The UniCredit Youth America’s Cup gets underway today as the first of the teams hit the water in Barcelona. Day one sees Group A, the six teams with a parent America’s Cup team, line up for up to four fleet races. Group B will race for the first time tomorrow, 18 September alongside the Louis Vuitton Semi Finals of the AC75s.
All teams are set for a steep learning curve on the course, the Group B team more than Group A, but the skippers are insisting there are no rivalries on the race course – yet.
Practice racing showed just how tight the racing will be over the eight fleet races for each Group. There were signs of early form though, with Orient Express L’Oreal Racing Team and Athena Pathway on top in Group A, unsurprisingly in light conditions. The French team now also have the full support, and weight, of their Cup team on their Youth and Women’s programs.
In Group B, Andoo Team Australia surprised some of the fleet with three wins from the four practice races. Also looking in form given their time on the water are Jajo Team Netherlands and Sail Team BCN. Pressure is on the Swedish Challenge Powered By Artemis team, who are looking fast on the water, but small errors are costing them in the fleet racing.
Copyright Ian Roman/America’s Cup
The skipper’s press conference saw the twelve skippers pushed on just how exciting, and tough, the AC40 is to sail. Despite their youth status, all presented as seasoned pro’s, not willing to be drawn on form, rivalries or confidence. What was clear though was just how excited all the teams are to be racing at the America’s Cup, in high-performance boats broadcast on the world stage. See below for the full transcript of the press conference or watch it here.
Jesse Tuke (host): Okay, quick question to start. I mean, whose first press conference is this? (everyone raises hands)
JT: We’re going to start with the British team here because Athena Pathway, Britain team, you guys are the reigning youth champions, So Nick Robbins, skipper on the team. I want to talk to you about that. The Brits, you won this competition last time out, it went down to the wire, that last race, the last leg. I mean, there was nothing in it. Can the team repeat that? How confident are you?
Nick Robbins, Athena Pathway: Yeah, I mean, it was great to watch the Youth Americas Cup last time around.
Obviously I wasn’t involved but it was great to watch it come to Britain. It was actually quite a long time ago and the boats are very different now and everything is kind of a complete reset. We’ve had a really strong summer training down in Barcelona and were able to have some time learning this type of boat and this type of racing.
But I think that there’s a lot of other teams who have managed to do the same thing and the people that we have here are very strong. So it’s definitely going to be a good fight.
JT: Sail Team Barcelona, skipper Martin Wisner. Martin, I mean, it’s the chance for you guys to fly the flag for Spain. We don’t have a team in the Americas Cup, but there feels like there’s a huge amount of support around the team base down in the main race village for your team. How proud are you and excited to be representing Spain?
Martin Wisner, Sail Team BCN: Yeah, it’s an honour to be here in Spain and competing in these cool boats and challenging the other guys. So, yeah, the main goal is to try and be an AC team, big team in the next cup.
So this is the pathway. I’m looking forward to this week.
JT: We’ve got Leonard Takahashi now, on board Emirates Team New Zealand. I mean, Leo, for everyone, you’re trying to find an edge, you know, you’re doing everything you can, to make the boat go fast, training a lot out there. But your approach, you guys have been embedded right in the thick of Emirates Team New Zealand. Can you just kind of, I guess, talk to that, what’s it been like being right in the mix of the bigger beast of Emirates Team New Zealand?
Leonard Takahashi, Emirates Team New Zealand: Yeah, it’s been a real honour, really. Team New Zealand’s a household name back home, so it’s been really cool for the team and I to actually be involved with the operations and how everything works. And, you know, these boats are awesome, I think everyone here can agree that. We’ve had a really good time on the yacht and even the simulator has been a really good stepping stone. So, you know, full credit to the ACE team and actually Team New Zealand for bringing these boats to us and actually making it a stepping stone for us to be able to showcase our talents next week.
JT: And what’s it like going around the team base? You know, Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Andy Maloney, and I guess even Jason Saunders on the Orient Express Racing Team, they live for this pathway, winning in 2013. What’s that like having the guys around the base and knowing that this is a legitimate stepping stone?
LT: Yeah, it’s awesome. Those guys are really nice to us. They’ve really taken us in and the rest of the team as well. They’re always around to have a chat. And I guess there’s some big shoes to fill. You know, there’s a lot of history behind the team so, for us, I think we’ve just got to blank that out for now and just perform out there this week.
