News

December 11, 2007

To start off our “Up close and Personal” series of interviews with the Mean Machines, we’re having a chat with “Mr Mean Machine” himself…Peter de Ridder. We wanted to find out more about the man, the team and what life as a “Mean Machine” is like. We let the man himself do the talking…

Q: So Peter, how and why do you choose the sailing classes you decide to get involved in?
PDR: I look where the competition is the toughest. So it’s One Design and Box Rule racing. The tougher the competition the better you get. Also it’s a case of “the tougher the competition the sweeter the taste of victory”.

Q: You’ve raced in many different classes and the latest Mean Machine will be number 21 in the family. As a proud parent, do you have any favourites? Has there been one boat you loved more than any other?
PDR: So far I liked the most Mumm 30 and TP 52. The brief experience with the VO70 was also really special. That’s the ultimate mono hull sailing.

Q: You’re considered as a Corinthian, but we have heard comments saying things like: “how can Peter be considered an amateur, when he spends most of the year sailing on pro. Circuits?”
PDR: I think I spend on average 100 days sailing my racing boats. You then might argue that I’m more a pro than an amateur. Still I feel myself an amateur because I’m not paid for the job. That’s in itself a reason why I spend so much time on the water. I have to practice more than the younger guys in order to be able to keep up with them.



Q: Is MM still a Sailing Platform?
PDR: Yes, the aim is still to have continuity in the team. It’s the only way to get better as a team.

Q: To what extent is Peter de Ridder involved in the running of the team (design, organisation, logistics, team selection, etc.)?
PDR: I’m sitting at the top of our little pyramid. By consequence I have a full overview on what is happening and on what has to be done to finally arrive fully prepared at the starting line. At the end of the day I’m making the final calls on most of the issues. Not being a control freak and being slightly lazy by nature, it is of the utmost importance to have a good team standing next to you, to whom you can delegate certain tasks and responsibilities. I’m clearly more interested in strategy than in execution.

Q: What’s more important: an all-star crew, or a group of good sailors who know how to work as a team?
PDR: The latter; a good team is the team where the total is bigger than the sum of the individual parts.

Q: How do you select each team-member? Is it a similar approach to the one you used in your professional life?
PDR: Most of the time, I know by experience and intuition, within a few minutes whether somebody will fit into the team or not. It’s all about feeling and being willing to listen to your own intuition. Job interviews and all kinds of other procedures to select personnel are generally nonsense, and are developed for people who are lacking empathy and social intelligence.

Q: Do regattas help you to broaden your focus in the world of business, or does the world of business help you to broaden your focus in regattas?
PDR: Business experience has taught me that it is important to have some organisational structure in place and fore all the good people (management team) to execute the strategy you have designed. Having a clear strategy or plan in place beforehand, makes the road to success easier and surely also shorter.