60 seconds with Alistair Sutherland
Guest User
How old were you when you first stepped on a boat?
I must have been about 12 years old – sailing on a Topper in the Lake District in the North of England
If money (and sailing ability) were no limit, what boat would you buy?
505 – so many strings to pull, so little time!
What is your ultimate sailing goal?
At the moment I aim for top 3 in any DBSC race I sail in. Given the depth of the Radial fleet at the moment, that goal usually disappears over the horizon on the way down the first reach…………..
Tell us the story behind the name of your Laser?
Iron Buddha. In Chinese it’s pronounced “Tie Guan Yin”, and if you order it you’d be presented with a cup of tea.
If you could add any ingredient to DBSC's world’s best toasties – what would it be?
I’ve never eaten anything that can’t be improved with the addition of Tabasco Sauce.
What are your second/third favourite hobbies (assuming sailing is #1)?
At the moment, hanging out with my young family takes up a wealth of my time, but is also one of my favourite things.
Describe what you do for work in less than five words?
Sell IT Systems to Insurance companies.
What is the first international destination you will travel to (once we're allowed) and why?
Japan for culture, food and skiing.
What is your favourite TV show, movie, and/or book?
TV Show – the Wire. Movie – the fog of war (also name of long-time DBSC club laser), book – the hundred year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared (Jonas Jonasson)
Tell us something interesting about yourself that members of the club don’t know?
I was in the first ever Radial Fleet start. Back then, everyone hung in on a full rig despite their weight, and a couple of us followed them around in Radials. There was a lady who sailed with us then and, after one particularly bad day on the water, she came ashore and unloaded on the Sailing Committee. I can’t remember the exact nature of her complaint, but she was seriously fed up with an evil Full Rig sailor for getting in her way, and pretty much demanded that the handful of Radials get their own start. I don’ think we ever saw her again, but the race committee promptly agreed to appease her, we got our own starts, a load of underweight full rigs saw how much fun we were having, and everything just sort of snowballed from there. I can’t remember the lady’s name, but I’d really like to know which full rig sailor it was who upset her so badly that day; it’s the best thing they could have done and I’d love to buy him a beer!
Al with his formidable crew