Down-to-earth with a great sense of humour, possibly because of her east Auckland upbringing, she’s had an incredibly interesting life being involved in or at the forefront of some of New Zealand’s most important and successful sailing ventures and campaigns, she tells PJ TAYLOR.
Where were you born and grew up?
I was born in Auckland and lived in Howick in Beach Road in an old Kiwi villa. I have four brothers and a sister. My father Jack Allen was a famous yachting navigator. He did numerous successful Sydney to Hobart offshore races, and to the Pacific Islands, with high success rates. He’d been a navigator with the British Navy on a destroyer ship, and later a teacher at Pakuranga College. My mother also was a very accomplished sailor, often sailing with my father doing offshore and local yacht racing. My older brother Joe Allen has won match-racing world championships and several Americas Cups as a bowman.
Where were you educated?
I went to Pakuranga College. Then my father decided I was having too much fun at school, and my grades were too low, so he got me a dressmaking apprenticeship. I did a design course at Auckland Technical Institute. I didn’t really like it but kept going with it all. Then I went to Australia with my girlfriends. Found myself working at the Wilpena Pound Hotel in central Australia. I felt very depressed there and realised it was because I was a long way from the sea. My father called, saying he wanted help crewing our family yacht home from Tonga. I leapt at the idea and found my way to Tonga. It was there I figured out I wanted to be a sailmaker. I got a job with Fyfe Sails and then at North Sails which was a fairly new company starting up in New Zealand. I loved it. I was working with Tom Schnackenberg and we were building sails for the best racing boats in New Zealand.
What was your first experience of international sailing?
Tom Schnack’ went away working for the Australian America’s Cup team and left North Sails with some not-so-nice people. I was excelling with my work which I loved, but somehow, they fired me and all the other females that worked there. I managed to get fired from my night job at the Howick pub in the same week! Spending too much time on the wrong side of the bar! I deserved that one ha ha. Tom Schnack’ got me a job in Los Angeles where I met lots of people and got a job at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games as the onsite sailmaker with my friend Rio Komatsu. It was great to be there, and I gave special attention to the New Zealand team. Russell Coutts won the Finn class gold medal there, Bruce Kendall the bronze medal in boardsailing, and Rex Sellers and Chris Timms got the gold in the Tornado class.
I lived on and off in America for about 10 years. Rio got me a job with the Canadian America’s Cup team which was almost the fulfilment of my dreams. All throughout this time I had been racing with Jan Shearer, Leslie Egnot and Celia Dodson, sailing in J24 regattas and national championships in Auckland and at Rhode Island. Being a sailmaker I was able to build new sails for our regattas. I loved racing and was a help with sail trim as not many females had that knowledge in those days. While living in Los Angeles, all our New Zealand sailors were travelling through and often stayed at my place. My brother and Grant Dalton were visitors. They were doing around-the-world races with lots of success. The high standard of New Zealand sailors was starting to be recognised on the international yachting stage.
Where did you begin your association with the America’s Cup?
I travelled to Perth with the 1986-87 Canadian America’s Cup team and worked with them. I loved it as they were great people. But I was always looking over the fence with longing at the Kiwi team. About halfway through the campaign, the Canadians withdrew due to funding issues. It was then I reached out to Team New Zealand for a job. I was already there and got the job! I was so happy, it really was a dream come true for me. It was hard work and long hours, but I loved it all and enjoyed becoming part of the New Zealand America’s Cup family. We ate, worked and played together. Many of us were in our early 20s, so we had lots of energy and fun. They chained me to the dock one day and the security guard went home so I had to stay there all day. I was happy as it meant I couldn’t work, ha ha. We lost that campaign but gained lots of experience and knowledge.
I was then asked to manage the building of Steinlager 2’s sail wardrobe which was the largest sail order North Sails NZ had ever had. We had to build four sets of maxi boat sails for the around-the-world race. We had to do it all at night, so we had enough floor space. That was a very successful campaign as they won every leg of the race and did not have any sail breakages. After that I joined in with Team New Zealand again with the big boat KZ1 campaign of 1988. That boat is still on the hard outside the NZ Maritime Museum. When we started to build those sails, we did not know if we could finish them as no one had ever built a sail that size before. We figured it out though. Then it was back up to San Diego to have another hard but fun America’s Cup campaign. Another loss! But again, a lot of hard lessons learnt.
What did you do next?
I came home and got married to my husband Nick Adams and bought a house. Then more sailing with the girls’ team. We did a world championship regatta under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty in New York. We won! Another dream accomplished becoming a world champion! I again joined Team New Zealand for the red boat NZL 20 campaign. It was huge, we had a team of about 12 sailmakers and a huge loft and lived on Coronado Island in San Diego. I got my husband on the team as a chase boat driver. It was so much fun but also a lot of hard work. We were winning almost every race right up until the heartbreaking end when we lost to the Italians. I really thought we would win it, but it was not to be.
Was it then to the Olympics as a competitor?
It was at the end of that campaign when I got a letter asking if I would like to join Leslie Egnot and Jan Shearer as their reserve in the 1992 Olympics at Barcelona. I was so excited. I got the job mainly for my sailmaking skills. I helped the whole team out – cooking, fixing sails, and at Barcelona the water was so polluted I also had to get my nursing skills in action to help prevent infections. You get lots of small cuts when you sail. We had a great time there as it was the highest medalling New Zealand Olympic campaign ever. Kiwi magic was everywhere. We got a silver medal! Another dream accomplished.
How do you come down after that enormous high?
It was time to go home and have babies. When my first daughter Leah was two, I did an all-girl campaign with Gayle Melrose to do the Sydney-Hobart offshore race. It was a fantastic challenge for me. I could write a book on that one, but we finished the race and all felt happy to have done it. Apparently, only 16 all-female crews have ever done that race.
How did your involvement with the America’s Cup restart?
My brother Joe joined Team New Zealand in San Diego and went up there and won it in 1995. He said it was easy! I had spent a decade trying to win the America’s Cup and had lost every one, and been accused of cheating in all of them. It was a family joke. I got a job as a commentator for the next America’s Cup in NZ. So, I went out on large boats and helped the people understand what was happening out there. That job involved a lot of champagne drinking and fun. A lot easier than being a sailmaker. It turned out I was quite good at commentating and for the next America’s Cup in New Zealand I got a job on the New Zealand team as an official commentator. Again, lots of champagne and I finally got to win an America’s Cup campaign as part of the team. That was another dream accomplished.
What are some other thoughts and memories you’d like to share?
Whilst living in Howick I enjoyed going to the Howick pub and sailing with Bucklands Beach Yacht Club. I made lifelong friends like Frith Jenkins going to Howick Intermediate School. Howick was a safe place to grow up, and I had a great supportive family there. I worry that many teenagers leave their various sports and stop chasing their dreams which can lead people in the wrong direction. If you hang in there with the sport or craft you love, even if you aren’t very good at it, you can live a happy healthy life. Being involved in sports or crafts is a great way to make lifelong friends. I still live in Pakuranga doing part-time sailmaking and pursuing my new love for art.
