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Attend the Master. When Shields finished, there was no applause—just silence, the silence of understanding and respect. His talk opened a sailing course set up by a singular bit of philanthropy. To give the better-than-average sailor a chance to learn from the best, a retired Manhattan oil executive named Herman Whiton, himself expert enough to win the 6-meter championship in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, put up $167,000 for a nonprofit series of five three-day courses this summer. Student's fee: $20. For classrooms, Whiton imported eight sleek, 33-ft. International Ones from Norway. And for a staff, along with Shields he recruited some of the biggest names in sailing—e.g., Designer Olin Stephens of Columbia, famed Sailmaker Colin Ratsey, and windburned Skipper Emil ("Bus") Mosbacher.
All have credentials aplenty for the job. At the helm of 20-year-old Vim, Mosbacher even outfoxed Grey Fox Corny Shields on occasion during last summer's America's Cup trials. But as Shields spoke last week, Mosbacher was in the audience, as intent as any man there, leaning forward to catch every word as the old sailor talked of sea and sails.