JT: Going to go across the ditch to Australia now. Andoo Team Australia with Helm
Cole Tapper. Cole, practice racing, as we said, has been looking really good and word on the street is that Andoo Team Australia has been one of the strongest performing teams. But you’ve done probably the least amount of time on these AC40 boats, but a lot of time in the simulator. Can you go and just talk to us about the simulator training, how valuable that’s been, and I guess what was it like getting on the boat for the first time?
Cole Tapper, Andoo Team Australia: Yeah, well, we have spent a lot of time in the simulator, hundreds and hundreds of hours.
And I would say that the key thing we learned is how to sort of find the problem when the boat’s out of balance. It’s a balancing act, these boats, you know, you’re leaning on two points in the water and everything has to be lined up for you to feel locked in. But there definitely is that locked in feeling. So that’s what we learned on the sim, is basically where to look at the screens, at the environment, not so much, but at the screens and how to troubleshoot those problems. Then to get on the boat, the sensation is fairly different when you’re actually flying above the waves and you’ve got 80 kilometres of wind on your face and spray, that changes. But where you’re looking to find the problems if you’re out of balance is the same.
JT: Imagine it’s pretty fun, though, getting in that boat and ripping around.
CT: Yeah, well, the first bear away I did, we popped up and we had some Barcelona sea state, which was not very appreciated on my end, but I poked my head out the side of the cockpit and was looking a long way down to the water. So, yeah, that was definitely something that the simulator doesn’t prepare you for.
JT: Moving on to our Swiss team, Alinghi Red Bull Racing skipper and trimmer Jan Schupbach.
Jan, there was an epic photo in a Swiss newspaper yesterday of you at a very young age watching Alinghi racing. Can you tell us about this history, your connection, and how proud you are to be flying the flag for Switzerland and the team that is such a historic one?
Jan Schupbach, Alinghi Red Bull Racing: Yeah, so the picture that you referred to is in Valencia in 2007, right when Alinghi back then won and defended the Cup. And obviously I was a huge fan and looking up to these sailors and now to be part of it and to work with them is really a fantastic opportunity. I guess, like the new Alinghi generation, we all grew up watching the big boys back then winning the Cup, so it’s fantastic to be here now.
JT: Next up, we go to our Swedish challenge powered by Artemis Technologies with skipper and helm Oscar Engstrom. Oscar, the AC40 sim has opened the door for many teams to reach the stage, but you guys have actually had an AC40 and been training a lot, so how much confidence has that given the team do you reckon because you’ve had time in the boat, you’ve got the edge?
Oscar Engstrom, Swedish Challenge Powered By Artemis Technologies: Yeah, I mean, we have had an awesome time leading into this regatta. We have been up in Barcelona sharing the base with Magic and Athena, and have had plenty of hours on the water, and we’re definitely prepared for this regatta and a team like Artemis supporting us, their experience, it’s unbelievable. So we’re going into the regatta with a lot of confidence, but we also know these sailors around me here are the best in the world in our age, and it all comes down to being the best at the race stage. So we’re confident, but we also know we’ve got to do our sailing well to be on the top.
JT: Next up to our German team, Youth America’s Cup team, Germany, Maru Scheel, helm on board the boat. Looking at the list here, you guys are representing 4 Yacht Clubs, which just shows how significant this thing is back in Germany. We haven’t seen a German team since 2007, so I guess what does it mean to be bringing a German team into the UniCredit Youth America’s Cup, and do you feel that support from back home?
Maru Scheel, Youth AC Team Germany: Yeah, absolutely. So sailing is a big thing in Germany, and being here and sailing these beautiful yachts and making the first steps into America’s Cup sailing and to build a big cup team and hopefully being a big cup team in the future will be great, and being part of that whole scenario is super great and super cool.
JT: So you reckon that we can see a German team on the start line with an AC75? Maybe you on the helm?
MS: Hopefully, yes. I’m keen to do it.
JT: Okay, now to our Italian team, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli with helm Marco Gradoni. Marco, you’re the only one sitting up here that’s properly raced in these AC40s with that Jetta competition in the preliminary regattas. I mean, how much confidence does that give you knowing that you’ve raced these boats and raced them very well? I mean, you pushed Emirates Team New Zealand to the final. So how much confidence does it give you knowing that you’ve been here before?
Marco Gradoni, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli: I think it was a really amazing experience to be in Jeddah with the team, with the big team Luna Rossa. And now it’s a different team, we’re all youth guys. So the past is the past now and I want to really focus on the present, and I think we have a really great team, really nice sailors. Also, the women’s team is supporting us a lot. We have a nice coach, so we just have to keep focused. We train a lot, we push ourselves to be here prepared so we just want to go out sailing and do our best.
