So, for weeks and weeks the Canadian and I literally scoured the planet, looking for the biggest, most competitive multihull we could convince TPSR executive management to fund. Once we got through the finger-pointing and name-calling, conducted a rigorous post mortem, shook off the guilt and emotional trauma, quaffed innumerable adult beverages, and pledged undying love and devotion to one another, we did what TPSR does best and got busy.Īs noted in a previous post, our principal learning from 2017 was to get a bigger boat. Nearly six months have passed since TPSR’s unsuccessful attempt at the 2017 Race to Alaska, yet in that relatively short period of time we have made significant progress in our preparation for a planned 2019 R2AK effort. American flagged, yes, but with Swedish characteristics. Back at the dock, the bowman was summarily dispatched and Hollywood pressed into service at the pointy end for the remainder of the 1997 season.įast forward to 2018, and in the intervening years the Swede has raced at the top levels of our sport, inshore and offshore, all across the United States, as well as in Hong Kong and other exotic locales, in a wide variety of boats, including J/105s, Melges 24s, Melges 20s, J/70s, and 505 dinghies, many under the Walloping Swede, Flygfisk and Pickled Herring banners. During the course of the race, the team’s regular bowman exhibited symptoms of being on the losing end of a night of liquid debauchery by dropping the spinnaker over the side and skying the halyard, at a decidedly inopportune moment. Recently arrived on the San Francisco racing scene, in 1997, Hollywood was recruited by the Swede from the SF Sailing Crew List bulletin board to make a cameo appearance on his J/105 Walloping Swede, for the Encinal Yacht Club‘s Second Half Opener race out to Bonita Light and back. He is also a man well-acquainted with Aqavit and other adult beverages.Īnd indeed, as in so many sailing-related stories, adult beverages played an important role in the history of the Swede’s relationship with Hollywood, which goes back more than 20 years.
And for those inclined to protest, the Swede has, in fact, been to Sweden, races boats with Swedish names, and earned great fame – i.e., notoriety – for regularly appearing on the starting line of J/105 events with Abba’s Greatest Hits blasting from his cockpit speakers. Like the Canadian, who is actually from Canada, and Hollywood, who is actually from Los Angeles, the Swede is from Minnesota, one of the earliest Viking outposts in the New World. Tom Kassberg, the man known in international sailing circles as “The Swede”, answered TPSR’s collect call from his regionally convenient San Francisco mead hall, where he manages his own pursuit of global racing glory. France, Australia, New Zealand, the Ukraine – even the remoter parts of Canada – anyone with a lengthy sailing résumé and a peculiar accent is guaranteed to attract the attention of TPSR recruiters.įortunately for us, we did not have to cross oceans to find the right foreign talent to join us on Dragon, the boat we literally did cross oceans to obtain. Our regular followers are by now very familiar with TPSR’s admiration – fetish, if you will – for foreign talent, regardless of national origin. While the Canadian and the TPSR engineering team are wintering in Area 51, hard at work getting Dragon race ready, let me take a few minutes to introduce the newest member of Team Pear Shaped Racing. However, little was said of the second, equally important learning: get more crew. Much was made of the primary lesson: get a bigger boat.
A few months ago, we posted analysis of our 2017 R2AK experience, from which we drew the conclusions which now inform our 2019 R2AK race planning.
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