This spring, Ronnie Simpson was in California, helping U.S. Patriot Sailing suss out a Class40 that had just been donated to the nonprofit. He was hoping to get it set up in time for a doublehanded Pacific Cup run from San Francisco to Hawaii in July. But after a couple of weeks of sailing, he and fellow team members realized the time frame was just too tight to do it right—so they hit the brakes, instead refocusing on using the new ride to bring more military veterans into racing and sailing and taking the longer view toward next year’s race with a full team of vets onboard.
When one feels the pressure of time, it takes maturity and perspective to slow down, reassess, Despite a solid race from the start in A Coruña, Spain, last October, sailing 21,250 nautical miles and clearing the three Great Capes, Simpson’s race came to a crashing end in February with just 5,700 miles to the finish, when he was dismasted in the South Atlantic. Having cut away his rig and with violent weather in the offing, he chose to accept rescue by a merchant ship that had diverted to his position.
