Alfa walks the walk, but it's Slade who talks the talk
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday December 30, 2009
AMID the revelry of the leading crews there is one man who rises above the Customs House rum banter with a gold medal standard of bonhomie and quick quip.Judge for yourself. Immediately after crossing the finish line of the 628 nautical mile Rolex Sydney to Hobart race, the runners-up were asked their view about the success of winner Alfa Romeo and thoughts about their own disappointments.Second-placed Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards said: "In this sport, like any other, you must enjoy your victories and learn from your defeats. I'm very proud of what the Wild Oats XI team has achieved since 2005 - four straight line honours, a race record time that still stands, and a win on handicap. Tonight all I can add is that four wins and a second out of five races isn't bad." Straightforward and gracious.Third-placed ICAP Leopard skipper and owner Mike Slade noted: "When Napoleon turned up at Waterloo he knew he was in for a bad day. He had a bad day, didn't he? I've been a bit like that. It was a fantastic race and Alfa, bloody marvellous."Ah, welcome back British property developer Slade. The next question from the dockside media pack was obvious. "When are you coming back?"For Slade has won, hands down, the Oghma (god of communication and poets) award for his wit. Take this gem he proferred yesterday before his traditional post-sail cricket match at Queenborough Oval in Hobart between crew members.When asked why he played cricket (David Boon turned up two years ago when Slade, a keen county cricketer, was last in town) Slade said: "It just seems easier to do than organise a game of polo on horses".Quite.In the wash-up of this year's race, when only six boats had finished within three days, the leading skippers and owners were, once again, revising their future Sydney to Hobart plans. Slade had vowed that bringing his boat and entourage of more than 50 to Australia was so ridiculously expensive he was going to turn Leopard in a money-making cruiser plying the lucrative Mediterranean. Yesterday he said he would be back within three years."There is unfinished business," he said.Winning skipper Neville Crichton had told friends pre-race this was his Hobart swansong. Yesterday, he was talking about a new, faster, sleeker beast. And the wily Bob Oatley, whose boat Wild Oats XI had so forcefully dominated the race for the past four years, was talking about a return even before the boat had been tied up at dock.Talk and more talk. This is more fun than the actual race.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald