62 1GM FridayDecember 20 2013 | the times Register Cornelis vanRietschoten SwashbucklingDutch entrepreneur whodominated oceanracingand wonthe WhitbreadRoundthe WorldRacetwice

PPLMEDIA Cornelis vanRietschoten, known as Resistance movement; the other while Conny, wasHolland’smostfamous attemptingtorescuethe skipper of a yachtsman. He dominated ocean rac- Rhine barge he wascrewingonduring ingduringthe late1970s and early the firstAllied1,000-bomber raid on 1980s,becomingtheonlyskipperto win Duisburg. twice the British-run Whitbread These experiencesleftadeep mark Round the World yacht race, the fore- on vanRietschoten’s character and re- runner to today’sVolvo Ocean Race. inforcedhis burningdesire to succeed Aprosperous businessman in search with everychallenge. Akeen field of a fresh challenge, he channelled his sportsman, he enjoyedshootingand money and management skills intohis fishing, and wasascratch golfer. twochampion Flyer yachts. In one Afterthe warhemovedtoEngland to remarkable episodeduringhis second study engineering. Awin on the foot- Whitbread race in 1981-82 the shybut ball pools allowed him to buy the Drag- fiercely competitive Dutchman dis- on-class 29ftkeelboat Gerda with a played the steely depths of his charac- friend, and it wasaboard this small boat ter. Five days out of Cape Town in that he developedataste forlong-dis- strong winds in the SouthernOcean tance sailing. Their firstvoyage was and still amonth from Auckland he had from the Clyde to Cowes. Their second, aheartattack. Neck-and-neck with the in 1948, wasfromCowes,across the Kiwi yacht Ceramco he swore his crew NorthSea to Arendal, Norway,tocom- to secrecy, even though Ceramco had a peteinthat year’s Dragon Gold Cup cardiologistinher crew and wasjusta world championship.They didn’t win, fewmilesastern. but Crown Prince Olaf of Norway pro- “The critical period afteraheartat- claimedthe two Gerda crew the best tack is alwaysthe first24-36 hours, and sailors at the regatta forsailingthe the nearest port[Fremantle, Australia] longest distance to takepart wasten days away,” vanRietschoten re- While developingasuccessful busi- counted later.“Ceramco wasalready ness career,firstinpharmaceuticals, breathingdown our necks. If they had and later transformingthe family elec- known that Ihad ahealth problem, tricalengineeringbusinessintoamulti- national, vanRietschoten continued He lost dozensofbottles sailing, competinginseveral NorthSea, Fastnet and Santander races. of champagnebetting Before his Whitbread exploits, van Rietschoten, whose political views with hisrival skippers VanRietschoten at the helm in the Southern Ocean; below, in Auckland after winning the Whitbread leg from Cape Town were unabashedly rightwing, devel- opedachampionship golf course near they would have pushedtheir boat even sailingreally gottoknow about this returningtransatlantic race before rac- his Algarve home, only to see the land harder.When youdie at sea, youare Dutchman. At 45 he had retiredfrom ingaround the world from Portsmouth confiscated when Portugal briefly fell buriedoverthe side. If that happened, active business and waslookingfor new and back to win on handicap by ahuge to aCommunistcoup in the early 1970s. the Ceramco boys might then have challenges. The firstWhitbread Race in 59-hour margin. Forhis second cam- Convincedthat the regime would fail, spottedmedriftingby...and that,Iwas 1973 fittedthe bill. paign in 1981-82 he returnedwith the vanRietschoten bought out his part- determined, would be the only thing His approach changedthe sport. He second of his Flyer yachts, this time a ners, and waited.When the regime did they would see or hear from Flyer on had money and professionalism, unlike purpose-built 76ft maxi-sloop. collapse in 1974,herecoupedhis money the matter!” the gung-ho amateurs at the time. He In his huge house in the Algarve and usedsome of it to fund his first The nervous junior doctor on board still sawhimself as an amateur, but his where he ownedmore than 20 milesof Whitbread campaign. Flyer waschargedwith his care —not achievements were not matcheduntil coastline, he created an office, the Flyer He wasevenluckier when he and his even vanRietschoten’s own wifeknew the NewZealander PeterBlakealso room, filledwith memorabilia, photo- party of hunters were held captivedur- until some time later.The Dutchman sweptall before him with Steinlager 2 a graphs and models. ingasafari shoot in Zaire. Tiedupfor wassoon up workingagain. In Auck- decade later. Cornelis vanRietschoten wasintro- three days, vanRietschoten waseven- land he wasput on medication by acar- It is commonplace now,but vanRiet- ducedtosailingat3,joininghis father, tually releasedwith his shooting diologist, enjoyedabrief respiteand schoten wasthe firstskipper to under- JanJacob,aboard the family’s 12-metre friends. Six other hunters were less for- then plungedontothe nextand most takeextensive triallingand crew train- yacht Copeja,inraces runbythe Royal tunate. They were found in shallow arduous leg to Argentina, apparently ingbefore the race, and invested his Maas Yacht Club in Rotterdam. gravesaweek earlier.Henever went on sufferingnolong-termeffects. money wisely,fundingresearch to im- His childhood wasdisruptedbythe safari again, and gave his guns away.He Flyer wonthe Cape Town-Auckland came the reply.