He probably is crazy...
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The MLS is designed as an opportunity for beginners and initiates to gain blue water experience. The ‘Yoko’ team has always been generous in providing the opportunity for such crew, even when it involves a 05:00hrs start in the depths of Winter, with an inclement forecast! “What am I doing here?” was the first question that Robin Hewitt asked himself as they stuck their nose out into Bass Strait on Saturday. At least it was a Northerly for the run down to the turning latitude, so a little warmer and definitely flatter than the slugging match back to the Heads once they’d turned. As to how he enjoyed it, all I got from Robin was an “I’ll answer that next week” retort. “The biggest redeeming feature of all and for the whole day was that due to only a smaller proportion of experienced crew onboard, it was the novices that had to do so much more and I got a bit of time hugging the kettle down below!” What a great run to the Latitude! What a miserable, cold work to the finish! What a great drink afterwards! What an early night! So ended Day One. |
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“Once we were positioned correctly, the Gennaker went up and it could be said we never looked back. But we did - countless times actually, in order to confirm that our competitors were fading away behind us. What bad luck for them… We stayed in the breeze with the Genny up right to the finish, although a calm was creeping down from the North and we just made it in time to look back and hope ‘The Secretary’ wouldn’t cop it”, Robin remembered. ‘Yoko’ went home to Williamstown under Diesel and could only look back at the others with their collapsed kites and reflect on what a brilliantly pleasant sail the latter part of the weekend had been.
| “Huey’s a bit like that. He throws everything at you so you think it’s a mugs game and then he goes and gives you such pleasantry so as to make sure you’ll come back – and then he can have another go at you”, Robin told me. So well done, Robin. After all the miles you have done, including those two Osakas (M2O), you deserve a bit of pleasantry and yet another prize in the end. |
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The man himself - Robin Hewitt. Softly spoken, mild mannered
By John Curnow |
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