The Enersen Files- Life aboard the the Louis Vuitton Yacht

by Dick Enersen on 23 May 2007
From the Louis Vuitton Yacht TETHYS, Day 6, Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Finals

I'm out of the ruck and scrum of ink-stained wretches into the lap of nautical luxury, thanks to Christine Belanger, Director of the Louis Vuitton Cup. We were seated at the same table during the very elegant SINS dinner, hosted by LV, on Thursday last when she invited me to watch Sunday’s races from her VIP boat.

As I write, I am seated on a beautiful leather couch with my laptop, and a glass of Moet champagne, resting on a beautiful inlaid teak coffee table. I’ll be all right, I think.

The big news of the day, of course, is that Dicko has got the flick. Gavin Brady is the new captain of the BMWOR boat and the new driver is Sten Mohr. Mohr is a Dane, about the same age as Jimmie Spithill, and a very accomplished competitor on the match racing tour. He has been steering the 'B' boat for the team and, according to the buzz, has been giving Dicko what for in their intramural starts. He was also the driver in the pivotal loss to China, but was about 60 feet from the problem with the headfoil.

There seems to be some consternation among the punters that Larry should change jockeys in mid-stream, but the real question is, 'Why did he wait so long?' Peter Montgomery grabbed me for his gig on Kiwi TV this morning, during which interview I suggested that Dicko has looked a like a deer in the headlights during the pre-starts I’ve seen.

The one-on-one during the five minutes prior to the start is a big part of the race and puts huge pressure on the driver. The tactician and the rest of the afterguard can help in various ways, but the key to success is really the man on the wheel.

People draw analogies to gunfighters in the old west or fighter pilots in the great wars, which may be a stretch, owing to dissimilar consequences, but there are similarities. Confidence, cool, and quick decision making are all important. I’ve done it, a little bit, and it really does get your heart started, and up to speed, and well beyond. But enough of this, there are races to watch.

And there was one terrific race. The Spaniards, helmed by a Pole and tacticed by a Kiwi, got the better of TNZ off the line and very precisely defended a slim lead all the way around the course. The Kiwis threw a nice race at them, but John Cutler & the muchachos stayed in the game and copped a very popular victory, by 15'.

On the other hand, the last gasp was exactly that for BMWOR. Once again, the LR crew simply outsailed the black & white boat, in all ways, all day & ended up 33' ahead. End of story. The biggie now is, 'what next for Larry and his team?'

Life on board TETHYS was nothing short of absolutely delightful. Massive quantities of beautiful and delicious food, washed down by chilled Moet & a great Spanish Chardonnay, helped pass the time for about two dozen guests. Among the guests, to my great delight, are John Bertrand, his wonderful wife Rasa. I’ve known them for over 30 years, through North Sails & ocean racing, since long before John became, in 1983, one of the greatest sportsmen in Australian history. John brought along Aussie Rules great, Ron Barassi, who witnessed part of his first ever day of AC racing.

Each day of racing is followed by a press conference. They used to be more fun, when Bruno Trouble was the ringmaster and we had characters like Blackaller sailing the boats, but they are functional for the journos. Rather than endure the sweaty confines of the auditorium, I chose to watch the plasma HD screens in the Foredeck Club, the third floor of the Veles y Vents building in which LV is headquartered, with my shipmates of the day and a bunch of other Cup insiders, including, but not limited to, Tom Schnakenberg & Dawn Riley.

To his credit, and against some speculation, Dicko fronted up to the press and did a good job of congratulating LUNA ROSSA for a job well done and insisting that Larry will carry on. While the journos gave him plenty of opportunity, he never quite got around to paraphrasing the last line of 'Easy Rider,' which would have been, 'I blew it.'

Dick Enersen is a US photojournalist and Director, who made fantastic sailing films in the '70s & '80s, including three Olympic sailing events, and the 1977 and 1980 America's Cup, they are about to be re-released, as classics, on DVD. Inquiries to Dick at: info@offshoreprod.com There are also many more great shots of Dick's trip to Valencia in his gallery on his SmugMug photo site: http://dickenersen.smugmug.com