brian hancock

brianA JOURNAL ABOUT BRIAN HANCOCK

Brian is the official magazineof Brian Hancock and ispublished by Great Circle

Enterprises.

Brian Hancock33 Waterside Road

Marblehead, MA 01945+1 617 314 4468

[email protected]

We live in an age where marketing and promotion arekeystones of any organisation and those that do it better,with more innovation, are the ones that thrive and pros-per. I was thinking about this as I went about updating mywebsite. The world has changed dramatically since theInternet came along, some of it for better and for sure,some of it for worse.

I personally love the Internet. New media sites likeFacebook and YouTube have revolutionised the way wecommunicate. It was not so long ago that one had to sitwith pen and paper to write a note. You then had to digthrough a drawer to find an envelope and stamp and thenmake a trip to the post office to send the letter throughthe mail. These days it’s all done with the click of amouse and tens of thousands of people can be reached.

So in the spirit of being innovative I though that an onlinemagazine, this magazine, would be a more interestingway of reaching a broad audience than a website. Thewebsite that this magazine, or eZine as some like to callthese online magazines, provides this incredible serviceall for free. I created the magazine, exported it as a .pdffile and simply, with a click, uploaded it to the website.The site converted it to a magazine. How cool is that andthere was no cost to me, not even for hosting it on theirserver. Compare that with the $20 I was paying for mywebsite to be hosted.

I hope that you will take a bit of time to read through thisslightly self-indulgent journal. At the very least enjoy thephotographs and quotes. Better yet, if you need a speak-er or someone to write for you, give me a call or drop mean email - it’s free, and easy.

COVER PHOTOLia Ditton

PHOTO CREDITSBilly Black, Catherine Sparkes,Boris Herrmann, Don Bayley,Merijn van der Vliet, AndrewGreen, On-Edition, ErlendKvalsvik, Brian Hancock,Duncan Babbage, S. GregPanosian, Adriano Costa

EDITED BYBrian Hancock

EDITORBrian Hancock

COPYRIGHTGreat Circle YachtingFebruary 2009

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brian

brian

A Message from Brian Hancock

FOREWORD

3

FOREWORD - Pg 2

ABOUT BRIAN - Pg 6

SAILING - Pg 10

SPEAKING - Pg 12

SAILMAKING - Pg 14

WRITING - Pg 16

HEADY TIMES - Pg 20

FLIERS - Pg 26 - 29

A Journal about Brian Hancock

“The cure for everything is salt water - sweat, tears and the sea.”

Isak Dinesen

CONTENTS

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I learned what every

dreaming child needs to

know. That no horizon is

so far that you can’t get

above it or beyond it.”

Beryl Markham

5 A Journal about Brian Hancock

About Brian

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“I travel not to go anywhere,but to go.”

Robert Louis Stevenson


All three experiences were differ-ent and they gave me a love forthe sea and for adventure. Thewriter Isak Dineson wrote; “Thecure for everything is salt water -sweat tears and the sea.” Ibelieved her.

grew up at the bottom ofAfrica in a small town with abig name.” This is the linethat starts my book, The Risk

in Being Alive (Nomad Press2002). I actually grew up inPietermaritzburg which was then afairly small town nestled in thefoothills of the Drakensberg moun-tains about 50 miles inland fromDurban on South Africa’s eastcoast. The town has grown into athriving, bustling, multiculturalmetropolis and no longer resem-bles the place where I spent mychildhood.

n 1978 I left South Africa tosail across the South Atlanticto Uruguay. I had just com-pleted a mandatory stint in

the army and had a dream to sailaround the world. My first circum-navigation was in 1981 in theWhitbread Round the World Race.I raced another Whitbread in 1985and sailed part of a third in 1989.