JT: And because you’ve raced these boats, what can we expect in racing? I mean, how close are these things going to be?
MG: I think racing is completely different from training. So everybody is going to push more. And in this stage, we have to be prepared. It’s amazing because if we are going to have a lot of breeze, it’s going to be really tight, even the start or every mark rounding. So we are prepared for this and we just want to go out and put our skills on the water.
JT: Next up, our Canadian team, Concorde Pacific Racing with skipper Andrew Wood. I mean, Andrew, you’re a competitor on the Olympic skiff circuit, and everyone here has raced fast boats across different classes. What are the rivalries like? Have we got some rivalries up here on stage?
Andrew Wood, Concorde Pacific Racing: Yeah, I mean, I think for this, everybody is a rival. I think we have a ton of really good youth sailors here. Obviously, we’re hoping to get through to the next round so that we can hopefully race against our fellow North American team. It could be fun, we’ve raced against Harry a lot in the past. So, you know, not huge rivalries, but really looking forward to race against everybody.
JT: On the Olympic class coming into the AC40s, what about skiff that seems to be so revolutionary and, I guess, making it easier to go onto a foiling boat?
AW: Yeah, I think just kind of the speeds and the feelings are a little bit similar and sort of always trying to sail on the edge, I think it is really important to be able to hop in these boats.
And I think it just gives you a lot of skill sets. And even when you look at a lot of the sail plans on these boats, they’re quite similar looking. So I think there’s a lot of really important things that you learn.
JT: Well, speaking of this potential rivalry, we’ll go to New York Yacht Club, American Magic Skipper, Harry Melges now. Harry, your grandfather, Buddy Melges, was a legend in his time in the America’s Cup, what do you think he would think about now seeing you up on stage here, leading New York Yacht Club, American Magic, into the UniCredit Youth?
Harry Melges, NYYC American Magic: I hope he would be very excited to see a young American team up here competing, and especially seeing three out of the four of us being from the Midwest in America. He won the Cup in 1992 with America 4, and, you know, it really inspired me and a lot of young sailors from the Midwest in America to keep pushing and be involved in high-level competitions like this. And, as a team with the American Magic team, we’ve received tons of support, and we’re ready to go.
JT: And does this boat, how does it feel? I mean, does it come natural? How’s the learning experience been?
HM: This boat’s been just incredible. It’s the coolest sailing I’ve ever done, and I think it’s a really exciting pathway going forward to youth sailors and pretty much every sailor.
JT: Okay, next up, from the Netherlands, we’ve got Jajo Team Dutchsail with Skipper Bart Lambriex. Bart, you’ve raced on the world stage plenty before. A lot of big competitions out there for you, but now you’ve got the helicopters up there, multiple cameras on the boat, and maybe don’t need to mention as well, you’ve got the microphones listening to every word.
I mean, how does that increase the intensity, and does it make you nervous that the whole world’s going to be watching?
Bart Lambriex: Yeah, it’s definitely different. America’s Cup is big, you know? But to be honest, when you’re ripping around at 40 knots, you’ve got plenty of other things to worry about than that heli flying above you.
JT: What about the microphones? It’s not just watching, people will be listening.
BL: We have to be careful. We got told off by the race committee the other day when we were practice racing, so we really have to watch our words for sure.
JT: Racing in these boats, I mean, how’s the practice racing been for the team, and what can we expect out of the Netherlands team this week?
BL: Yeah, well, we haven’t sailed the boat until a few days ago, so we’re on the back foot, and we just need to be the quickest learning team, and that’s what we’re focusing on.
JT: Does it kind of convert? Does the simulator show you the real thing?
BL: Yes and no. I think for the helmsman, it does convert, but for the trimmers, it’s very different, and it becomes real sailing again. Anticipating the wind changes and the swell, and that’s something you don’t get on sim.
JT: Okay, next up from France, Orient Express L’Oreal Racing Team, Enzo Balanger, Skipper and Helmsman aboard the boat. Enzo, not long ago, we bid farewell to Orient Express Racing Team from the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenges Series, so now it’s your chance. You’re representing France. What does that mean to you?
Enzo Balanger, Orient Express L’Oreal Racing Team: Yes, we were really disappointed about the result of the Louis Vuitton Cup. However, we really feel the support of our team, all the French fans. We worked pretty hard with the US team this summer in Barcelona, enjoying the racing against the other AC teams, enjoying the city, and now I think we’re ready to race this regatta, and for sure it’s a great honour for us, so looking forward to tomorrow.
