Often the reason for the success of a company can be seen in the most unexpected places. Like the middle of the ocean.
For nearly a century the Trans Pacific Yacht Race has been a fiercely contested battle between some of the fastest sailboats in the world. The 2225 nautical mile race starts in Los Angeles and ends in Honolulu and can involve nearly sixty yachts. Besides American sailors, contenders come from all around the Pacific, including Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.
This year SSI Shredding System's president Thomas Garnier, along with his brother, nephews, and son Joji (at 13 the youngest sailor in the race), entered the fray in the Class III division (boats under 50 feet) with his little J/125 boat, Reinrag2. The Reinrag2 was the culmination of months of support from SSI's whole team. "We would never have even arrived at the starting line without the help of so many people in the company," said Garnier. It was a can-do spirit that permeates the Oregon shredder manufacturing company.
TransPac was an impressive challenge for the Oregon entrepreneur. Not only was the J boat not designed to make such a long, blue water race, but Reinrag2 started having rudder problems on the first day out. Undaunted, the crew jury-rigged solutions to the leaky rudder bearings and sailed on. Steadily, keeping their course and an eye on their repairs, they made up time.
While rest of the fleet took the seemingly shorter, rhumb-line route to Hawaii, the Garniers trusted their earlier weather reports from NOA and steered southwest, skirting a high-pressure bulge that lay directly in the path of the other boats. Garnier's navigator, Kevin Garnier had a hunch that the high pressure system wasn't going to go away soon and that, given the sailing properties of his J boat, he had a better chance of looping down around the heavy air mass and picking up the wind flowing out of it.
Sure enough, the high-pressure zone stayed put, the other boats hit dead air, and Reinrag2, sailing alone and steady, crossed the finish line off Honolulu ahead of everyone else in its class. In fact, this scrappy little boat set a new record by making the run faster than any boat ever under 50' for which it trophied. It was a testament to the J Boat, but it was also a mark of the seamanship, tenacity, and planning of the Reinrag2 crew and the "ground" support from the employees at SSI.
Throughout the week-long race people at the home office eagerly followed the progress of their crew online and on a large chart posted in the office. Daily position reports were e-mailed from each boat.
Garnier's comment on the secret of his victory was to refer to the same tactical principle he uses in his highly successful shredder manufacturing business, "Accelerate to the Finish." The SSI president sees parallels in both his approaches to sailing and business. "There are always problems and unexpected factors in any undertaking, whether sailing across the Pacific or growing a business. But you set your course, prepare carefully, and stay flexible. You fix the problems as they arise and keep moving forward, gaining speed as you near your goal."
