Yacht Racing in the Sun: We speak to John Horn of Five Star Sailing

by Mark Jardine 13 Apr 2017 13:16 BST 13 April 2017

John Horn has a long history with Five Star Sailing, first running it in the 1990's, then selling the company, and now running it again with two Farr 45 yachts - one based in Majorca and one based in Hamble - for sailing events in the Mediterranean, the Solent and beyond.

Firstly I talked to John about the history of Five Star Sailing:

"We started in 1990 after I'd worked for a couple of sailing schools beforehand. I ran the business until 2003 and we developed into a racing school. In 1992 there was the 'Year of Youth Sailing' and we found four Storm 33 yachts and ran the Five Star Youth Match Racing Championship out of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club, where Ollie Nuttall beat Andy Green in the final. We ran that event as I've always been keen to support youth sailing."

I asked John why he'd decided on a pair of Farr 45s for his sailing:

"In Summer 2016 I was looking to buy a boat to race in the Caribbean regattas and possibly take back and do the Rolex Fastnet Race in this year. Just before I flew over for a meeting in Lymington I took a look to see what else was around. I saw that the Farr 45 fleet had collapsed, mainly due to everyone moving across to the TP52 or Fast40+ fleet, and during the Commodores' Cup I saw Alice II for sale. I gave RORC Commodore Andrew McIrvine a call to ask if Simon Henning (the owner) was anywhere around, to which Andrew replied that he was standing next to him! I told Simon that I wanted to buy his boat. I flew over but decided it wasn't the boat for me. While I was there I saw that there were three other Farr 45s on the hard so I found the number of Werewolf's owner, phoned him and the deal was done. I also made an offer on another 45 called Espresso Martini, which had a decent collection of around 25 sails, and after a bit of negotiation bought that one as well."

John then sailed Werewolf from Hamble to Palma and went off to compete in his first event:

"I sailed the 2016 Rolex Middle Sea race double-handed on Werewolf which was a challenge. The tricky part was keeping the boat upright in 30-35 knots of wind on the leg to Panteleria but could only make Tunisia without the righting moment of a full crew and we were fairly knackered by then. This race was very much a reconnaissance for this year's entry."

After that John has been training with a core-crew of locals in Palma, "It's a lovely boat and has been great for training up the crew. I'm doing the racing in Palma because I'm enjoying it. I'd like to earn the costs back through paying crew coming to sail in events and I'll either sell the business in a couple of years or sell the boats on."

"We provide 'Pay to Sail' racing, with training and regattas like we used to do in the '90s with Five Star Sailing. We sail events with four or five of the core crew, from around 26 different sailors that I have been racing the boat with regularly, some of whom are top match racers; the rest can be paying sailors looking to race in the sunshine on a fast boat. Our core crew are all doing it for fun, the joy of sailing, and this ethos is very much the centre of my philosophy behind the Pay to Sail racing. Once again I've tried to encourage local youth sailors to be part of my core crew and trained them up."

John is aiming to compete in the Rolex Middle Sea Race again, this time fully-crewed:

"All my crew have full-time jobs on boats elsewhere, but are doing this campaign for the fun of sailing. They pay their way onboard which means we have a crew who wants to be there."

Due to this, John's team on the Farr 45 have built an incredibly strong camaraderie which soon rubs off on those crew who are paying to sail:

"It's lovely onboard. We meet at the club to discuss last week's race and what we're going to do in the next race. Four of them even clean the bottom of the boat each week; they all have passion for what they do. They're here because they want to do it."

Two of John's team of sailors in Majorca are even travelling across to the UK for the Rolex Fastnet Race: "We'll also have some of my apprentices from the old Five Star Sailing days back on board."

"We are almost full already for the Round the Island race and we won the Sailing School trophy last time we did it. I really love doing this race and we know where the fast water is and of course have found all the rocks, sunken ships and old boilers - we even know where Gurnard ledge is!

"Palma Vela is one of the two big regattas in Palma, along with the Copa del Rey. It's a four day regatta and starts on the 4th May and we still has a few places left onboard Werewolf. We are up against another Farr 45, Aifos (Sofia backwards, the Spanish King's mother) which is owned by the Spanish navy and is usually sailed by the king.

For John the Rolex Middle Sea Race will be the culmination of his season, a race which has been described as the most beautiful on the planet:

"It's such an interesting race with so many factors and influences. A friend of mine - Stuart Greenfield, who is a RORC Committee member - asked me whether I had tide tables for the Straits of Messina. I wondered why on earth I would need tide tables in the Mediterranean? There are tides there and you do need the tables!"

I wanted to know how people would approach John if they want to take him up on the Pay and Play sailing on the Farr 45 in Palma:

"We have places for people of all experiences and try to sail with 12 people on board. We'd love to have some people with good helming experience on board as the boat reacts like a dinghy and rewards good steering. A group of good dinghy sailors, looking for some sailing in the sun, would be ideal on board. We provide the training about the differences of yacht sailing, being in the right place on the boat and especially safety, when sailing at night."

To go sailing with John and his team email , phone +44 739 362 1409 (UK) or +34 618 406 747 (Spain), visit www.fivestarsailing.eu or the Five Star Sailing page on Facebook.

"We provide all the kit so people can just jump on a flight to Palma with hand luggage only. All safety and wet weather gear is provided."

For dinghy sailors looking to try yacht racing it seems like a Farr 45 in the Mediterranean is the ideal way and John was in full agreement:

"I look at the boat and it makes me feel good. It's a beautiful boat in a beautiful area and I'm sure anyone who comes down to sail with us will feel the same."

Talking to John made me very tempted to go and do the Rolex Middle Sea Race with him myself!

www.fivestarsailing.eu