JT: And word on the street, your team’s looking quite good out there.
EA: Yeah, I mean, it’s the same for every team. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and, yeah, yesterday was good for us, but tomorrow will be a different day.
(Questions moved to the floor)
Andy Rice, Yachting World: Question for Bart, but I could put this to other people as well. I’ve been really impressed with the comms. You mentioned watching your language, what have you learnt from the delivery of the comms watching the AC75 teams racing, because I’ve been really impressed, certainly with the quality of the language, but also the way they communicate. So how much are you bringing that into what you’re doing?
BL: Yeah, we’ve watched every race, and we bring that in a lot, for sure. I’ve also been really impressed by a few guys in the real cup, like Jimmy and Tom, just staying super calm under a lot of pressure, going really, really quick in these boats. It’s really hard to stay calm on board, and that’s definitely a big focus point for us as a team to just stay calm and keep cool. I think that’s helpful for the comms.So we take an example off the real guys for that, for sure.
CT: Well, we’re really fortunate to have access to our comms after racing days. We went out and had a practice day the other day, and we pair it with the umpire tool, and you can kind of rewatch every race you’ve done in way more detail than I’ve ever been able to. So it’s good in a lot of ways to go back and review it, but there’s also nowhere to hide in what you’re saying, so you’ve just got to have a really open discussion with your team and be pretty comfortable to put it all out there and go through everything and make sure it’s cleaner for the next time. I’m sure our first race was a lot louder than our second, and it’s going to get quieter and quieter as we go, and we get more comfortable, hopefully.
Alberto Dóbe de Vez: So for Martin Wiesner. You’ve been training a few times in water, a lot of times in a simulator, so what’s your realistic goal for this season?
MW: The sim was a great tool, but after all, it’s a real boat, and we have to trust our feeling and try to make the boats go fast while trusting our feelings, so these guys are really good sailors, and we’re going to push our hearts that we can to try and beat them.
Miquel Etoniozzi, Faridella: Question for Marco. Marco, on this stage, I think you are the only one that steered the AC40 and the AC75 as well, so what are the main differences between the two boats?
MG: Basically, the weight, first of all, they’re two completely different boats. The controls are completely different, so I think it was just, I want to thank the team that I train a lot on the AC75 with the big guys, but the AC40 is completely another thing, and so I put my focus now on the AC40 and different team, different guys, so completely different boat and just really different way to sail the boat.
Matt Sheehan, Planet Sail: Question for Andrew Wood. Andrew, we’re getting quite used to seeing these boats foiling around the place, be they big boats, little boats, whatever, and it’s very easy to take it for granted. I just wonder, what’s been the hardest part of getting to grips from a team that has, you know, you haven’t had as much time as a lot of the others? What’s the most difficult bit about getting to grips with one of these boats?
AW: I think, you know, with the use of the simulator, we had a lot of the big boxes ticked before getting on the boat, which was really nice. I think, like a lot of the guys said, getting on the boat, just, doing the columns in the sim is one thing, but getting out on the water is a different thing, and I think there’s a few more factors, and then, you know, with the other boats added, I think that’s been sort of the biggest thing, is just trying to make all our timings and everything from the sim line up and making those adjustments where necessary.
Pedro Rossani, La Van Guardia: I don’t want to ask, but the fact is that not all the teams have trained the same amount of time in the water, so there are teams that have spent a lot of time in simulator and others that have been training a lot on the water. So my question is, do you think that when the race that starts tomorrow, is every team starting with the same conditions, or this disparity maybe, in a certain sense, affecting the result of the race?
BL: Yeah, this is the America’s Cup. It’s not an even playing field. We’ve got huge differences among the teams. We’ve done three days in the boat. The teams behind us have done 100-plus days in the boat, so, yeah, that’s definitely different from what I’m used to, and, yeah, we’re definitely the underdog, and these guys behind are the favourites, so that’s definitely not even.
Todd Niall, Stuff: I think you might have answered my question, but I was just trying to find out who’s spent the least time in the boats. Is it you guys?
BL: Yeah, I think the German team and us didn’t have any days on the boat yet, and then the teams on the left of us didn’t have many days either, but just a few, I believe, I’m not sure.
TN: Can a couple of us give us numbers, so you’ve had, what, three days?
MW: Yeah, so from the Spanish team, we had a couple of days on June and July that we rented a boat, so, yeah, five days on the boat, and it’s a really technical boat, so we’re trying to push the hours on the water.