“Well, that will costyou prove crew clothing, rigs and the first Second World War. He spent much of it stoppedracingin1982. Atrophynamed stage by nine hours, but from there on 25 bottlesofbubbly,” vanRietschoten computerisedforecastingtechniques. hiddenbyhis mother in asecret room afterhim is awarded annually to the the twoyachts were constantly trading chuckled. There wasnoreply,and to His aim wastofind rawyoungsailors in the attic of the family home in Rot- best Dutch competition sailor. places.Halfwayacross the Pacific the this day, the Flyer and Ceramco crews and train them to race the wayhewant- terdam. His father washeld, likemany Conny’swife, Inger,diedin2004, and crews were within sight of each other still argue overwhich boat wasfirst. ed.Noone waspaid while at sea; they prominent people, as ahostage in the heissurvivedbytheironedaughterand and rounded Cape Horn in close com- VanRietschoten finishedfirstin were givenonly $50 aweek spending hope of forestallingattempts by the three sons. He rarely spoke about the pany. Ceramco’s skipper liked to bet Portsmouth, to takeline honours, and money in portand vanRietschoten laid Dutch Resistance movement to sabo- pastwith his family,and his four with vanRietschoten on almostany when the French yacht Charles Heidsi- down strictrules(no discussion of reli- tage vessels beingfittedout at the fami- children have careers in IT,banking outcome within the race, and, being eckIII,their nearest rivalonhandicap, gion or politicsonboard and no criti- ly’s shipyard. Jan Jacob was spared but and, in one case, farminginFrance. His betteratsettingwagers, would collect wasbecalmednear the Azores, Flyer cism of the food). To his credit,manyof his friend Willem Ruys, head of the youngest son, also Cornelis, livesinthe countless bottlesofchampagne at the became the firstand only yacht in the his crew went on to greatness in their shippingline Rotterdam Lloyd,was UK and keeps ayacht in Shoreham-by- endofeachleg.However, vanRietscho- history of the race to scoop both line fields. Grant Dalton, head of NewZea- summarily shot afterthe cruise ship Sea. teneventually goteven, sayingoverthe and handicap honours. The crew also land’sAmerica’sCup campaign, began that vanRietschoten’s companywas radio as the pair closedonCape Horn: set twoworld records: the fastest noon as asailmaker aboard the second Flyer. completing, wassabotaged. Van Cornelis vanRietschoten, entrepreneur “Peter,would youlikemetoreportto to noon runof327 miles, and the fastest Before his firstWhitbread race van Rietschoten’s twobrothers were also and champion ocean racer, wasborn on the world that Ceramco beat Flyer circumnavigation, in 120 days. Rietschoten and his crew embarked on killed, one while parachutingintothe March 23, 1926. He died after astrokeon round?” “That would be very nice,” It wasnot until 1977 that the world of adouble Atlantic crossing, and wonthe Netherlands from the UK as partofthe December 17,2013, aged 87

MGM /KOBALCOLLECTION Totter in Lady Audrey Totter in the Lake (1947),the innovative film Actress whoplayedfemmesfatales, tough-talkingdamesand ‘bad girls’ adaptation of Raymond Withherpowerfullyexpressive arching Marlowe’spoint of view.Totter, who roles fell out of fashion sheworked Chandler’s eyebrows, pursedlips and disdainful wasborninJoliet,Illinois, in 1917, mostly in television. Sheappearedin novel. She stare, Audrey Totter epitomisedthe also played more virtuous roles,but several TV series, includingthe long- starred femme fatale of film noir in the 1940s said that “bad girls” were more funto runningCBS show Medical Center. Her opposite and early 1950s. play. lastrolewas in an episodeofMurder, Robert In the 1946 masterpiece The Postman One of her mostmemorable “bad She Wrote,in1987. Montgomery Always Rings Twice,she tantalisesthe girls” wasthe philanderingwifein Herhusband, LeoFred, amedical who directed fall guy John Garfield with racy banter Tension (1950). Shewalks out on her academic at UCLA SchoolofMedicine, and playedthe when he stops to help her afterher car hard-workinghusband forarich lover. predeceasedher.She is survivedby hard-boiled breaks down. Humiliated and beaten up by his latest their daughter,and agrand-daughter, private dick Shehad abigger rolethe following rival, the husband plots his revenge, but Eden Trotter. Phillip year in Lady in theLake as the publish- his wifekills her loverand sets up the Marlowe ingexecutive who hiresthe detective hapless husband as prime suspect. Audrey Totter,actress, wasborn on Philip Marlowe(RobertMontgomery). Totter continuedtoact intothe December 20,1917. Shedied December The film is notable forbeingshot from 1980s, but as the tough-talkingdame 12,2013, aged 95