SKIP NOVAK

WHEN THINGS RUN THEIR NATURAL COURSE IT’S EVENTUALLY TIME TO LET SOMEONE ELSE TAKE THE HELM... SO SKIP IS DOING JUST THAT

I ‘ve reached 100 folks. Not in age, as that’s still three decades away, but in the number of columns written for this esteemed magazine. Leading up to this magical, purely arbitrary number I had a think and decided this might be a good time to quiver my pen.

When the editor asked me to take over the column from Robin Knox-Johnston for the October 2014 issue of Yachting World, readily agreed. Not only do l enjoy writing down my thoughts, but I had some axes to grind, scores to settle from previous civilized discussions, points to make with particular orthodoxies in the marine industry and observations of some worrying trends in boating in general. What a great soap box to climb on to!

The editor said I could write whatever I liked, including looking back anecdotally to yacht races, cruises and adventures that in my case go back a staggering 50 years plus, right to my roots in Belmont Harbour on the Chicago lakefront. I certainly have had a few stories to tell, and I told many in this column, but many of the more risqué ones are left untold with deference to some of our sensitive readers.