RACING TO RIO: THE MOVIE
The 2016 Paralympic regatta will not only mark the end of the U.S. Paralympic sailing team’s current quadrennial campaign, but also the final chapter in the production of the film Racing to Rio. Spearheaded by the not-forprofit Barbaro-Gould Foundation, the film explores the many ways adaptive sailing provides enrichment for sailors in any number of different settings: ranging from the Paralympic Games in Rio to programs like Camp Awesome, which helps kids on the Asperger’s spectrum take control of their own lives through sailing. According to the foundation’s Todd Gould, filming began in late 2015 with production wrapping up in November. After that, he and foundation CEO Jennifer Barbaro plan to enter the work at a number of film festivals. In the meantime, the foundation is still in need of financial support for the project. For details, visit racing2rio.com.
“Don’t let anyone know how easy this is,” North Sails president Ken Read said. “Sure, no problem,” I said, far more concerned with how long he’d let me keep steering.
At the moment I was at the helm of Jim and Kristy Hinze-Clark’s 100ft super-Maxi Comanche, steering
get used to it. And then the next thing you know, sailing at 22, 23 … 27 knots—which we did when the crew unrolled the boat’s massive A-sail—seems like the most natural thing in the world, until something goes wrong.
In our case, what went wrong was pretty minor. The tack fitting on the spinnaker let go: no big deal. That’s why the crew was out there, to de-bug the boat after its recent refit. At one point, though, as the crew was sheeting in—with six big guys spinning the handles on the coffee grinders for all they were worth—the line fell slack for a moment or two before the sail suddenly filled again as it came out from behind the main.
As it did so, the tack line came bar tight in the blink of an eye, in the process slapping against the carbon-fiber deck with a crack that sounded like a gunshot: a bang so violent in its latent power all heads involuntarily turned.
Again, no big deal. However, it did serve as a vivid reminder of the immense forces at work all around me. It also got me thinking about what it must be like aboard such a powerful boat when things go wrong for real—as they inevitably will aboard any sailboat—that and what it must be like handling a boat like Comanche on a moonless night changing sails in a squall.
Read may be right about helming a boat like Comanche at 22 knots on a sunny day in flat seas off Newport with a profoundly experienced crew at the ready. But don’t be fooled. Truly sailing a boat like Comanche is neither for the faint of heart, nor for anyone without the very finest sailing skills.—AC