By Adam Loory | Cracked Off and Reaching to Retirement
Ted Turner was a strong leader and made a big splash on humanity and the sailing community. The title of his story written by Christian Williams reads so true – Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way. After his recent death, a lot of stories have been shared about his colorful life. I’m lucky to have seen his sharp wit in action on a number of occasions.
In 1988-1989, I wrote the book Championship Tactics with Gary Jobson and Tom Whidden. Through Jobson, that project earned me two up-close encounters with Ted. The first was in January of 1988 while I was still interviewing my two collaborators. Gary was always busy and it was hard to sit him down to get him to answer my questions. That January, he was producing a show for ESPN that would run during halftime of the Superbowl to be played in Miami. He organized Ted to race against Dennis Conner in Conner’s two Formula 40 catamarans on Miami’s Biscayne Bay. Dennis was getting ready to race a catamaran against Michael Fay’s 130-foot big boat off San Diego later that year for the highly litigated America’s Cup match XXVII.
Gary flew me to Florida and promised he would make time for me to interview him after the show was finished. Ted won the best-of-three series by winning the first two races. The post-race scene at the dock was classic Ted. Ted’s boat got tied up first and Ted led his crew over to catch Dennis’ lines as they returned. Both crews exchanged chit-chat about the day on the water and, as Ted and his crew started to walk away, Dennis yelled out to Cam Lewis (the boat captain on Ted’s boat) asking, “How did it go out there? Did you break anything.” Before Lewis could turn around with the short response, “No,” Turner turned around and with his southern drawl slowly said, “Only Dennis Conner’s heart.”
When I told this story to Gary, he said that the plan was for each skipper to win a race and then have a real race to decide the series. Ted could never take a dive.
After the book was finished, Gary gave me a little thank you by inviting me to sail on the J-Boat Shamrock V against Endeavour on New York Harbor in September 1989. I was one of 45 people aboard Shamrock and Ted was supposed to be the skipper, while Gary drove Endeavor. When we left the dock, Ted was nowhere in sight. Peter Isler was at the helm. Halfway through the race I saw Ted at the wheel. Someone said he came out in a RIB and jumped aboard. The boat was so big I never noticed the transfer.
Left: The cover of Christian Williams’ Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way. You can listen to Christian Williams’ episode on the Lessons Learned podcast here. Right: 1988 America’s Cup photo © Guy Gurney Photography.
Finally, my father Stuart Loory, went to work for CNN in 1980, three months after the 24-hour news network debuted. When my father said he had decided to take the job, I told him to get a clause in his contract that we would get a ride on Courageous. When I asked if he got the clause, he said that Ted had sold Courageous to help fund CNN.
That story leads into this last one. In 1984, I went to work as an editor at Yacht Racing/Cruising magazine (which later changed its name to Sailing World). My first assignment was to proofread the blue-line proofs of John Burnham’s interview with Turner. The exchange I still remember was Turner’s response to the question why he stopped sailing. Turner responded, “I was tired of dedicating my life to an antiquated means of transportation.” A classic Turner line.
But Turner didn’t totally turn his back on sailboat racing. In 1986, he created the Goodwill Games, a shadow Olympics Games. It was a chance for the USA and Soviet athletes to compete against each other, along with top athletes from around the world, following the US boycott in 1980 and the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles games. I covered the sailing portion of the Goodwill Games for Sailing World magazine. The regatta was sailed out of the Soviet yachting center in Tallinn, Estonia, which was still under Soviet control. The games were part of Turner’s work towards world peace. He believed people would not fight against each other if they knew everyday people on the other side. Top USA sailors included Mark Reynolds in the Star, Randy Smythe, Tornada catamaran, John Kostecki, Soling, Pease Herndon, women’s 470, Morgan Reeser, Mens 470, JB Braun, Flying Dutchman and others. Carl Eichenlaub was the team shipwright. The Games were a huge success and were repeated in Seattle in 1990. Turner pulled off what world leaders could not.
He is a man who will be truly missed.