I I>>

Waterside Road - in the Fall

fter more than 200,000miles offshore I began to

f ind that sai l ing hadlost it’s thrill. It was

time for new challenges. I triedlife ashore but the daily trafficand jams were no match for thefreedom of the open ocean. Iwanted a big chal lenge andentered the Around Alone, a sin-

self-published my first book,"Spindrift" which gave me theconfidence to write more. Ifound that writing gave me the

same enjoyment and freedom as Ihad experienced on the open oceanand knew that my career had madea subtle, yet distinct shift.Hundreds of articles and six bookslater I am slowly finding my stride.

gle-handed race around theworld. Unfortunately my effortscame to an abrupt end on thereef that surrounds Bermuda, theentire saga now indel iblyrecounted in my book and notworth repeating here. The onlygood thing to come out of it wasthat i t forced me to changecareers.

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urrounded by so muchbeauty a move intographic arts was an obvi-ous one. I am self taught,

but capable, and have writtenand produced a number of spon-sorship proposals, websites andmagazines including this one.It’s a growing passion and onethat combines my writing skil lswith a love of beautiful imagery.

experienced as an adult.

inally, and I know it's acliché, being a parent isthe toughest and most

rewarding job in the world.My children continue to bringwonder to my life and I am eter-nally grateful to them becausehaving wonder really is one of thetrue gifts of life.

The same applies to my yearsspent as a public speaker. In thepast two decades I have spokento hundreds of groups aroundthe world from small yacht clubsacross North America, to a largeoutdoor crowd of 3,500 peoplein New Zealand. Tell ing storiesand il lustrating them with stun-ning images is my way of sharingthe joy and fulfi l lment I have

S F

Waterside Road - in Winter

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Sailingailing, in the beginning, was just away to see the world and to avoidthe realities of a real job. At leastthat was how it all started, but it

soon turned into a passion that fortunate-ly turned into a career. In the early ‘80sprofessional sailing was just starting and Iwas lucky enough to be on the cuttingedge of a movement that made million-aires out of some people and householdnames out of others. I am neither, but Ihave seen more open ocean and experi-enced more of the highs and lows associ-ated with life at sea than most. It has beenimmensely rewarding.

Sailing has given me a basis by which Ican measure everything in my life. I knowwhat it’s like to be cold and scared. I knowhow it is to be surrounded by immensebeauty. I have enjoyed the camaraderiethat comes with accomplishment and Ihave experienced the serenity of a fewweeks alone at sea. I can’t think of anyother way to live a life or make a living.

eading a sailing resume is a bit likelicking dry toast so I will spare you,but my sailing highlights includeparticipating in three Whitbread

Round the World Races. In 1981 I raced asa Watch Captain on the American yachtAlaska Eagle. In 1985 I raced with Simon LeBon (he of Duran Duran fame) and his crewon Drum and in 1989 I sailed with the first,and by happenstance, last Soviet Whitbreadentry, Fazisi. Between Whitbread’s I deliv-

“In time,and with water,everything changes.”

Leonardo da Vinci

S ered boats, raced on oth-ers, and saw the world.When I had had enough Iretreated to my house inMarblehead, Massachusetts,but never for long. The pull ofthe open ocean is too strong.

n 1998 I bought a boat withthe intention of sailing soloaround the world in the AroundAlone, a single-handed circum-

navigation race. It was a highly strung50-foot carbon fiber custom designedracing machine. It was also a money gob-bler and the only way I was going to getaround the world was to find a sponsor,something that proved to be more difficultthan I had anticipated. Fate intervened,and at the end of a solo Atlantic crossing Icollided with the reef off Bermuda, dam-aging the boat and effectively scuttling anyprospect of entering the race. I retreatedto Newfoundland (on another boat) to pon-der the future and decided it was time fora life-change. Newfoundland was alsowhere I wrote my first book SPINDRIFT.

am still involved in sailing and co-founded the Portimão Global OceanRace, the world's first ever solo-dou-ble global ocean race. Sponsored by

the Portuguese city of Portimão the race isdestined to become the preeminent globalocean race. Meanwhile I rekindle the joy Ihave for sailing on a daily basis by muck-ing about in small boats with my children.

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GREAT CIRCLE

Speaking“Listen attentively,and above all remember

that true tales are meant to be transmitted; to

keep them to oneself is to betray them.”

