For those sailing history buffs and east coasters who appreciate someone’s quick smile and was an all round good guy, then the news of John Rousmaneirie’s passing will hurt. John wrote a great book about the ‘79 Fastnet Race, the one where all those people died. The book was titled, appropriately, Fastnet, Force 10 and was a first hand account of the fury of the storm and the death and damage it caused.
John was on board the 48-foot sloop Toscana. It’s a good read. I was in the same storm and John pretty much got it right.
His experience in that race led to his passion about safety at sea. John became one of the creators of the U.S. Sailing Association’s Safety at Sea Seminar and organized or participated in more than 100 courses.
He also served on U.S. Sailing’s Independent Review Panels that investigated fatal sailing accidents. In other words he became a guru on all things safety related, but in my mind he will be better remembered for his depth of knowledge about sailing history, most specifically about the Americas Cup.
Sail on John. Hopefully there won’t be any storms in that big ocean in the sky. – Brian Hancock.
