David Salter - Ragamuffin Man: The World of Syd Fischer

Published by Nero,

an imprint of Schwartz Publishing Pty Ltd

Level 1, 221 Drummond Street

Carlton VIC 3053, Australia

www.nerobooks.com

Copyright David Salter 2016

David Salter asserts his right to be known as the author of this work.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the publishers.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Salter, David, 1947 author.

Ragamuffin man: the world of Syd Fischer / David Salter.

9781863958882 (hardback)

9781925435306 (ebook)

Fischer, Syd, 1927

BusinessmenAustraliaBiography.

Real estate developersAustraliaBiography.

Yacht racing.

338.76092

Cover design by Peter Long

Text design and typesetting by Tristan Main Internal images: by the author or, unless otherwise noted, courtesy of Syd Fischer

Also by David Salter

This Fabulous Century (with Peter Luck)

The Australians (with Peter Luck)

The Spirit of Rugby (with Gordon Bray)

From the Ruck (with Gordon Bray)

How to Insult Your Hosts (with Emma Burgess)

Breaking Ranks (with Peter Cabban)

All Piss & Wind

The Media We Deserve

For Elva

who lived rather grudgingly with this project but tolerated my many absences and disruptions with all her unfailing grace and understanding

ragamuffin / n. & a. A person, esp. a child, in ragged dirty clothes, adj. Ragged and dirty

FOREWORD

by Sir James Hardy, OBE

TO BE FRANK, Im amazed this book was ever started, let alone finished. Ive known Syd Fischer for the best part of 50 years and hes about the most taciturn person in the world. Youre lucky to get a dozen words out of him on any subject. Yet somehow the author, David Salter, has managed here to assemble a wealth of substantial and revealing quotes from his subject. Its as if Syd has suddenly decided that its time to shrug off his lifelong reluctance to talk about himself and let us all now see what really makes him tick.

Fischer has a persistent reputation for being pretty tough, both in business and sport, and Im sure he wouldnt mind me saying so. In fact, its likely that he quite enjoys that reputation. Hes certainly a very competitive bloke, but my experience has been that when the dust settles Syd has always respected the ideals of sportsmanship. He likes to win (dont we all!) but he cops his defeats without complaint. Weve had our little differences, some of which are detailed in this book, but hes an old-fashioned, foursquare Australian and you cant help but like him for that.

Im glad that one of the lesser-known aspects of Syds character his sense of humour comes through strongly in this book. Hes quite a master of the funny put-down. I remember crewing on Ragamuffin in the 1976 SydneyHobart race and the Bass Strait crossing was pretty blustery that year. There was water everywhere. I was sitting on the rail when somebody asked if we wanted anything to eat. I said, What have you got down there? and they replied, Boiled eggs. So up came this boiled egg, and I took the shell off it. Im doused with salt water and remember saying to myself, I always like a bit of salt with my eggs. Syd said, I think we might see that egg again. And sure enough, about half an hour later I had a big chuck. Syd still reckons that the egg came back up with the shell on it! He mentions it every time I see him.

More seriously, reading these pages allows us the first real look into the complex character of a self-made man whos been immensely successful. He created an empire as a builder-developer, one of the hardest games in town. Hes had the courage to take risks. Hes had triumphs, both in business and sport, and the occasional hard loss. Syds five Americas Cup campaigns stand as a testament to his tenacity, and to his generous support of yachting and young sailing talent. I reckon he deserved the honour of being our defender or challenger at least once, but it was not to be.

One important approach to life and sport that I share with Syd is the value he places on physical fitness. Hes a stout champion of the sound body, sound mind philosophy, and has led by personal example. From way back in the early Admirals Cup days to the later Americas Cup challenges, getting every member of the crew truly fit and ready for battle was always a top priority for Syd. He was my team captain in three Admirals Cup campaigns and would never ask us to do anything in the gym he wouldnt do himself. That not only made us more competitive as sailors, but it was also a great way for us to forge ourselves into a unified team another Fischer priority.

David Salter is one of Australias most experienced journalists and broadcasters. Weve sailed together since 1980. He tells me it took two years to write this book, and you can see why. Hes done a massive amount of research and spoken with dozens of people about Fischer his family, shipmates, business associates, friends and enemies. As well, hes written about the fascinating process of rebuilding Syds maxi-yacht Ragamuffin 100, and followed the last two SydneyHobart races in which theyve competed. I believe those chapters will be as exciting to the general reader as they are to we sailing people. David writes about yachts and ocean racing from a position of strong firsthand knowledge. He campaigns his own yacht and has done many thousands of offshore miles, including nine SydneyHobart races.

But the star of this book is, of course, Syd Fischer himself. Those who dismiss him as little more than a harsh ruffian will be surprised. Theres much more to the man than that. This is certainly a warts and all survey of his life, but its not all warts. The revelations about his childhood and early adult life are truly surprising, and provide insights into how such a strong character was formed. Syds offhand sayings are a delight, and his self-assessments and opinions about everyone else are disarming and often hilarious peppered, of course, with the usual Fischer expletives.

We now have this fine account of the Ragamuffin Man for posterity. Its a unique life story, wonderfully well told. Im sure youll enjoy reading it as much as I have.

Sir James Hardy, OBE

AUTHORS NOTE

THIS IS NOT a conventional biography. It is neither authorised nor unauthorised. Syd Fischer is not the kind of person who seeks to exercise authority over things he does not already control.

He certainly co-operated in the preparation of this book for which I am, of course, most grateful but at the same time he did nothing to actively encourage the project. That is entirely consistent with his character. The impulse for self-disclosure that many of us share is not strong in Syd. He always plays with the cards very close to his chest. None of my sailing friends (or Fischers business associates) was confident he could ever be convinced to reveal enough, on the record, to support a biography. He is so naturally unforthcoming and judgmental that much of what he chooses to say, even on complex topics, he reduces to a single, short, acerbic sentence usually delivered in juicy Australian colloquial style. He seems as reluctant to spend his words as his money. In short, Fischer is a writers nightmare.