Steve Phillips

If your first question is "Steve who?" you would not be alone. We hadn't heard of him either, but he certainly made a name for himself by winning the East Coast Farr 40 Championship in August. He followed that up with a very impressive win at the Farr 40 World Championships in November. Oh, it seems that wasn't quite enough. In between, he tacked on the J 105 North American Championship in Chicago, Ill in September. That's one hell of a year, by any standard. We thought a closer look would be of interest. Enjoy.


You won the Farr 40 Worlds, and the East Coast Champs, and the J-105 NA's, yet nobody knows anything about you. Who the hell are you?

SP
I grew up on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, spending a lot of my earlier years working the waters with my grandfather, a Hooper's Island waterman. As an adult, I became involved in sport fishing in Florida and the Caribbean. Up until about 8 years ago, I had never even been on a sailboat, but decided when I moved to Annapolis, I better look into the sport. My first time on a sailboat about 10 years ago, I mistakenly identified the primary winch as a crab pot lift.



To play at this level, one must have a fair amount of disposable income. What do you do for a living?

SP
I began my career, working in a family owned seafood restaurant. Several years ago, I ventured overseas in search of seafood product for our restaurants, and from that developed a seafood processing business that now includes factories in Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Viet Nam and Ecuador.


What boats have you owned leading up to the Farr 40?

SP
My sailing history is relatively brief. I purchased my first sail boat here in the Chesapeake Bay, a J-105 about 8 years ago. I enjoyed the increasingly competitive nature of racing, as our class and local talent developed rapidly. Five years ago, I purchased a Concordia 47 (Farr), a beautiful racer/cruiser with the idea of racing it in the IMS class and cruising/fishing down in the Caribbean. My first year racing that boat, we won our class in the IMS Worlds in Newport, and then several other New England and Annapolis races. However, I discovered I am not the best at relaxing on a cruiser, don't enjoy doing math after every race, and am more of a one-design personality, So, I decided to listen to my girlfriend, Max's advice and jumped into the most competitive owner/driver class in the world, the Farr 40 class.


Tell us how you got up to speed in the Farr 40. How long have you been sailing the boat, what sails, crew, and tell us about your program

SP
I purchased the Farr 40 in August of 2001. We raced in Key West and SORC and didn't do too badly for a brand new program. Then we won the final race the last day of SORC. On the flight home from that regatta, Max and I made the decision to race in the Worlds. We knew that team Le Renard had a long way to go to become competitive with boats like Barking Mad and Samba Pa Ti. So our next step was we hired a coach, Skip Whyte. He worked with our team, on and off the water this last summer. I also recognized that I had a long way to go with my helming skills. Consequently I spent untold hours out on the bay this summer, practicing time and distance drills and mark roundings. Then early this fall, our entire crew, along with our coach, Ed Adams, spent several days down in Miami, fine tuning our skills. I would also be remiss to not mention a couple of individuals, mainly some fellow Annapolitans who have provided invaluable help in jump-starting our sailing program. Andy Horton, Terry Hutchinson and Dave Scott, were instrumental in helping us get our boat set up, along with providing some incredibly good advice on crew, team building, rig tuning, etc. Also, the support from fellow owners, and in particular Jim Richardson, has been very helpful in getting our program up to speed. Max put together our crew, comprised of sailors from both coasts. Our priority in building crew was to select individuals who would work as a team, rather than merely a boat of talented individuals. A hallmark of our team has been a group of sailors absent of huge egos, with the willingness to never stop giving one hundred percent effort regardless of our position in the race. Mark Reynolds, Matt Reynolds, Willem Van Waay and Jeff Reynolds are all from California. Alan Nakanishi is from Hawaii, John Hayes from Connecticut, and Pete Pendleton, our boat captain, Tony Rankin, Maxine Prevatt and I are from Annapolis. There isn't one person in this crew that didn't put forth Herculean efforts throughout the Worlds competition. I have never seen a more talented, dedicated and motivated group of people, than is this team. They are incredible!!


How did you get involved with Mark Reynolds?

SP
At the same moment we decided we were going to compete in the Worlds, we decided we would only do so, with the intention of winning. So, very early in our planning, we knew we had to have one of the world's best tacticians, to compete against the worlds' best sailors that characterize the Farr 40 class. Some of our crew knew Mark from other sailing events, and introduced our program to him. Max followed up with a letter of inquiry and it went from there. It is interesting to note, that prior to Mark agreeing to sail with us, we were struggling a bit getting crew members to commit to our program, an unknown boat and a relatively novice skipper. However, once Mark had signed on, they pretty much lined up for us!


I think people are always interested to hear what a guy like Reynolds brings to the table. Tell us, in your case, what that is.

SP
There are many talented tacticians out there, and we have had the pleasure of sailing with some of the best. It is our opinion, though, that Mark brings something else besides his incredible sailing talent to the boat. His legendary calm exterior (that belies the incredible talent and competitiveness that is within) sets the tone on the boat for all of us. His focus is on the race, and he leaves the crew to do what it is that they do best. His respect for them, and expectation that they will put the boat where he wants it to be, inspires them to stay as equally focused on their job. Mark's patience and calm under fire, exceeds everyone else's on the boat, and it is probably these two characteristics of his, that played a huge part in the World Championship being ours. Lets face it; there were tons of talented sailors out there, along with the most pampered boats in the world. In the end, it was the intangibles that probably made the difference in our world championship. Mark was a big part of that. I'd also like to add that Mark's sportsmanship and integrity on and off the racecourse, factors into regatta wins as well. At starts and mark roundings, time after time he makes the Corinthian call. He plays by the rules, and he is known for that. Following the prize giving in the Bahamas, members of the race jury congratulated me, and added that they were happy to have not seen Le Renard in the protest room. Then, one of them added, that Mark is one tactician that is seldom seen there, and when he is there, he is listened to. I think that says a lot about his value as a tactician, and even more about his character. It is such a complete pleasure and honor to be sailing with someone of his stature.


What is your view of the Farr 40 Class - of the present and the future, and what is the one thing that you like the most, and the one thing you like the least?

SP
I think the Farr 40 class, has been and continues to be the most competitive, owner/driver racing class in the world. I am proud to be able to participate in it. I think its future has been secured by the ongoing cooperation between the Farr organization, and the incredible owner leadership that has come before with John Calvert-Jones and in the future with Jim Richardson.


When you won the Worlds, there must have been One Scary Moment. What was it?

SP
Final day of racing, final race, the few moments waiting for the over early numbers to be called on the radio.


What might you do next? Is there an arena or boat type that is particularly appealing to you?

SP
I am very pleased to be a part of the Farr 40 class, and intend to continue to be an active participant in future 40 racing. In addition we are considering other competitive one-design fleets, but maybe in a smaller boat, perhaps an Etchells..


When you look at the current America's Cup, what do you see?

SP
There is an incredible amount of sailing expertise, technology and talent devoted to the America's Cup competition. This then gets passed down throughout the sailing world, and elevates the sport for all of us. This part of it is fascinating and invaluable to sailing. However, I think the intent, or at least the original intent of the competition has fallen by the way side. It seems that the business part of it dominates the news. Often the racing and the sailors become secondary to the story. I am not sure there is a simple antidote to it, since obviously it is the sponsorship that keeps these programs going. Personally, however, I would enjoy watching it more if the focus were more on the nationality teamed racing, rather than on the competition between businesses.


Thanks Steve!

SP
Thank you.

 

 

01/21/2003