Into the Storm

10

Sayonara—The Best Professional Sailors on the Planet

As AFR Midnight Rambler maneuvered before the starting gun, Larry Ellison had his own concerns.¹ This was his moment. He was standing proudly in the limelight at Sayonara's wheel, the focus of hundreds of thousands of spectators and television cameras. This was his chance to prove that he had arrived as a world-class ocean racer. But it wouldn't be easy. Ellison would have to constantly tack the boat. A tacking maneuver—changing direction so the bow of the boat passes through the wind and the sails swing to the opposite side—requires timing and coordination. Zigzagging through hundreds of ...