For Tasmanian-born sailor Chris Harmsen (BSc 1982, Dip Ed 1983), teamwork has been a big part of life, whether in America’s Cup and Wild Oats campaigns, business consulting or beyond.
“The Wild Oats XI Sydney-Hobart campaigns were based on a team that formed initially around 20 years earlier than the 2005 launch date,” Chris said.
“Many of the crew raced together in the 1987 America’s Cup in Perth, and in one form or another stayed together through numerous campaigns.”
Chris’s sailing journey started in childhood with an early opportunity to represent Australia in the 1978 World Youth Championships in Peru. This was followed by national title wins in Laser Youths and Dragons while studying at the University of Tasmania.
After a childhood spent in nature, Chris had a passion for the life sciences and completed his Bachelor of Science and Diploma of Education through an Education Department scholarship. Most of his family were, and are, teachers, so his career path seemed quite clear, until two letters arrived on 2 January 1983, which required him to make a choice.
One letter offered him a teaching posting on King Island. The other was an invitation to try out for the America’s Cup. Three Australian syndicates were being put forward, including Alan Bond’s Australia II, and Challenge 12, a Victorian syndicate sponsored by Visy boss Dick Pratt. Chris made the team for Challenge 12 and, with the Education Department’s support, headed to Newport, which he says was a fantastic experience.
On return, Chris spent a short time as a junior high-school teacher in Geeveston, Huonville and New Norfolk before being invited back for the next America’s Cup in Fremantle in 1987 with the Kookaburra Syndicate.
Kookaburra went on to win the defender series, beating Australia III, before being trounced by Dennis Connor’s Stars & Stripes in the final. Some consolation came the following year when Kookaburra won the 12 Metre World Championships in Sweden. “We had our act together by then, and it was a lot of fun, with racing held near the Arctic Circle allowing one of the races to be run at midnight,” Chris said.
Over the next four years, Chris continued as a professional racer with the core of the Kookaburra Team, the main focus being the nascent world match racing circuit – racing identical boats one-on-one against the best in the world.
Initially the circuit was a loose collection of events across the globe with no collective coordination, so working with America’s Cup skipper Peter Gilmour, Chris was instrumental in establishing the World Match Race Ranking system in 1989.
This was the first international ranking system of sailors in any class worldwide, with World Sailing only introducing sailor rankings for Olympic classes 23 years later in 2012.
“It was Pete’s idea – a way to improve the competition and raise the profile of competitors and, in turn, to attract sponsorship,” Chris said.
“We banged on a lot of doors, including IMG in London, and everyone benefitted. For the first three years the rankings were run off my laptop (with floppy disc backups!) and through some hard work, on and off the water, we ended up being the top-ranked team for three years running. I promise the system was objective!”.
During this time, Chris says he was introduced to the commercial world, which motivated him to complete an MBA and embark on a career in management consulting.
He says his science background was critical in giving him a foundation in quantitative thinking.
“It gave me a good foundation of fact-based research which is as applicable to management consulting as it is to the life sciences and yacht racing.”
For the last 15 years, Chris has been consulting for the higher education sector in Australia and internationally, taking him full circle, back to his roots in education.
Meanwhile, his sailing career continued, clocking up 24 starts in the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, eight of these taking out line honours (Tasmania 1994, Wild Oats 2005–2017), and two handicap wins (Wild Oats).
He recalls one particularly challenging race on Wild Oats.
“On the third trip south, I had the privilege of being one of the helmsmen on Wild Oats,” he said.
“While a lot of it was fun, there was one period when we were racing on the edge – full sails, 30+ kts of tailwind, a healthy swell and 25-30+ kts of boat speed.
“Of course it was nighttime, and in those conditions the boat was really heavy to drive (balance issues got sorted out a couple of years later), so beyond being a pretty physical exercise, the potential for crashing was high. I wouldn’t pass that experience up for the world but wouldn’t exactly call it relaxing!”
Fortunately, no wipeouts ensued.
Being Tasmanian has also been an important feature of Chris’s life. In 1994, for the 50th Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, Robert Clifford and a friend of his chartered New Zealand Endeavour, a 86’ double master, which had just won the round the world race.
“The vision was to pull together a nearly all Tasmanian crew, train hard and win the race in a boat named Tasmania,” Chris said.
“A couple of the crew, including me, lived in Sydney and spent several months flying home for weekends to train … Being the 50th year the race attracted a record line-up of around 360 boats, of which 10 or so were maxis.
“The race threw everything at us from calms to near gales. We were rarely out of sight from Brindabella, with the lead swapping five or six times. At one stage we were sitting becalmed next to them in Bass Strait within shouting distance, and within 20 miles of the finish we were still a similar distance apart. Fortunately, the good guys won.”
Chris was inducted into the Yachting Tasmania Hall of Fame in 2012.
Beyond sailing, he believes that Tasmania offers the chance to be attuned to the environment.
“I’m really proud of being a Tasmanian and will always consider myself part of the island ‘tribe’, despite many years on the mainland,” he said.
“One of my favourite ‘Big History’ authors, Yuval Harari, in his recent book Nexus, has a fascinating perspective on how important these tribal associations are in shaping human power and cooperation for better or worse. From my experience Tribe Tasmania is working hard on the ‘for better’ bit.”
While sailing is now a pastime rather than passion, Chris still takes on the Sydney-Hobart Race most years and still has the adventure itch to scratch. One of those was a Bass Strait crossing by sea kayak with his good friend “Davo”, island hopping through the Furneaux Group from Wilsons Promontory to Mussleroe Bay. Others are racing ocean skis with his wife, Karen, and finding big hills to ride his bike up, fitness remaining a key interest.
His hopes for Tasmania are around protecting the ecology that he grew up enjoying. He counts among his regrets wishing he had taken a bigger stand during the Franklin River protests.
“A few years ago, we went to the local cinema to watch the launch of The Giants, the documentary of Bob Brown’s years of activism, with a large part dedicated to the battle for the Franklin,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly powerful story, and I couldn’t help reflecting on the fact that I was studying at UTAS in 1982, and while I attended the city-based protests, I wasn’t on the river taking a stand. It was pretty humbling listening to the Q&A with Bob afterwards, wondering how someone can have such a big impact, giving so much and keeping on giving.
“I hope the State puts ecology first with careful management, including rewilding and preserving our magnificent natural resources.”
He also values the community, and the quiet confidence and humility of many Tasmanians.
“Tasmania breeds people who are prepared to have a go, and fortunately, despite the tyranny of distance, many have remained lifelong friends,” he said.
“Knowing I’m part of a Tasmanian community continues to give me a sense of pride.”
Image top right: Chris Harmsen and crew onboard Kialoa II
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