Baal-Schem-Tov

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am a story teller at heart.Sometimes that fact is blurredby titles such as ‘professionalsailor’ or ‘author’, but deep

down all I really want is to live afull, fun life and share it with oth-ers. My books and articles are oneway of doing that, but a moreimmediate way of reaching peopleis through public speaking. Overthe last two decades I have givenclose to a thousand presentations

I ranging from small intimate bookreadings, to corporate motivationalpresentations. Each show is aunique opportunity to connect andinspire and I know for a fact thatdozens of people have made lifechanging decisions after listeningto my stories. I still get the occa-sional postcard from a far off portthanking me for jump-starting anew life.

iving slide shows andafter dinner talks wasoriginally a way to sup-plement my income

when I first started sailing, butthey have grown to become a very

real part of my lifestyle. I startedout with a borrowed box projectorthat was bought at Sears in 1962and slowly built my show toinclude music and videos. Thewhole thing can be run from mylaptop and often is, but I still likegiving the old slideshows, albeit ona newer projector.

y talks can be modi-fied to suit the audi-ence or occasion. Theafter dinner slide and

music presentations are popular,as are my seminars. I have given anumber of keynote addresses tobusiness groups and have a brandnew multimedia slide and videopresentation aimed at motivatingand inspiring people.

G M


Note: See the end of this magazine forfliers aboout my current presentations.

Sailmaking“Racing sailboats is like standing in a cold

shower ripping up $100 bills.”Anonoymous

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n the late 70s, shortly afterfinishing a stint in the SouthAfrican army, I got a jobworking at Elvstrom Sails in

Durban, South Africa. Back thensails were lofted by hand on alarge wooden floor. It was more artthan science and I fell in love withthe craft and the atmosphere atthe sail loft. It was hardly likeworking, as much of my time wasspent sailing, testing new designsand doing sail trials with cus-

I tomers. I realized then that workand life are one and the same.After my first Whitbread Round theWorld Race I was hired to work atHood Sails in Marblehead, Mass intheir big boat division but what Ireally wanted to do was spendmore time out on the water andafter two years I left Hood to doanother circumnavigation. It wasonly in 1994 that I got back intosailmaking full time joining DoyleSailing in Marblehead, but theindustry had changed. It was nolonger a romantic fanciful life; itwas sales, sales, sales and I wasnot the world's best salesman.

I do, however, still sell the occa-sional sail inventory built by mygood friends at the Quantum sailloft in Cape Town South Africa.They make a beautiful product at avery reasonable price. If you wouldlike me to work with you on yourproject, be it a circumnavigationor an around the buoys project,please feel free to contact me.

f you want to learn moreabout sails and sailmakingyou can browse and downloadchapters of my book,

Maximum Sail Power (NomadPress 2004). Hailed by some ofthe greats in sailing like TomWhidden of North Sails and solocircumnavigator Sir Robin KnoxJohnston as the definitive book onthe subject of sails, the book issadly out of print.

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Writing

The first article I wrotewas in 1980 for a SouthAfrican sailing magazine.I had an ancient type-

writer which I placed on anupturned bucket while sitting onthe deck of a small yacht sailingbetween the Cape Verde Islandsand Gibraltar. The ribbon was soold that many of the words wereillegibly, but I remember the thrill Ifelt as I typed away looking outover the expanse of undulatingocean and wishing I was good

“When I write it truly does feel as if I

hold the world in my hands.”

Brian Hancock

T enough to make a living out ofwriting stories. Since that daymore than two decades ago I havewritten over a 1000 stories andcarved a niche for myself as a sail-ing and adventure writer. Withmodern technology I can still writewhile I am at sea, but now I cantype the piece on a laptop, take animage with my digital camera andupload them both via satellitedirectly to and editor for instantpublication. The changes in tech-nology allow me to write from any-

where in the world and it’s a free-dom and lifestyle that I cherishmore than just about anything.

fter colliding with the reefoff Bermuda at the end

of a solo transatlanticpassage I knew that

my days as a professionalsailor were numbered. Over theyears I had written a number ofstories about my travel andadventures. They were done formy daughter so that she had

