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Maurice Frankefort Savours a Good ChallengeB Y R O G E R V A U G H A NSomething had to be amiss, or out of place. We were starting a boat race inNew Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf , thirty seconds and counting down, 14 <strong>Oyster</strong>yachts trimming for speed and heading for the line in a moderate breeze, andsuddenly what sounded like a young child crying echoed throughout the fleet.In the cockpit of <strong>Oyster</strong> founder and Chairman Richard Matthews’ <strong>Oyster</strong>catcherXXIV, we looked at each other, puzzled. Was it a strange bird, a weird boat noise?There it was again. "Waaaah." Unmistakable, and heartfelt.If this had occurred during a Wednesday night race at a local yacht club, it wouldn’thave been worth more than a smile. Lots of couples take their kids racing. But thiswas the New Zealand <strong>Oyster</strong> 2003 Regatta in New Zealand, and most of the boatswere on cruises round the world. That list includes Quest, the <strong>Oyster</strong> 62 fromwhence the cries emanated.The child in question is Alexis Frankefort, age 22 months, born just in time to joinhis parents, Maurice and Eveline, and his older brother Oscar, age two and a half,on a three-year odyssey under sail. For both children, life afloat is the only life theyhave ever known.Maurice Frankefort decided he wanted to sail across the Atlantic when he was 15,one of those adolescent dreams that refused to go away. Maurice has sailed sincehe was a boy growing up in Holland on his father’s cruising boats (one of whichwas an <strong>Oyster</strong>). When he was eight, he got a Laser. At 75 pounds, he needed afriend to help him sail it. In his mid-teens, keen enthusiasm for sailing turned to seafever. But it had to wait. His father, a success in the packaging industry and aformidable parent, said first Maurice must finish high school. Maurice complied,graduating from Blair Academy in the United States. Then he was ready to sailacross the Atlantic. His father urged him to wait, saying it would be a good idea toget a degree. Again, Maurice complied. He was admitted to NortheasternUniversity, but finished his degree in business administration at Webster Universityin Holland. With only his final semester ahead of him, his thoughts returned to anAtlantic crossing.Once again his father intervened, encouraging his son to work in the familybusiness. When that suggestion met with resistance, the father reasoned that manypeople had degrees. To be thoroughly prepared for the working world, he arguedthat his son should have a second degree. Maurice listened. He enjoyed university.But this time his father presented a very serious challenge. He said he wouldsupport the cost of law school for Maurice only if his son could pass the first andmost difficult semester at Holland’s Leiden University at the same time he wasfinishing business school."Maurice Frankefortdecided he wantedto sail across theAtlantic when he was15, one ofthose adolescentdreams that refusedto go away"Today, when he recalls this mission impossible, Maurice Frankefort still looksslightly stunned. He is a youthful 37, an alert man of medium build with dark eyesthat are at once friendly and immensely curious. His energy is such that even atrest he seems in motion. "The Dutch government helps support students over thesix-year course of law study," he explains, "so they make the first year particularlydifficult in order to weed out those who aren’t really qualified." Maurice committedhimself to the task, somehow finishing his business degree and surviving the firstyear of Leiden. That was in 1988. Then came the shocker: his father changed hismind about underwriting the cost of law school. "In private life he was alwayswww.oystermarine.com 41