Dane sails through hurricane setbacks

By Justin Palmer

QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast of the United States in 2005, John Dane lost his family home and his yacht-building business suffered more than $30 million of damage.

Dane, 58, could have retired on the insurance pay-out but decided to rebuild the business and also displayed determination in the face of the setbacks to qualify for his first Olympics, in the Star class sailing event alongside son-in-law Austin Sperry.

"The eye of the hurricane crossed (over my home). It was washed away. The only thing left were the columns. It was devastating," Dane told Reuters during a break from training for the Beijing Games.

"We lived on a peninsula (in Pass Christian, Mississippi) with 440 homes. Only two were left standing. My parents also lost their home. From a family point of view it was very tough," said Dane.

After the hurricane devastated his business premises, he relocated his Trinity Yachts company to Gulfport along the coast where he bought 100 mobile homes for his employees.

"Our (business) facility was 13 feet under water. So I did one smart thing. I went and bought another shipyard," said Dane.

"It made me realize that you are going to have tough times and it's what you do with them. I could have taken the insurance money and retired, but I had 550 employees counting on me."

MISSED OUT

Dane first tried to qualify for the Games in 1968 when, in a borrowed Dragon class boat, he finished second and missed out on going to Mexico City. Further attempts in the Soling (1972), Finn (1976) and Star (1984) classes proved unsuccessful.

"Perseverance and persistence shows it can happen," he said. "I left no stone unturned ... We won our trials 10 months ago. That was our first goal. Now our goal is trying to leave Qingdao with a medal," said Dane.

He said sailing in competitions with a family member worked well but there were what he called occasional tense moments.

"I'm the skipper and he understands that. But we are a team on the boat, we talk things over constantly. We balance each other well -- he is young and enthusiastic, I'm a little more cagey and foxy," said Dane.

"There are obviously some tense moments. It's like a marriage. We spend a lot of time together and you throw in that he is married to my daughter. She's probably the one with the toughest position being caught between the two of us."

Dane, at an age when many people are putting their feet up, said he was in the best shape of his life for sailing.

"We go to the gym five days a week. I'm there at 5 a.m. every morning before I go to work," he said.