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some record of what her Dad gotup to when he was away fromhome. After fixing the boat inBermuda I retreated toNewfoundland (on another boat)to lick my wounds and to pull mycollection of stories into a book. Itwas meant to be a cathartic expe-rience. I later published the bookentit led "Spindrift, True Talesfrom Scattered Parts of thePlanet" which did moderatelywell. More importantly it gave methe confidence to pursue a fulltime career as a writer.

pindrift was picked up byNomad Press and turnedinto "The Risk in BeingAlive". Old stories were

revamped and new stories wereadded. Nomad than took on aproject I had long wanted to write;a comprehensive book about sailsand sail technology. MaximumSail Power was published in 2003and also went on to moderatesuccess. The book that has donethe best was one I ghost wrote forNick Moloney, a good friend whosailed around the world non-stopto set a new circumnavigationrecord. Chasing the Dawn wasreleased in Europe only. A manu-script for a book I wrote forCanadian sailor Derek Hatfieldrecounting his solo circumnaviga-tion sits with a publisher inCanada while my latest book, astunning coffee table book donefor UK based BG Group abouttheir successful sponsorship ofthe winning boat in the 2004/5Global Challenge was releasedwith great reviews.

rit ing books andarticles is rewarding,

but perhaps the mostenjoyment comes from

covering sailing events. In recentyears I have been the “voice” fortwo extraordinary events, theAround Alone single handedaround the world race, and theOryx Quest, a non-stop racearound the world out of theMiddle East. The latest communi-cations technology allows me tobring these events, which foryears took place in obscurity, to aloyal following of armchair adven-turers around the world. I lovethese events and it’s good to seethem now being followed by amass audience.

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“I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that

my spark should be burned out in a brilliant blaze

than it should be stifled out by dry rot... the purpose of

man is to live, not exist. I shall not waste my days in

trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

Jack London

Heady timesReprint of article written for Prestige Magazine.

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hese are heady times forarmchair sailors. OnOctober 11 the VolvoOcean Race got under-

way from Alicante, Spain. A daylater the inaugural Portimão GlobalOcean Race set sail from Portugaland on November 9 the big one,the Vendée Globe started from LesSable d’ Olonne, France. Threedifferent around-the-world races,each with their own character,their own place in the global sail-

T ing scene, all of them bound tobring drama, excitement and pureinspiration to sailors around theworld.

As co-founder of the PortimãoGlobal Ocean Race and a veteranof three Whitbread Round theWorld campaigns (the Whitbreadnow being the Volvo Ocean Race) Ifeel that I have some perspective.It’s only my perspective and Iknow there are other infinitelymore qualified voices out there,but this is my point of view, forbetter or worse.

hings could not be betterfor offshore ocean racingand by extension, thebroader sailing communi-

ty. Eight full blown, cutting edge,VOR 70’s are hurtling around theplanet dragging corporate spon-sors to exotic destination with PRmachines in tow. Mainstreamcelebrities want to be seen withthe sailors, and vice-versa.Offshore sailing has arrivedsquarely on our radars as adynamic, media driven, cash guz-zling public relations bonanza andit’s about time. The teams, theirsponsors and the race is a phe-nomenon and if you have not wit-nessed up close the power and

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excitement of a Volvo 70 at full cry,I suggest you try and make one ofthe inshore races. Actually it looksquite good in HD on a big plasmascreen but you need the spray andsound to bring it to life say nothingof a bit of blood and guts when itall goes wrong.

or the Volvo Ocean Racesailors life on board is bru-tal; there is no other way todescribe it. Day to day exis-

tence revolves around squeezingthe most speed from the boat,24/7. I read that on board TeamRussia they carry only a singlespoon per person with threespares. It’s an effort to save weightbut less than two weeks into Leg 1they had already lost four spoons.

