PRINCIPALS
ROBERT (ROBBY) NEW
Designer, builder, project leader, financial director.
Born: Trinidad & Tobago W.I. 17 Feb 1943
Father: Gordon New (U.S.)
Mother: Grace Canning (Trinidad & Tobago)
Educated: Trinidad, U.S. (scholarship to St Pauls prep school), Barbados, U.K. One of three successful applicants (out of 3,000) for Texaco sponsored full scholarship to the university of Edinborough (mechanical engineering) - Went sailing the pacific on a 30 ft. trimaran instead.
Marital status: Divorced. One son aged 32
The most valueable asset Robert New brings to the table, in regard to both the design & construction of Spirit of The Bahamas and to the expedition itself, is a clear understanding of the interactions that occur between sea and vessel throughout a wide spectrum of sea conditions and vessel types . This knowledge has been acquired through focussed attention on such interactions, during a lifetime spent "messing about in boats".
Some of the activities Robert New has been involved in are as follows:
Designing, building and operating many models and small boat for a variety of uses including day charter,commercial fishing, and ocean racing. Sportdiving, commercial free diving, oil field diving, and salvage diving. Operating commercial fishing vessels, salvage vessels and private yachts.
Paralleling the above activities (most of which served primarily to put a little bread on the table) Robert New has devoted the better part of his life to the continued development of design and construction concepts for"serious" seagoing boats (70ft and up). Over the years, in a misguided effort to better attract investers, he has devoted more and more of his time and energy to this pursuit of better and better performing boats at lower and lower cost.
Robert New has, admittedly, been very slow to fully comprehend the extent to which many, if not most, investment decisions (and, for that matter, many decisions of any kind) are influenced by blind bias and "the herd instinct"- -- as opposed to logical and rational thought processes.
The myth of the rational, logical, cold hearted businessman or banker is apparently just that - insofar as the rational and logical part goes. While the capitalist system has, no doubt, proven itself the most effective system for generating wealth, there would appear to be a serious flaw - with the system or, perhaps more likely, the operators.
This flaw is the unwrittten rule (apparently learned at an early age by most businessman and bankers) that capital shall not be allowed to flow down the economic scale - regardless of rational considerations. A billion dollar loan to bail out a corporation which has clearly demonstrated it's lack of profitability is no problem.
Likewise, a substantial investment in some multi billion dollar corporation, which no one has the slightest idea what they actually do, seems a sound decision to many. (Perhaps, the fact that the C.E.O. is throwing around millions of dollars like confetti provides proof of the soundness of the investment .) A few thousand dollars of investmant capital to a new venture, however, no matter how rational and logical the arguments for it's viability, is entirely out of the question.
On the plus side - through banging his head against this solid impenetrable barrier for many, many years (besides developing a really bad headache) Robert New has acquired a high degree of patience and determination - traits which should prove usefull in the planned project.
Continuing along these lines, (albeit, digressing even further from the subject matter of this web page) the following observations perhaps should be considered -in relation to the goal of this venture.
It would appear that, if the "herd instinct" and the "unwritten rule of capitalism"
are so powerfull (as the designer has finally learned - and as graphically illustrated to all by recent events in the world stock markets) it could prove extremely difficult to bring about a change from "traditional" high cost, high tech, fuel guzzling vessels to more eco - nomical and eco - logicaly sound vessels.
Admittedly, it could well be some time before the average pleasure boat owner, with eye firmly fixed on being approved, admired, and accepted by the "herd", might replace his current fuel guzzling boat with a more economical and environment friendly version.
With this project applying a little (o.k. maybe more than a little) judicious prodding, however, commercial interests, with their eye on the bottom line, could likely be persuaded to move to greener (in every sense of the word) pastures. As with all herds, what begins with a small movement of leaders can, as the numbers increase, rapidly turn into a stampede - with significant benefits to the environment. and socioeconomc conditions in general.
THE HON. KROV NICHOLAS MENUHIN
Cinematography, documentation, systems manager.
Born 17 Aug. 1940
Father: The Lord Yehudi Menuhin.
Mother: Nola Nicholas.
Educated: Australia, Europe and U.S.A. University of Denver, major in journalism.
Military service: 4 years U.S. Army Special Forces.
Citizenship: Australia & U.S.A.
Underwater.filmmaker, proffesional diver and pilot, conservationist and writer, Krov Menuhin has pursued a life of adventure, exploring the earth's extremities and, he says, "experiencing the oceans and the atmosphere first hand". Menuhin moved to the Bahamas in his teens and took up deep sea diving, which, along with flying, has became a vocation and a lifelong passion.
After leaving university in 1961, he served for four years with the U.S. Army's 10th special forces (the Green Berets) Later, while employed as a commercial diver, he was part of the team that made the world's first working dive using neon gas instead of helium.
Menuhin is best known for leading far flung diving and filming expeditions which
were broadcasted by the B.B.C. and Channel 4, and later distributed around the world. Recognised as one of the foremost underwater cameramen in the 1970s and 1980s. he produced one of the first films about whales - "Valdes Bay of Whales"-
This film, along with five others, was awarded top honors at the World Wildlife Film Festival and the Antibes Marine Film Festival. In the 1990s, he directed the French television series USHUAIA which became the first of the'extreme sport' television productions now so popular world wide.
Today, Krov Menuhin remains involved in marine research, developing new techniques and equipment for marine and adventure filming, and consulting for television productions and marine expeditions. Mr. Menuhin also participates in enviromental conferences and lectures on a variety of subjects from conservation to executive decision making under extreme pressure.
Mr. Menuhin has twice been selected as a jury member for the Rolex awards for enterprise and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic society and a member of The
Explorers Club. For complete C.V.
CAUTION - DEEP END
All information, essential to this venture, has been included on the 2 HOME pages. Those seeking further, in depth, information on a particular aspect of this project are invited to click on any of the following links:
2007
For info on current related developments, please vist the
following web sites:
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