On the wings of the breeze
Andrew has sailed in various senior dinghy classes and keel boats and his professional sailing years taught him valuable business and life skills.
He has sailed on just about anything that floats and is an activist for the healthy outdoor lifestyle, which is what drew Andrew Heathcote to Ballito about six years ago.
“It is a great place to bring up small kids. My wife, Lari and I try to pursue an outdoor lifestyle agenda and hope that this will rub off on our two kids, Samuel (6) and Rachel (4),” said Heathcote, who started sailing an Optimist when he was about eight years old at Point Yacht Club.
Andrew has sailed in various senior dinghy classes and keel boats and his professional sailing years taught him valuable business and life skills.
“Planning, preparation and organization is key for successful sailing. If your preparation and equipment are not perfect, it will be impossible for your performance to be perfect. I have always been a stickler for making sure that the boat is 100% before any event. The bigger international campaigns taught me a lot about project management, planning, budgeting, marketing and logistics.”
Besides the amazing experiences, Heathcote said sailing has given him great friendships across the world.
“When it comes down to it, the friends made are far more important than the races won. It does not always seem like that in the heat of the moment, but looking back, the friends now seem way more important than the old shoe box full of medals in the garage cupboard.”
Being a family man now, Heathcote is particularly drawn to the Hobie fleet, because it is super family friendly.
“Hobies are pretty simple and generally fun to sail. The racing is highly competitive, with the national top guys being at the front of the international fleets and the fleet sizes are probably the biggest in the country at the moment.
“On the water the competition is intense, but off it the guys are generally pretty laid back and friendly. There is a lot of sharing of information, set-up, boat tuning and techniques, which is quite different to the secrecy and trickery of some of the classes I have been involved with previously. The social scene at events is a lot of fun. It is great to be able to just take my wife and kids sailing using pretty much the same kit I have for serious racing.”
He said people often shy away from sailing, because they think it is an elitist sport, which is not necessarily the case.
“If you are not a boat owner, sailing does not have to be expensive. Just throw on some baggies, grab the suncream and hop on.”
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