Globe might as well be a differentsport. France turns out in fullforce for these modern day arg-onauts. When their race startedfrom Les Sable d’ Olonne therewere traffic jams 20 miles out ofthe city as people poured into thetiny seaside town for the start.Race officials estimate that morethan 800,000 people visited therace village in the weeks leading tothe start of the race. When the firstboats arrive back next Februaryhundreds of thousands of “ordi-nary” men and women (and theirdogs) will be there to welcomeeach and every sailor back hometo France. Those who are notFrench will be made honorary citi-zens for their arrival as the Vendéeis a uniquely French event. For

I wondered how that dynamicplayed out on board and if it wasstill considered a good idea. In myday we had wine with dinner, everynight, and a cabin to sleep in.Granted the equipment was not upto the task and half-inch wiresheets used to snap with alarmingregularity, but that was all part ofthe adventure. Same too with thesuicide of the Russian skipper in’89. I was his Watch Captain! Itook up solo sailing shortly afterthat.

have only admiration andrespect for the Volvo OceanRace, the sailors and the cor-porate circus that accompa-

nies the race over a period of ninemonths. By contrast the Vendée

FI


those of us who love sailing andwonder why the rest of the worlddoes not see things our way, go toFrance for the finish - your heartwill be warmed.

he Vendée, like the VolvoOcean Race are both atthe pinnacle of their suc-cess. The Vendée had 30

boats on the start line, half ofwhich are serious contenders forwinning. The fleet included twopast winners as well as a numberof other veterans who have sailedthat gruelling race more than threetimes. Unfortunately for theVendée this is the swan-song formany of the competitors. Add tothat the campaigns are becomingprohibitively expensive and the

home for the event. The mainobjective now is to get our 10sailors back safely to Portimãonext year and use their collectiveexperience to build upon. So far,so good. The first leg providedsome close racing and better yet,it provided some great televisionwith shows broadcast in Portugal,Chile and Germany. The sailors areenjoying the experience and lovingthe ports that they have visited sofar. From our perspective in CapeTown with one leg down we canlook back and be proud.Wellington, Ilhabela andCharleston are still there to be dis-covered. So while the PortimãoGlobal Ocean Race is not the Volvoor Vendée, it is slowly creating it’sown identity and own following.

boats too complicated to sail andyou start running out of sailors tocompete in your event. You can’thave a great event without greatcompetitors.

t’s this reality that convincedmyself to step into the breechand create a new around-the-world race, one that is afford-

able for sailors while still meetingtheir aspirations and goals. ThePortimão Global Ocean Race willbecome a serious player on theworld sailing scene preciselybecause it fills a need that seemsto be getting bigger. We are luckyto have this race sponsored at atime when the economy is in a freefall, and we are thrilled to have thePortuguese city of Portimão as the

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“Mother,mother ocean, I have heard your call.

I’ve wanted to sail upon your waters

since I was three feet tall

You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all.”

Jimmy Buffett

Arguably one of the mostexperienced sai lors in theworld, Brian Hancock has loggedover a quarter mil l ion offshore milesracing both ful ly crewed, as well as solo.

He has competed in three WhitbreadRound the World races but these days turnshis attention to managing and promoting offshoresai l ing events. He was recently Communications Directorfor the Oryx Quest, the f irst non-stop circumnavigation racefor maxi-mult ihul ls to start and f inish in the Middle East.

Brian is the co-founder of the Portimão Global Ocean Race, a newaround-the-world race that started from Portugal in October 2008. Thisevent, raced either solo or double-handed on 40-foot boats, is a wholenew concept in affordable offshore sail ing.

Brian is the author of six books and has written for every major sai l ingpublication in North America and Europe. His book, The Risk in BeingAlive, has been an international success.

33 Waterside Road - Marblehead - MA [email protected]

+1 617 314 4468

Arguably one of the mostexperienced sai lors in theworld, Brian Hancock has loggedover a quarter mil l ion offshore milesracing both ful ly crewed, as well as solo.

He has competed in three WhitbreadRound the World races but these days turnshis attention to managing and promoting offshoresai l ing events. He was recently Communications Directorfor the Oryx Quest, the f irst non-stop circumnavigation racefor maxi-mult ihul ls to start and f inish in the Middle East.

