Eight Bells: Ruud van Hilst
Ruud van Hilst
Last Friday, in a 5 knot easterly breeze, our friend and Hollandia Team member headed out on the River Seine. We all hoped that day would never come and it leaves our Team in utter disbelief and deep sadness. Our bond was sailing and sailing we did! Over 250 starts on both sides of the Atlantic, winning six World and two European Championships. Ruud’s commitment to Hollandia was total and unconditional, we simply never ever left the dock without him. He was our team’s oldest member, but also our fittest, winning the New York Marathon in his age group, with an epic time of 3’31” at age 68 and .. still running his 10km at age 80 at a pace that none of us could follow.
Ruud was a man of few words, never in the foreground but always near with a strong and charismatic presence. He listened more than he spoke, but never shied away from expressing his opinion. What made Ruud different is that he only needed a few accurately timed words to make his point, leaving no doubt whatsoever where he stood. It made us laugh, but others often shivered.
The secrets of his success? Well, for a start he didn’t suffer fools and cheap cigars! Ruud stayed clear of people who found a problem for every solution, and, being hyper competitive and super fit didn’t hurt either. As long as we had fun he could stand losing but then again, he could stand winning so much better!! It was all about the laughter and the unconditional friendship, without which nothing ever made sense to him. And now the memories spin through my head, so many stories of projects, adventures, journeys and destinations. Let’s not forget a few really fast cars too, hitting 300km/h on our way to a regatta was special but not unusual.
And at “our” clubhouse on the Vondelstraat in Amsterdam the door was always open; especially during the winter it was one of those amazing places where nothing seemed impossible, when we would dine to explore the sense and the all-important nonsense. Ruud was an expert in the unusual and the unexpected. Without any announcement or fuss, crew dinners were often joined by live performances by the finest musicians. And we made plans, lots of plans, we always did. Plans to make Hollandia go faster, figuring out where to race and stay next, or on locating the nearest cigar stores. His Irish Coffees were nothing short of epic: his secret recipe was a full bottle of Oban Malt for every 6 cups, topped off with a Cohiba 55 while listening to Mahler’s 5th symphony in the kitchen.
Ruud is gone but in his wake remain a life time of memories, memories which will last forever and a day. Generous beyond words while truly living his life to the fullest. What a sailor, what man and what a privilege it was to have him as a very dear friend.
