Hurricane Michael and the Compassionate Captain

05/09/24 • 31 min

If I suggested that you spend nine months away from home and family and sail 32,000 miles around the world the hard way around (ie against prevailing winds and currents), what would you say? And suppose I then told you that eight of your crew had never sailed before and, by the way, Hurricane Michael would be waiting to greet you?
Well, that’s what happened to adventurer, author and - to some - mad person Manley Hopkinson. As one of the skippers in the 2000-01 BT Global Challenge, the world’s toughest yacht race, Manley guided his 40-ton 72-foot steel cutter and a part-trained but very spirited Team Large through storms, doldrums and everything in between. They took everything in their stride until they came face-to-face with Hurricane Michael, an event that would test Manley’s sailing expertise and leadership skills to the limit.
Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/hurricane-michael-and-the-compassionate-captain

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Show notes: https://www.battingthebreeze.com/the-khmer-rouge-mr-clever-and-me/

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Batting the Breeze - Hurricane Michael and the Compassionate Captain

Transcript

Manley00:00:00.367

And for all of the crew, there are times when you forget just how big it was, the thing that we did. And we raced around the world the wrong way. And eight of my crew had never sailed before in their life. It was the toughest yacht race in the world.

Manley00:00:59.384

My early years were... definitely fashioned by the fact that my father was Navy so every two and a half years we moved, so I don't come from one place.