Brian is the co-founder of the Portimão Global Ocean Race, a newaround-the-world race that started from Portugal in October 2008. Thisevent, raced either solo or double-handed on 40-foot boats, is a wholenew concept in affordable offshore sail ing.

Brian is the author of six books and has written for every major sai l ingpublication in North America and Europe. His book, The Risk in BeingAlive, has been an international success.

33 Waterside Road - Marblehead - MA [email protected]

+1 617 314 4468

Brian Hancock has, by his own admission, lived a charmed life. In 1979 he set off tosail across the Atlantic and ended up sailing around the world - three times. In 1981he raced the gruelling Whitbread Round the World yacht race; 27,000 nautical milesthrough searing heat, bone-numbing cold, massive waves and a host of unimaginablethrills. It was so compelling that he did it again four years later. And again four yearsafter that on a voyage that was cut short by the sudden suicide of the yacht’s captain.

“You need to do something in your life by which you can measure all other experiences,”Hancock is fond of saying. “Unless you know what cold really feels like, you don’tknow what it is to be warm. Unless you have been really hungry you don’t know thefull pleasure of food. More than a quarter-million miles offshore have given me someyardsticks to measure the full extent of the first fifty years of my life. And prepare mefor the next fifty.”

In this lively presentation filled with music, images, video and engaging narrative,Brian talks you through recognising the fears that hold us back from living a full life,reaching our full potential and perhaps most important, recovering from setbacks thatwill inevitably occur.

33 Waterside Road - Marblehead - MA 01945 - 1 617 314 4468 - [email protected]

Finally,a new pres-

entation by BrianHancock, renown off-

shore sailor turned author. Amultimedia look at the world of

extreme sailing.

Brian draws on his own experience as aWhitbread sailor and consultant to numeroushigh profile sailing campaigns.

Find out what it’s like to sail at 40 knots on amaxi catamaran. Or how it feels to be alone onboard with a spinnaker set trying to sleep while

the boat sails at 20 knots. Hear aboutcapsizing at Cape Horn, the trials and

tribulations of running a new cir-cumnavigation race out of the

Middle East and the sheer joy of acareer on the open ocean. Brian

has done it all, and then some.

CONTACT

Brian

Hancock

33W

aters

ide

Road

Marble

head, MA01945

+1617

3144468

brian@

brianhanco

ck.o

rg

www. bri anhancock.org

Finally,a new pres-

entation by BrianHancock, renown off-

shore sailor turned author. Amultimedia look at the world of

extreme sailing.

Brian draws on his own experience as aWhitbread sailor and consultant to numeroushigh profile sailing campaigns.

Find out what it’s like to sail at 40 knots on amaxi catamaran. Or how it feels to be alone onboard with a spinnaker set trying to sleep while

the boat sails at 20 knots. Hear aboutcapsizing at Cape Horn, the trials and

tribulations of running a new cir-cumnavigation race out of the

Middle East and the sheer joy of acareer on the open ocean. Brian

has done it all, and then some.

CONTACT

Brian

Hancock

33W

aters

ide

Road

Marble

head, MA01945

+1617

3144468

brian@

brianhanco

ck.o

rg

www.brianhancock.org

THE RISK IN BEING ALIVE, a new presen-tation by renown offshore sailor andadventurer, Brian Hancock. Based on hisbest-selling book by the same name, thispresentation has it all; dramatic sailingthrough some of the worst waters on theplanet, close encounters with wild africaand climbing mountains in the Tierra delFuego, known to early explorers as the“uttermost part of the world.”

Brian’s unique style that combinesstunning images, video and musicwith his dry narration has capti-vated audiences for almost twodecades.

“There is a lways arisk in being al ive,and if you are morealive, there is morerisk.” Ibsen

Brian Hancock33 Waterside Road

Marblehead, MA 01945

+1 617 314 [email protected]

www.brianhancock.org

Cape Horn in a full gale

brian hancock

Documents

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writing pg

speaking pg

sailmaking pg

sailing pg

fliers pg