Reprinted with permission from Sailing World

The stakes were high at Key West Race Week several years ago.  It was the final race of the series.  The winner of this heat would win the class.  Tom Neill watched as the crew aboard his Corel 45 Nitemare battled for the lead.  There were plenty of pros on every boat in the class.   I was there too, steering the boat and listening to tactician Peter Isler.  On the last tack, we missed a small shift, finished second and lost the series. On the way back to the harbor it was quiet aboard Nitemare.  Tom Neill broke the silence, and said, "I hear there is a good party tonight."  It was a typical example of Tom, always looking ahead, not back.

Over the past 15 years, I have sailed with, and against, Tom in a variety of boats and can report that there is not a finer sportsman, competitor, or lover of a good time. Sadly, in late 2006 Tom Neill was diagnosed with lung cancer, and given a short time to live.  Everyone around Tom was shocked, but amazed at the positive attitude Tom continues to display everyday.  His spirit is analogous to the way he runs his boats, business and life.  Over the past few months I have talked with this intrepid sailor about his illness, racing, the state of the sport, his philanthropy, and of course his never ending quest for a good time. We can all learn from his philosophy of sailing and life.  

"The illness has magnified the importance of the sport in my life, and how I have benefited from the sport as a human being," Tom told me during a reflective moment.  "Our sailing has created a huge group of friends, it is all about the camaraderie." Sailmaker Pat Considine says, "one of the many things that makes sailing with Tom so special is his passion and love for the sport. He would really enjoy the times when he was the worst sailor on the boat, (his words). He wanted to learn and improve and did so by surrounding himself with good people." Another regular crew, Tim Corkell, smiles at his experience sailing on Tom's boats, "win or lose we have a good time. After a tough loss, it may take some time for levity to return. The Nitemare team is not only a good crew but good friends. We are always looking forward to the next regatta." While talking with several other crewmembers it became clear that the Nitemare group is really a family.

Tom is very much an owner/driver on the racing circuit. His clear goal is to have fun, and win.  But he is not haunted by losing.  He simply gets up and keeps trying. The campaigns mean more than sailing on a boat. It is all about the team. Crews work hard when they are committed to a team. Over the course of a year Neill rotates about 20 sailors on his boats. Off season they go skiing and have lots of social gatherings. These activities help Nitemare's performance on the race course according to the crew.

 To help build a team all his boats carry the same name, Nitemare. There is a long tradition of owners of successful yachts of the past like Kialoa, Boomerang, Ondine, Carina and Merrythought using the reputation of their boat's name to build morale.

 Nitemare seems like an unusual name for a boat.  The battle flag even displays a grim reaper. Tom explains that his ex wife Mary Ann didn't like sailing, but on trips she would take Dramamine and go to bed on the sailboat.  It got to be a joke, instead of saying 'good night Mary Ann" she would fall asleep so fast they would say "Nite Mare."

 About 10 years ago Neill started racing a Corel 45. This campaign was a defining moment for Tom.  He was a member of the crew, but rarely steered.  For three years he sailed with sailing greats like Robbie Doyle, Peter Isler and Jud Smith. Tom says, "I learned a lot from the pros, probably more during that period than my previous 25 years of sailing."  Later his next Nitemare was a Farr 40 where he was required to become the driver. Tim Corkell remembers, "the owner/driver rule definitely improved Tom's driving and boat handling skills.  He has also learned to trust the crew so that he focuses on driving." 

The Farr 40 seemed to be a step up on the competitive curve. Neill came to appreciate level racing, "I prefer the one-design concept.  To me its disheartening to build specific boats to a rating rule to get an advantage," Tom's tone gets serious.  "What price is victory?  You get a quirk in the rule and take advantage of a speed bump. To me that's buying a trophy.  The best racing is mano-mano because it will make you better."  Says crew Brad Magosky "Tom seems to enjoy one-design sailing no matter what the class."  Another crew John Stanley makes a different observation, "we all know Tom loves to talk to other boats and one-design keeps the competition the closest."

Like many sailors Neill has been at it for a long time. As a youngster he started out sailing on a sailfish at the age of 10 at his family's summer home outside of his native Chicago.  During high school he raced a Rhodes 19.  He attended Marquette University and graduated in 1971.  During his college days he crewed on a variety of keelboats. Since then he has raced in 35 Chicago-Mackinac Races, and another 15 Port Huron-Macs. He has also raced at Key West 15 times, completed 12 SORCs and raced in four world championships. There have been nine Nitemares starting with a Morgan 33 in the late 70s. His current boats are a 70 foot sled and a Melges 32.

Tom joined his father's trucking business after college and has been working there ever since.  His brother Rory is his partner.  The company's success has allowed Tom to pursue his passion. 

Neill has three grown children, Bill, 32, an electrical engineer in Chicago, Tom, 31, a grad student at Johns Hopkins, and Sarah, 29, an attorney also living in Chicago.  None race on Nitemare.  Two years ago Tom married his long time companion Amy Duitsman.  She has been at his side throughout his cancer battle.  Periodically, Tom and Amy will send out an update on his health.  In spite of the seriousness of the situation the messages are filled with humor.  Here is an example, "this is my fourth trip to the Emergency Room. All have been on weekends, so I don't miss any work. I don't understand why the Neill employees are always off during the week." Here is another typical message, "things are stable, except for the fluid in my right lung. There is so much there I could fish.  I don't need to go to the Jersey Shore to listen to the surf, all I do is sway side to side and I sound like a Tsunami hitting the beach."

