Leading light
Davis was born in 1955 in Florida – at the time his father Whit was a commander of a US submarine. So his childhood was spent in and around various Navy bases in Florida, California and Hawaii – “the best childhood, always around water.”
By age 13 he was racing a Sunfish sailing dinghy against military guys 20 years older, and when the family moved to San Diego in 1969, it was Sabots and Snipes. His big break came with crewing for Lowell North (founder of North Sails) on his IOR keelers and Solings.
“Lowell took me under his wing. I was two years into an accountancy degree but I quit and became a sailmaker for North at Huntington Beach, California. Sailmaking was how you became a professional sailor in those days.”
In 1977 Davis joined North’s America’s Cup (AC) Enterprise campaign as bowman. While she lost to Ted Turner’s Courageous (which went on to beat Alan Bond’s Australia four-zip), it was the beginning of a 40-year AC obsession for Davis.
The Congressional Cup (CC) is the USA’s premier match-racing event. While Davis’ first CC experience was crewing for Scott Perry in 1973, he helmed his first
