Rating: 
Summary: "The Perfect Storm" for Sailors
Review: That said, this is a good little read. A little bit of history and a lot of storytelling. Like others I read it in a single day. This may have something to do with my own passion for living anywhere there's a coastline, and a decade-long habit involving boats of some sort at all times.Knecht relays the decision-making of the competitors, the events and emotions of the race, all very clearly and while we all know what will happen in the end we are in the book, along for the ride on each and every boat whose tale is told.
Rating:
Summary: "The Perfect Storm" for Sailors
Review: That said, this is a good little read. A little bit of history and a lot of storytelling. Like others I read it in a single day. This may have something to do with my own passion for living anywhere there's a coastline, and a decade-long habit involving boats of some sort at all times. Knecht relays the decision-making of the competitors, the events and emotions of the race, all very clearly and while we all know what will happen in the end we are in the book, along for the ride on each and every boat whose tale is told.
Rating:
Summary: The Unforgiving Sea
Review: The 1998 challenging Sydney to Hobart offshore race turned into the worst sailing disaster in history. Mr. Knecht has written a highly personal yet unbiased account, focusing on four boats, their skippers and crew plus some rescuers and meteorologists. Six sailors were killed, 55 had to be plucked from the raging sea by rescuers, and of the 115 boats that began the race, only 43 finished-many of them barely afloat. "The Proving Ground" does an excellent job of giving us some detailed answers as to "What Happened?" How could experienced yachtsmen expose themselves, their crew and their boats to a full-fledged hurricane at sea? In this age of technology, were there not forecasts and why were the boats not seaworthy? There is blame enough to go around. The weather forecasts were, to put it kindly, confusing. First "gale" warnings were issued, then "storm" warnings. Which sounds more ominous to you? In forecasting terminology, "storm" is the more dangerous condition. Almost all the crews took the opposite meaning, i.e., that a "gale" was worse than a "storm," as I believe 99% of the general population would. Offshore racers are built for speed, not endurance. After reading this book, I decided these fragile, complex sailboats are accidents waiting to happen. I was in awe of the skill, quick reflexes and cooperation displayed by the crews. There was a high level of seamanship in almost all of the contenders. Only one sailor mentioned, a wealthy domineering man, displayed abject cowardice and only one boat that clearly refused to come to the aid of another desperately crippled contender. "The Proving Ground" is intensely exciting---I read it in one very late night sitting. Mr. Knecht postponed publishing long enough to get the inquest results and some later reflections from the people he interviewed so well. Though he did a meticulous job on the four boats and crews the book spotlights, the other contestants and two sailors who lost their lives were hardly mentioned. I realize the narrow focus heightened the intensity of the book; however, a little more general information would be welcome. "The Proving Ground" is a highly knowledgeable, readable book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Proven Book!
Review: The Proving Ground is not just a page-turner, or a sailing story, or a gripping tale of man against nature -- it is all of those things and more. This is a well-written account of the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race. While Bruce Knecht's skills and experience as a journalist are evident in the crisp, detailed writing, the story flows with the ease of a good novel, and is infused with a passionate insight into blue-water sailing. If you love sailing, or the ocean, or just great writing, this is a must-read book.
Rating:
Summary: A Proven Book!
Review: The Proving Ground is not just a page-turner, or a sailing story, or a gripping tale of man against nature -- it is all of those things and more. This is a well-written account of the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race. While Bruce Knecht's skills and experience as a journalist are evident in the crisp, detailed writing, the story flows with the ease of a good novel, and is infused with a passionate insight into blue-water sailing. If you love sailing, or the ocean, or just great writing, this is a must-read book.
Rating:
Summary: In the words of Forster, only knecht
Review: The sea was so vast, and the ship was so small.
Man and everything made by man is finite.