I asked why the humor? Tom said he tries to make the crew feel more comfortable with the illness.  I think it is good therapy for Tom as well. John Stanley is impressed with the positive attitude he sees, "Tom is going out and living his remaining time being it sailing, skiing or just being with his buddies. He is not crying about this. Trips are planned, races are won or lost, either way and the entire fleet cheers when he shows up."

The Chicago Yachting Association recently named Neill Yachtsman of the Year for his passion for boats and his commitment of service to the boating community.  Tom has been a leader in the Leukemia Regatta Series over many years.  He has raised or donated over $100,000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and regularly competes in the Chicago event.  Neill is a US Sailing medalist donor for the Olympic Sailing Team, sponsors junior sailing programs, and was a member of Dawn Riley's 2000 America's Cup syndicate. Riley is one of Neill's favorite professional sailors. He served on the Board of America True, "I've watched Dawn grow over many years starting when she came to Detroit as captain of a boat named Leading Edge. The word "no" is not in her vocabulary. Some how or another she keeps landing on her feet and comes out on top. People like Dawn are far and few between. They will definitely make their mark in this world and in this sport. She has had to fight for every single thing she has achieved, particularly with the Whitbread and her America's Cup efforts. The time I spent in New Zealand with her taught me how serious the America's Cup can be."

Neill is proud to help a variety of sailing projects, "I learned from my Dad at a young age the importance of giving.  Sailing has been a huge part of my life that I make a conscious effort to help at high levels like the America's Cup or the Olympics, and to assist disabled and youth sailing.  If we don't take care of the kids there will be no one to work the front end of the boat," Tom says with a laugh.   US Sailing sent me picture at Christmas with five wheelchairs turned upside on the dock with a sign that says, 'gone sailing.'  It doesn't get any better than that to give."

When asked to rank short course racing with long distance runs Tom says he like the short distance best, but does enjoy the Macs. "On the Macs I get to sail with my friends, but I don't go cruising because I don't have the patience for that." My favorite boat was probably the Corel 45 because it was a pure racing platform and powerful.  I got out of the Farr 40 class because our crew had an average age of 44 and we were getting too old.  But now we are in a Melges 32 and the average age is 46, go figure."

There are many notorious Nitemare stories around the Chicago waterfront.  A few crew, and Tom, took great delight telling me some.  For example, there was Tom's ride across a swimming pool at one hotel in a little boat that served as the salad bar. Another story, narrated by Tone Martin, has Nitemare dropping out of a light air race off Milwaukee. Back at the dock Tom fell asleep while the crew visited the local pub.  When they returned at 3am Tom got up and told stories until the sun came up. One crew told me that they learned their lesson not to leave him out of any extracurricular activities. Tom told me of the irony of receiving the Yachting Award since he had several letters of reprimand in his files from the Chicago Yacht Club.  The worst story happened after a spirited party on the chartered former Presidential Yacht Sequoia.  The group returned to the Chicago YC, but was turned away from the bar.  The rejection did not go well.  In any case you get the drift.  It is clear that the Nitemare team has a work hard - play hard ethic.

When asked what the most dramatic race was in his career, Tom and several crew members instantly talked about the 2000 Millennium Mackinac Race from Port Huron, MI all the way to Chicago. It was the first time the crew raced on the 70 foot sled Nitemare. Tim Corkell remembers, "At midnight on Monday it was blowing 30 with puffs pushing 38 knots. The boat was screaming with the kite up. Green water was finding its way back to the cockpit and the boat speed was in the 20s. We topped out at 26.5 knots on one surge. Tom was below and convinced us that if the wind sustained 40 knots the kite needed to come down. As soon as he said that the breeze hit 40 and we all started to scratch our heads trying to figure out how can we get the kite down? We finally hauled it in and then the breeze dropped right back down to 30 so we hoisted the kite right back up. We sailed 200 miles in under 11 hours. It was the ride of a lifetime."

On his biggest victory, Tom points to the Southern Circuit, "We won the overall SORC trophy in 1997. Ted Turner and Dennis Conner have their names engraved on that trophy. We are pretty proud of that one."

During our talks over the past several months, I found Tom to be filled with lots of opinions including the issue of professionals in the sport.  Tom points out that he enjoys racing against the best sailors because it helps him improve. He is not a fan of the category designations that currently exist, "You need a Gestapo to determine if a guy is really a 2 or a 3. It doesn't make sense. I just want to go to the starting line and go around the race course. I've learned a lot from professional sailors. They make all of us better." Neill suggests the sport would be better getting rid of the three categories.           

Over the past year and a half Tom has endured on going chemo and radiation treatments with many debilitating side effects.  And yet he plans to take his team to Key West and the SORC along with entering the 100^th running of the Mackinac Race next summer. Whether he is on the boat or not does not seem to matter. "I have chartered a hard bottom inflatable so I can watch the game. My doctor keeps telling me to buy trip insurance. I don't understand why?" I bet the Nitemare team races hard knowing that their inspirational leader will be cheering them on.