it will be nice to be sailing with him,” said Woody, who still races his 18footer each week against his son from the Double Bay 18-foot skiff club. but will join him on the supermaxi Andoo Comanche this year.
“Initially I could beat him but I struggle to do that nowadays.”
But it still happens, with Woody beating 38-year-old son Herman in race three of the recent NSW skiff titles to the delight of the entire fleet, who jokingly ask Woody to “check his passport’’ from time to time when he finds himself racing sailors up to 50 years younger.
Woody has raced in six previous Sydney to Hobart’s and also motored south on the Radio Relay ship, his beautiful launch JBW, which will again be heading south as the fleet mothership.
“The first one I did was the most terrifying,’’ Woody said of his Sydney to Hobart past.
“I hadn’t done a lot of offshore racing at the time. It was 1974 and I was on Apollo. Warwick Rooklyn was skipper (the youngest ever at just 17) and the instruments were saying 60 knots.
“We had just had a nice steak and we had a shoot (spinnaker) on and we saw a front and thought we might go around it. Then we changed out mind and just managed to get everything down in time.
“We ended up in a storm for about 18 hours, down to a No.6 headsail, no mainsheet and in enormous seas. It was a shock to the system.”
Over the ears Winning has sailed with some well known names including Bob Miller, who later changed his name to Ben Lexcen and designed Australia II’s winged keel, and Jack Rooklyn, the eastern suburbs poker machine entrepreneur.
One of the most special – and easiest – was sailing with son Herman in 2018 on the 60-footer Winning Appliances. Herman is the CEO of the family business Winning Appliances.
“It was the first time I haven’t seen 50 knots in a Sydney to Hobart,” Woody said.
“It was the easiest race I have ever done and it was great doing it with Herman.’’
Winning has been out training aboard his supermaxi ride south with the 100-footer a previous Sydney to Hobart line honours winner under original owner and Netscape founder Jim Clark from the US and then Australian Jim Cooney.
“When Herman told me about it I jumped at the chance,”Woody said of being aboard one of four supermaxis in the 2022 race.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m no expert but this is an amazing boat.
“It’s fun to sail and we are really blessed to be able to do this.”