Skip novak wikipedia

Skip novak on sailing
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He was born in Chicago in 1952 and started sailing at an early age.

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Louay Habib caught up with Skip Novak during the Legends Regatta to discover tales of races past, races present, and life after the Volvo

In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark became one of the top-grossing films ever made with a box office success of over $384 million. Four years earlier, a real-life Indiana Jones sailed to England from the United States, looking for adventure. And ever since, Skip Novak has lived a fascinating life, racing in four round the world races and pursuing his passion for exploration in the remotest corners of the earth. Skip travelled over 7,000 miles to get to Alicante for the Volvo Legends Regatta, including hitching a ride on a ship from South Georgia Island to Argentina and then arriving by air just in time to make the reunion. Did you specifically come to Europe in 1977 to take part in the Whitbread Round the World Race?

‘In 1976, we didn’t really know about the race in the States. I was amazed by the forthcoming 1977 Whitbread Round the World Race and over a few beers in Cowes with the skipper, Hans Savimaki, I landed the navigator’s berth on “K

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It is a measure of good seamanship that, should the rudder fail, you don’t immediately think of the rescue services, says Skip

What a pleasure to read in the December issue about the couple who sailed themselves halfway across an ocean after a complete rudder failure. No rescue was called out, this being my point; they set an effective jury rudder. See the story of Egret here.

Granted, they had much support and advice via the cruising net, but as we all know the stories are legion of boats being towed in by overly stretched rescue resources, for all sorts of reasons, many of which were unnecessary.

The drogue

You can consider systems on board such as the rig with sails and of course the steering system as fundamental. Engine and propulsion system also, but debatable as secondary. Sailing back to a mooring or an anchorage, if not a jetty, should be doable, for safety’s sake.

If you are unhappy about this, I suggest you should practise for when the engine fails, as it surely will do, at some point in your sailing life. Getting towed in because of engine failure is unnecess

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It can seem to make sense to keep going for a larger and larger yacht, but you lose something in the process, believes Skip

Some years ago I piloted a 170ft superyacht down the coast of Chile. It was the owner’s 12th sailing boat, each one progressively larger than his original 40-footer. I assume the size of the vessels increased as a function of the owner’s business success and aspirations.

This is an understandable progression. For the marine industry these repeat clients are fundamental to the lifeblood of many of the world’s premiere production and custom yacht builders. Four or five yachts, always larger and more extravagant, are not uncommon through the life of a keen yacht owner.

Why go larger?

Sometimes perplexing from the point of view of a dockside observer, the reasons for going larger are several: faster passagemaking is a given; more privacy perhaps; greater separation between the professional crew and the owner’s party; more luxury for sure; more space for conveniences and gadgets and, dare I say it, more status. Ramping up is obvious, but going back down? I