-Richard Winning, owner of the Winston Churchill, reciting a seafarers' prayer at a Memorial Service At the outset, let me just say that the Brothers Judd full disclosure policy requires me to acknowledge that Mr. Knecht is a fraternity brother of mine and if the book stunk, I'd not say so. In fact, the first few pages had me a little worried because there's some rather pedestrian prose and one of the yachts in the race was owned and skippered by Larry Ellison, of Oracle, who seems early on like he's going to be the center of attention in the book. This would be unfortunate because he's a difficult man to root for, at least as presented here, often in his own words. Actually, most of the yachtsmen seem fairly unlikable. It sometimes seems like every one of them thinks he's the only competent guy on board. But any initial concerns disappear once the storm hits and as the action at sea picks up so too does Mr. Knecht's writing. The Sydney to Hobart race is apparently quite a big deal in Australia; from the sound of it, nearly the whole nation stops to watch the start on Boxing Day (December 26th). In 1998, 115 unsuspecting boats set out but only 43 made it to Hobart (Tasmania). Seven boats were abandoned and another five actually sank. 55 men were rescued. Six men died. The race had run into hurricane conditions, a cyclone sporting 80 mile per hour winds, and the sleek, ultra-engineered boats seem to have been particularly unsuited to such weather. In short order men were in the water and it is mostly them that Mr. Knecht follows and it is there that the book becomes genuinely thrilling, and terrifying. The crew of the Winston Churchill, which was capsized by a 60 foot wall of water that broke over it, ended up in two life rafts. The other crew whose ordeal Mr. Knecht chronicles had been aboard the Sword of Orion. The hours, even days, these men spent in the water make for painful reading. One of the indelible images from the book is that of survivors recalling the sight of the bobbing heads of crewmates just a hundred yards away and knowing there's no way to get to them. The stories of these men and, as in The Perfect Storm, of the rescuers, make for a substantial portion of the book and it's outstanding. A shorter concluding portion, featuring various courtroom hearings, unfortunately serves to remind us that, with some exceptions, these sailors just aren't a terribly sympathetic lot. Mr. Knecht presumably chose to write about Larry Ellison because he's a well known figure and a major businessman (Mr. Knecht writes for the Wall Street Journal), but he becomes kind of emblematic of the hubris that plagues them all : I could have bought the New York Yankees, but I couldn't be the team's shortstop. With the boat, I actually get to play on the team. Note he's characterizing himself not just as any old player but as the shortstop. Likewise, Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert, who sailed on Ellison's boat, Sayanora, has this to say : There are people who in their makeup need to take risks. [...] Every once in a while I just have to do things that require me to make
judgments about how far I can go. It takes a nearly superhuman effort on the part of the reader not to wish that it had been their boat that foundered. In this regard the book has a significant structural weakness in common with The Perfect Storm in that we spend too much time with people we don't care about and not enough time with some of the most compelling people in the book, the rescue workers who risk their own lives to save such men. On balance then, Mr. Knecht has written a book that's well worth reading and is truly gripping throughout the bulk of the action. That less might have been better does not diminish the quality of what's best here and at its best the book is very good. GRADE : B+
Rating:
Summary: In the words of Forster, only knecht
Review: The sea was so vast, and the ship was so small.
Man and everything made by man is finite.
-Richard Winning, owner of the Winston Churchill, reciting a seafarers' prayer at a Memorial Service At the outset, let me just say that the Brothers Judd full disclosure policy requires me to acknowledge that Mr. Knecht is a fraternity brother of mine and if the book stunk, I'd not say so. In fact, the first few pages had me a little worried because there's some rather pedestrian prose and one of the yachts in the race was owned and skippered by Larry Ellison, of Oracle, who seems early on like he's going to be the center of attention in the book. This would be unfortunate because he's a difficult man to root for, at least as presented here, often in his own words. Actually, most of the yachtsmen seem fairly unlikable. It sometimes seems like every one of them thinks he's the only competent guy on board. But any initial concerns disappear once the storm hits and as the action at sea picks up so too does Mr. Knecht's writing. The Sydney to Hobart race is apparently quite a big deal in Australia; from the sound of it, nearly the whole nation stops to watch the start on Boxing Day (December 26th). In 1998, 115 unsuspecting boats set out but only 43 made it to Hobart (Tasmania). Seven boats were abandoned and another five actually sank. 55 men were rescued. Six men died. The race had run into hurricane conditions, a cyclone sporting 80 mile per hour winds, and the sleek, ultra-engineered boats seem to have been