One morning in Newport Rhode Island a car stopped on the suspension bridge. A young man got out and, after recognising an approaching racing yacht, jumped…. hitting the water a long way down below. Jerry Kirby had missed the boat on the dock, but he wasn’t going to miss the day’s racing!
Jerry Kirby is quite a character and has an astounding history of yacht racing. He is one of the greatest sailing icons for his ability, his determination and his attitude towards the sport that he loves.
Kirby has run the bow for an impressive list; Buddy Melges, Rod Davis, John Bertrand, Chris Dickson, Tom Blackaller, Bill Koch and Paul Cayard to name just a few. He raced in the 1997-1998 Whitbread aboard Chessie Racing and has competed in no less than five America’s Cups, winning in 1993. He has competed in the America’s Cup for the last 30 years and was sailing onboard 12-metre yachts at the tender age of fourteen. Now, at the age of fifty (no, that’s not a misprint), he has just completed the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 as bowman for the Pirates of the Caribbean team.
Louay Habib, editor www.bangthecorner.com spoke to Jerry at his home in Newport Rhode Island, to find out what makes “the world’s oldest bowman” tick.
Q: What was the first boat you ever sailed in?
A: That was a Sailfish with my Uncle on the beach when I was about four years old and I was pretty much hooked straight away.
Q: What was the first competition that you won?
A: That would be when I won the Vanderbilt Cup when I was 14. The competition was the idea of Harold Vanderbilt of America’s Cup fame and the trophy was a little version of the America’s Cup. It was a great source of inspiration to me. It was a championship for the best under 18 helmsman and I won it again when I was sixteen years old. The guy who stopped me winning three in a row was my great friend, and six times America’s Cup veteran, Mike Toppa. (Also, the skipper of the boat that Jerry jumped off the bridge to catch!)
Q: Besides sailing, what sports did you do as a kid and were you any good at them?
A: Oh yeah! I put myself through Schenectady University in New York with an ice hockey scholarship and I also played American Football and Lacrosse.
Q: Who were your sailing heroes when you were growing up?
A: It’s funny, Buddy Melges (and the first America’s Cup I won was as a crew member with Buddy Melges) and Bill Koch. To get to sail with Buddy Melges was unbelievable as he was one of my heroes. Also in 1970, Bill Ficker, who skippered Intrepid, employed me as the ‘boot boy’ at the age of 14 and taught me how to sail by the little luff tapes on the jib, which was a big breakthrough at that time.
Q: A phrase I say too much is?
A: Yeah baby! You know, when we get a good clean hoist…there is so many things or times I use that phrase; “Yeah baby..that’s what I’m talking about!”
Q: I am very good at?
A: Telling stories!
Q: I am very bad at?
A: A lot of things! But I am very bad at keeping in touch with friends.
Q: What are some of your earliest sailing memories of the Round the World Race?
A: When I was a teenager, I was delivering a boat from Newport to the Med’ and I met Connie Von Rietschoten in Villamoura, Portugal when he was taking Flyer to do the second Whitbread and I nearly got on as crew. I had always been fascinated by Joshua Slocum, but single handed sailing was never for me as I wouldn’t have anyone to tell stories to!
Q: What is your favourite restaurant and what would you most like to enjoy there?
A: I love my food, but one place that stands out is The Quattro Passi on the Amalfi coast near Neroni in Italy. The guy has his own organic garden and eating there is like a flavour explosion in your mouth, it is just the best food on the planet. To drink; definitely a glass of good Sassicaia, a beautifully intense red wine. It doesn’t get better than that!
Q: What sailing experience stands out for you in the Pirates’ campaign during the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race?
A: Hands down that has got to be going over 40 knots on the Trans-Atlantic leg. It was the most dynamic sailing experience I have ever encountered. It would be hard to top that. At times we were ripping up the Atlantic Ocean with the possibility of tearing the boat apart, some of the waves we saw were just huge. We were hitting some ridiculous top speeds and achieving some unbelievable numbers in the scheds. Tribute to the abilities of the guys on board who showed what a talented team they were, it was full on pedal to the metal, awesome sailing.
Q: How do you stay so fit and young at heart?
A: In the off-season, I skate about three ice hockey games a weekend as centre forward and I go to the gym a lot. I play in Kenny Read’s ice hockey team; there are a lot of good sailors in the north east who are good hockey players as well, you could probably get a couple of top Maxi crews out of the hockey teams. The hockey is great fun.
Erle Williams a New Zealander and one of the Pirates, came to watch the other night and he said he liked the game so much that he reckons he was a hockey player in a former life. Erle is a pretty tough guy and he reckons it would be the perfect game for him!
Q: Who do you admire from the non-sailing world and why?
A: I would say the Dali Lama because of all the world leaders and religious leaders; he is probably the only one that practices what he preaches. We were really lucky. He came to Newport and I have always followed the guy; the way he looks at life is very impressive. In terms of a presence, the Dali Lama has a great attitude.
Q: What do you think are the qualities required to be a VO70 bowman?
A: That is a huge question, but, in a sentence; To actually have no brains in your head. (laughs)! But in reality you have to be someone that can persevere.
Q: What sailing are you doing at the moment?
A: I am sailing with Daniel Meyers in the “Numbers” programme; a Farr 60 and they are currently building a new IRC 67 footer. I have turned down a lot of work such as TP52, Farr 40 and America’s Cup as I am trying to spend some time with my kids and business for a little while. I will probably crank up the sailing stuff in a few months.
Q: Name a favourite book?
A: I read heaps, so that’s a tough one, right now I am reading “Forever” by Pete Hamill and I love it. It is about the history of New York City through the eyes of the people that live here. It really captures the pulse of the city. It is a mystical and historical account about the generations of immigrants over the years.
Q: If you could just beam down to anywhere and go sailing, where would you go?
A: I think it would be surfing in the Southern Ocean. There are some beautiful places to sail in the world, but in terms of the most gripping, adrenalin pumping sailing where you have to really max. out on focus, there is nowhere else like it. Sure you can get similar conditions. We did get those, on the trans-Atlantic on The Pirates, but the Southern Ocean has another aspect; its remoteness; mid leg you are thousands of miles from civilization.
Q: How long can you keep racing?
A: You know your time is up when the ‘phone stops ringing, but that hasn’t happened just yet!
Q: Is Jerry the oldest bowman on earth?
If you know different, and know someone who is older than Jerry and still sailing competitively offshore, then we would love to know! Email us at olderthanjerry@volvooceanrace.org