U.S. Olympic Star-class skipper John Dane III is no stranger to hard work. As the oldest member of this year's U.S. Olympic team, Dane has shown that tenacity and hard work pay -- Dane first competed for an Olympic berth forty years ago; he finally made the team this year. (Read his sailing profile here). But there is more to life than sailing for Dane. All of which makes Dane more than a Star star. They make him an Olympic superstar.

Dane's "day job" is president of Trinity Yachts, the New Orleans based megayacht builder. When Hurricane Katrina swept over the U.S. Gulf Coast, Trinity's buildings were ravaged, manufacturing equipment was destroyed, and many employees were left without homes. Instead of cashing out and running for higher ground (Dane's home was also destroyed), he strong-armed bankers into lending him $20 million to rebuild.

The first thing the new Trinity did was put $1,500 in the pocket of every employee. It bought mobile homes and trailers for workers who no longer had a place to live, spending more than $4 million. Six employees who had stayed at the shipyard during the storm in order to save yachts under construction -- and who watched their cars swallowed by the flood -- were given replacement vehicles. Dane even bought bicycles for kids who no longer had toys.

Today, Trinity has a new facility in Gulfport, Mississippi, a larger workforce, and has become, according to ShowBoats magazine, the biggest superyacht builder in the United States. Most sailors agree that the Star class is the most technical and tactically challenging Olympic sailing class. And most people agree that building a successful company with motivated and happy employees is the most technical and tactically challenging test in life. John Dane has excelled in both. At the same time.