Like many others in the sailing world that have been touched by "Fish's" passion and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing, I'm sad to see him go. So many fun, happy memories of sailing with him and enjoying a beverage or two at famous watering holes around the world. Perhaps, the most hilarious one being the "Silver Cloud" karaoke bar on Lombard St. in San Francisco (http://silvercloudsf.com/)! It was Fish's self-declared favorite bar ever! No question, mutual friend Phil Lawrence can attest to those fun times!
I first met Fish in 1981. The owner of the J/36 BLUE BAYOU (Dick Johnson from the US Virgin Islands) wanted to race his boat in the 1981 SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Circuit). The ring leader was another character- Mark Ploch from Clearwater, FL. Mark helped organize the team and managed to convince both Bob Fisher and Tim Jeffery (cub reporter at the time and much later Chief Communications Director for Larry Ellison's ORACLE USA America's Cup program) to not only crew but provide race-by-race updates of our exploits as well as the other famous offshore racing yachts of the time (all IOR boats). Both Fish and Tim had never sailed the famous SORC offshore series before, so it took them little convincing to make the trip!There were several memorable moments in that 1981 SORC series.
The first was having Bob and Tim as roommates at the local seedy hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Imagine this picture for a moment, waking up at 5:00am in the morning, both Bob and Tim would get up with t-shirts and underwear on (yes, true story), get onto their Radio Shack TRS-80 pocket computers (see below), hook up the modem to the telephone line, and send their stories back to Yachts & Yachting editors and various British newspapers. Hilarious! Young Stu J. (23 yrs old) at the time gave them endless grief for the whole process. It may have helped that we all had few too many at the famous St Petersburg YC bar the night before; that was when I first learned about Fish's penchant for regaling all within earshot of all kinds of crazy stories that had most everyone dying with laughter!
The second and third most epic events took place as the result of one race- the epic St Petersburg to Fort Lauderdale Race. Just 465.0 nm down around the bottom of the Florida Keys, leaving the Rebecca Shoals buoy to port, then head north with the fast-flowing Gulf Stream to the finish off the Ft. Lauderdale sea buoy.
So, the day dawned with a gorgeous bright sunny day with the Southwest wind blowing a solid 15-20 kts for the start. The wave pattern was truly bizarre, as it can be on Tampa Bay; it was a very steep 2-3 foot "chop" that made our 36-footer bounce around like a cork...a bad thing for weak stomachs or hungover sailors. The first casualty, amazingly enough, was Mark Ploch...running back to the stern rail to leeward and losing his breakfast. Not long after it was Fish's turn. Then Tim, and the rest of the crew; except me, the lone survivor of the entire crew. That would work against me later.
After a bit of clean-up, off to starting line. Mark was on the helm, we took off on port tack at the start, fetching the Egmont Key sea buoy, our first left turn on the race track. By the time we got there, the strong Southwester was starting to die off, as predicted by NOAA at the time. The forecast was for a very strong, classic cold front to drop across the Gulf of Mexico with northwesterly breezes starting at 15 to 25 kts, then building! Ouch! Sure enough, while fetching Rebecca Shoals buoy about 40.0nm out, it's pitch black, the wind swung around quickly before the front.
We dropped the headsail, quickly put up the 1.5 oz heavy spinnaker, and took off on starboard gybe, hitting 10-13 kts constantly. Just before we got to Rebecca Shoals buoy, lightning bolts blazing across the skies behind us, we could see (even at night) another line of breeze headed towards us from the northwest (thanks to all that lightning). Mark and I looked at each other wondering what would happen next. We decided to gybe earlier than we expected, pulling it off without too much trouble in 25 kts of breeze (remember, these were end-to-end pole gybes using lazy guys, flying the spinnaker off the sheets). Then, the s**t hit the fan. The first puff hit around 30 kts, taking us flying past Rebecca around 15-16 kts boatspeed. Halfway down the 12.0 nm leg before we turned left for Lauderdale, the next puff hit around 40 kts. The J/36 just about lifted out of the water-- I think we topped 21.6 kts. At that point, Mark and I felt that was enough stress on everyone. Using the lazy guy to leeward, we did a simultaneous blow the guy to port, winch in the lazy guy to pull the spinnaker behind the main and blow the first 20 feet of the halyard. Thankfully, it worked.
Next up was putting up a #4 jib. That took place without too much trouble. Though it took a few minutes, it probably didn't matter since we were planing under main alone. Then, it was up the Keys on a port tack reach, slowly edging out into the northerly-flowing Gulf Stream.