Jan Pearson, Sailing Scuttllebutt: Harry, your grandfather was known for both designing and racing hot boats at his time, and here you are. Is this just in your DNA, or did you start out going out in little boats with your family, or how did all this happen within your family?
HM: Yeah, certainly the sport of sailing has been in my family as long as I’ve been alive, really, and it all started in a small lake in Wisconsin, and we’ve always had the boat builder, Melges Boatworks, building smaller one-design classes that are sailed around the world, so I’ve always been involved, and, you know, my grandfather, having the success that he did in the sport really inspired me and made me believe that I could also do the same, and here we are.
(No name given), The Reporter: Maru, what is it like to be the only girl at the helm, and how was this decision made?
MS: Yeah, first off, I’m super happy to be on the boat, not because I’m female, but because I’m an athlete, so, yeah, super happy for that, and for that opportunity. Still it’s a bit sad to be the only female actually on the boat. I think the whole youth cup became more of a boys’ cup.
So I’m proud to be part of it as an athlete, but a bit sad as a female to be the only one. The decision was made due to progress in the sim, because we only had the simulator, and then after the first days of training, we had the official training days, and everyone stepped on the boat, and the helmsman was quite hard to decide because we were quite equal, and in the sim after one point, you can’t really become better. I’m super happy that I was chosen to be part of this whole project.
Andy Rice: How relevant are video gaming skills to being good in the simulator and to sailing these boats?
MS: Yeah, the simulator is a video game, so that’s, yeah, for sure. I have a brother or two brothers, so I got a bit into video games when I was younger, but not very much. I think you can learn it, and once you’re a good sailor, you get used to it, you learn a video game quite fast, I think, because we all have the capacity to learn fast, to be able to learn new things, to learn new boats. I think that’s in all of our genes and it’s a video game but it’s also a sailing boat and once you’re a good sailor it’s easy to learn.
Andy Rice: Who’s into their video gaming? When parents say you should spend less time on video games what do you say to those parents?
BL: I think the E-Sailing has got some similarities and it’s still decision making so I’d say it’s good to practice that.
LT: I think it’s quite exciting, world E-Sports now. I think it’s a really great game that’s been developed and it’s going to be a great pathway for kids to have a go on these AC40 simulators/games and it is a good way to progress into the next side of actually sailing one so I think it’s fair game for kids to be playing games especially when its sailing.
Shelly Robertson, ACTV: Firstly to Nick and then Oscar, how tight do you believe this regatta will be and how competitive?
NR: I think it’s going to be really competitive, there’s a lot of really well prepared teams and there’s been time to take some of the knowledge from the senior teams and really put a lot of practice in and there’s been a few sailors who’ve done some sailing alongside their senior teams and been sailing with them so there’s a lot of knowledge and a lot of talent and it’s going to be really tight racing especially with the boats being so similar.
OE: As he says i think it’ll be really tight, we’re seeing the teams that havent been sailing before this making really quick improvements and on practice day everyone was at the line and we had some tight situations so i’m pretty sure it’s going to be epic sailing. And with the boundary there’s going to be some fun situations.
SR: My final question is to Maru and to Cole, you’ve all sailed some pretty cool boats but just put into context how cool are these boats?
MS: Super cool boat and fun to race. We’ve spent hours in the simulator so finally being able to step on the real boat and feel the water, the wind, the G force and the bow waves it’s cool to be on board and super nice boats that are lovely to sail. With a group of four it’s quite hard sometimes to get all the comms right and have everyone on the same page but that’s a challenge I think we will manage so we’re super happy.
CT: Well I was sitting here watching the promo video and I just had the biggest smile on my face so it is super cool to be in action and I was pretty happy to not be included in some of the nose dives on the video. So we’re always grateful for that and we haven’t managed to knock off any wing gear but we’ve gotten super close so we’re definitely testing the limits. When you stuff the nose and you remind yourself there’s a lot going on and you’re really fast and there’s a lot of damage you can do so it is pretty awesome.
Matt Sheehan: Harry, through your family you’ve seen huge amounts of change and how much does this represent a step to change, are we on the verge of something really big, a completely new sport?
HM: I think it is extremely exciting, I don’t see it as being a new sport but i would say one of the main things that drew me and made me fall in love with it is the speed of the boats and drawing really fast boats and i think this new foiling generation is going to speak to a lot more young sailors and they’re going to get really excited about going sailing which is only going to be a positive.
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