Yacht Builder Realizes Olympic Dream
By Matt Gresham
Motor yachts powered by roaring diesel engines with more than 4,500 horsepower fuel John Dane III's professional career at Trinity Yachts. However, steady ocean breezes and the calm sounds of the Gulf of Mexico prove to satisfy his soul and his competitive ambitions. "I build power boats to feed my family and race sailboats for pleasure and enjoyment," Dane said recently, just back from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he competed as the oldest United States Olympian at 58. Dane sailed the Star class keelboat, a two-man operation, with his son-in-law Austin Sperry. An avid sailor since the age of 10, the New Orleans native began his journey at summer camps at Southern Yacht Club, racing Fish class boats on Lake Pontchartrain. "I actually took up sailing because of golf," Dane joked. "My father played golf and the more he played the worse he scored. One day he came home frustrated and told my mother he had to find something else to do. She suggested we take up sailing and the rest is history. He became a club champion and I became an All-American." The sport became a passion for Dane after a secondplace finish in the 1968 Olympic trial to a fellow New Orleanian. It certainly wet my appetite and made me realize I had enough talent to do it because we were so close," Dane remembered. "It motivated me to try some more." A graduate of Tulane University with a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Dane was a three-time All-American sailor at Tulane and earned the Intercollegiate Sailor of the Year award in 1968. Dane's seventh Olympic trial proved to be the charm. Along with Sperry, who met Dane's daughter, Sally, in 1999 at a regatta on the Mississippi coast, the pair earned a spot on the 2008 Olympic team. The pair trained together for the last three years and realized the significance of their efforts August 8, standing inside the tunnel of the "Bird's Nest," awaiting the opening ceremonies. "It was obviously very thrilling and an emotional moment to be standing in the tunnel and to hear all the chants of 'USA' and to see the crowd," Dane said. "I got goose bumps. It was an unbelievable moment." The competition was tough among the 16 competitors in the Star class, Dane said. To garner an edge, the pair decided on a "light-air" strategy (low wind speeds). "Our decision was based on a 20-year history of weather forecasts," he said. "We rigged the boat for light air and
34 MN
after three races we were in first place. The winds picked up later in the regatta and our decision proved to be detrimental to our finish." The pair finished 11th in the end, but the experience was priceless for Dane, especially due to his elder status. "On a number of occasions people would look at me and ask to speak to the helmsman of the U.S. team," Dane said. "And I'd have to explain I'm the competitor, not the coach." So are the 2012 London games in Dane's future? "No. I told some people at 58 and going to the gym at 5 a.m. five days a week, there's probably not enough Advil in the world to get me through to London," he joked. "It's a strenuous sport and at the Olympic level, it's a lot of work. Out of 16 competitors, really only three of us had careers outside of sailing. The sport is very professional." But Dane will likely still be found sailing recreationally and at times competitively on Lake Pontchartrain or in Pass Christian, Miss. "I've done it," he said of the Olympics. "It was my dream and my goal and I am happy to get back to a more normal life with my family and business." Dane's day job is serving as president and CEO of New Orleans-based Trinity Yachts LLC and majority owner of Gulfport, Miss.-based United States Marine Inc., which builds high-tech patrol boats for the U.S. Navy and international militaries. "Of course, there will be a little sailing on the local level for fun," Dane said.
October 2008