By early morning, as the sun rose off to the East over the Bahamas, the conditions were horrific. With such a fast-moving front, the breeze was due north by the time we got into the heart of the Gulf Stream. Waves were steep and breaking, often up to 12 ft high, with no backs behind them, just a cliff. So, steering proved to be quite a challenge to avoid launching the boat going upwind in 25-35 kts, gusting 40, reefed main and #4 jib flying. Around 10:00 am, our electronics and Loran GPS went out. Not good! We had to start the engine to charge the batteries. Click, click, click. Nothing happened. Mark and I spoke and we realized we had an air lock in the fuel flow. Ouch. That was no easy fix. In short, Mark "volunteered" me to help bleed the system in the bowels of the boat to get fuel flow (everyone else was still battling fatigue from early sea sickness). So, unhooking the hose from the engine, and sucking diesel into the hose to ensure we had fuel flow, spitting it out into a bucket. Then, flipping the valves on the diesel, and thankfully firing that damn diesel engine to work. Needless to say, we made it to Lauderdale in one piece. And, the party that ensued in Lauderdale, later in Miami, and later again in Nassau, Bahamas was even better. We all survived to tell the story. Trust me, Fish and Tim never forgot that experience.
Later in life, I didn't run into Fish again until I went over to the UK and Europe to start J/Boats Europe in 1990. The first person I called for advice was Fish, of course. Because of him, I ended up in Lymington, Hampshire. For those "in the know", Lymington is a sleepy little town on the western end of the Solent that is home to many of the UK's leading sailors. The most amusing part of that experience was having Fish sail with me on my J/44 J/HAWK on evening "beer-can races" off the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. As he often reminded me, our near-shore mark roundings were often an exercise in "plowing" through the mud/silt in order to continue the race...or, sometimes not!
A decade+plus later, I saw Fish and friends in Valencia for the America's Cup. I was there for three weeks. Fun and games as always, after "work" (if you could call it that), going to their favorite pub just off the traffic circle near the bases with characters like Peter Montgomery (New Zealand), Tim Jeffery (then ORACLE Communications Director), and Angus Phillips from the Washington Post.
After getting back to the USA, it wasn't until the summer of 2007 when I get an email from Fish asking if I'd participate with him and friend Phil Lawrence, sailing the International Masters Regatta on J/105s, hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club. That was a no brainer, the answer was "yes", of course. To make a long-story short, we had a fantastic time. Perhaps the most entertaining part was a nightly swing by what became our favorite watering-hole, the famous karaoke bar called "Silver Cloud" on Lombard St. We sailed together again in 2008. Thereafter, the world economy tanked in 2009-2010, so the Master's regatta was canceled.
Working with its founder, Don Trask, the San Diego YC offered to restart the event in the sunny, warm, friendly waters of southern California. After all, San Diego is the favorite retirement community for the "old guard" of the US Navy- plenty of Admiral-level types in the neighborhood. The idea was enthusiastically received with the support of St. Francis YC themselves.
Sure enough, I got another invitation from Fish in 2013 to sail and rub elbows with some of the world's sailing glitterati. Fish was in his element, of course, relishing the chance to see dozens of his friends he'd written about for years- like Dennis Conner, Don Trask, Vince Brun, etc.
We sailed together for three straight years from 2013 to 2015, each regatta presenting its unique challenges and chances to catch up with sailing friends from around the world.
Bob's crew- L-R: Brent Draney, Stu Johnstone, Julia Johnstone, Fish, Phil Lawrence
Again, sitting on the wide-open decks of San Diego YC in the evening, Fish reflected for a moment, "you know, I've sailed a lot of regattas. But, this one has to be the most fun I've ever had. Great people, great club, great crew!" We toast and clink glasses to yet another day of fun with the Fish doing what he loved best, sailing with friends and enjoying the moment. That's what he loved to do most.
2014 participants- L-R: Chuck Nichols, Augie Diaz, Jon Andron, Dennis Durgan, Jon Wright, Tom Ehman, Gary Jobson, Bob Fisher, Dick Enersen, Don Martin, Don Trask, Bob Munro.
When Fish was sailing the Masters, his competitors read like a "who's who" of yacht racing, many of whom were subjects of Fish's columns over time in the British yachting press. Those sailors included Hans Fogh, Don Trask, Ron Holland, Rod Johnstone, David Irish, Stan & Sally Honey, Augie Diaz, Gary Jobson, Tom Ehman, Dick Enersen, Malin Burnham, John Kilroy, Bill Menninger, Doug Rastello, Dick Tillman, Robert Mosbacher, and John Jennings, just to name a few.
We will miss Fish, to be sure. But, his infectious, enthusiastic fun-loving spirit is imbued in all of us. That was his special gift to all that enjoyed his friendship. Sail on my friend, see you someday soon.
Sailing photo credits Bronny Daniels/ Cynthia Sinclair Donations in Bob Fisher’s memory are welcomed to the Sir Thomas Lipton Foundation. Messages are welcome on Bob Fisher’s Facebook page
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