[2] In 1983, the paper asked him to provide coverage of the 1983 America's Cup in Newport, Rhode Island, during which time he met his future wife, fellow journalist Jennifer Hewett, who had been assigned to the same event by The Sydney Morning Herald.
[2] His first piece of journalism in Australia was his coverage of the 1987 America's Cup for the Australian Financial Review, a paper for which he continued to write for most of his career.
[2] It was his satirical column in this paper that brought recognition, leading Roger Johnstone (chief executive of the Financial Review Group) to praise him as a "one of a kind in Australian journalism".
[3] At the time of his death, Ruehl lived in the eastern Sydney suburb of Clovelly with Hewett and their children, Mercedes, John and Tom.
[2][4] According to colleague Colleen Ryan, Ruehl had a few close select friends and "could be quite introverted", preferring to spend time with his family or writing.