particularly unsuited to such weather. In short order men were in the water and it is mostly them that Mr. Knecht follows and it is there that the book becomes genuinely thrilling, and terrifying. The crew of the Winston Churchill, which was capsized by a 60 foot wall of water that broke over it, ended up in two life rafts. The other crew whose ordeal Mr. Knecht chronicles had been aboard the Sword of Orion. The hours, even days, these men spent in the water make for painful reading. One of the indelible images from the book is that of survivors recalling the sight of the bobbing heads of crewmates just a hundred yards away and knowing there's no way to get to them. The stories of these men and, as in The Perfect Storm, of the rescuers, make for a substantial portion of the book and it's outstanding. A shorter concluding portion, featuring various courtroom hearings, unfortunately serves to remind us that, with some exceptions, these sailors just aren't a terribly sympathetic lot. Mr. Knecht presumably chose to write about Larry Ellison because he's a well known figure and a major businessman (Mr. Knecht writes for the Wall Street Journal), but he becomes kind of emblematic of the hubris that plagues them all : I could have bought the New York Yankees, but I couldn't be the team's shortstop. With the boat, I actually get to play on the team. Note he's characterizing himself not just as any old player but as the shortstop. Likewise, Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert, who sailed on Ellison's boat, Sayanora, has this to say : There are people who in their makeup need to take risks. [...] Every once in a while I just have to do things that require me to make
judgments about how far I can go. It takes a nearly superhuman effort on the part of the reader not to wish that it had been their boat that foundered. In this regard the book has a significant structural weakness in common with The Perfect Storm in that we spend too much time with people we don't care about and not enough time with some of the most compelling people in the book, the rescue workers who risk their own lives to save such men. On balance then, Mr. Knecht has written a book that's well worth reading and is truly gripping throughout the bulk of the action. That less might have been better does not diminish the quality of what's best here and at its best the book is very good. GRADE : B+
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've read in a long time
Review: This book is a terrific account of the '98 Hobart race. I was not able to put it down and finished it in just a few days (I typically take weeks to finish a book). There are great lessons on leadership, strategic decision making, and the human spirit here. Definitely a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Intense and disciplined
Review: This book is about people -- an incredibly interesting assortment of determined, competitive people thrust into a circumstance more challenging and dangerous than any of them expected. Bruce Knecht captures acts of heroism and frailty, but, in a display of astonishing writerly discipline, he never judges these people. Judging these strong people would inevitably over-simplify the reality of human behavior under life-threatening stress. The way Knecht does it, as we read, we get to wonder how we would react.
Rating:
Summary: Sea stories and Yacht Racers
Review: This book should appeal mostly to people who like rollicking good sea stories and also to yacht racers who want and need to get a better understanding of the terrible tragedy that was the '98 Sidney Hobart Race. For the sea story lovers, this book is much better than "The Perfect Storm" by Sebastian Junger because a sea story (or any story for that matter) should have a begining, a middle and an ending. "The Perfect Storm" had a good beginning, a better middle but no ending. No one knows what heroism kept the Anita Gayle afloat and what cowardice or misfortune caused her to sink. Fortunately, in the '98 Sidney-Hobart race there were enough survivors to tell the story from beginning to end and author Bruce Knecht has recorded the stories in a very readable account. Yacht racing terms have been defined for the uniniated but not to the point of being pedantic. This is a most interesting account of the behavior of people under tremendous stress. For the yacht racers, Bruce Knecht has chosen to focus primarily on 3 boats. The first, a heavy, conservative cruising boat (Winston Churchill) which sank before encountering the height of the storm. The second, a 15 year old IOR design boat (Sword of Orion) which was rolled and was literally coming apart at the seams but which provided a floating refuge until the crew could be rescued. And third, a modern light weight boat (Syonara)which, although suffering structural damage and delaminations, went on to finish (and win)the race. "The Proving Ground" is a good companion book to Rob Mundle's "Fatal Storm" which is a broader over view of the whole race but which lacks the depth and insight of "The Proving Ground". I have often wondered if "The Checkbook", "The Rock Star", and "The Hired Hand" could pull their weight "out there" if it got really nasty. Well, this book answers those questions and you might be a little surprised at the answers. This book is no "Fastnet Force 10" but it comes close.
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