Skip novak biography of albert

Skip Novak was just 25 when he navigated the Kings’ Legend to second place in the 1977-78 Whitbread. Back then there was no psychological testing or physical examination.

Skip novak biography of albert

He got the job after a few beers with the skipper Hans Savimaki in Cowes.

“That’s how it was done in those days,” he recalled. Back then, navigation was slightly different too. “It was all done by celestial navigation.” It was also less about trying to stay one step ahead.

“Ninety per cent of navigating in those days was finding out where in the hell you were!” he told Yachts & Yachting.

In the 1981-82 Whitbread, he returned this time as skipper of Alaska Eagle (previously the 1977-78 winner Flyer), but it was not a success and they came ninth.

But Novak’s performance in the 1985-86 edition, where they came third in the maxi class, is the stuff of legend – and not just because this was the boat put together by Duran Duran singer Simon Le