COMMENT
WHILE MEETING AMERICA’S CUP HEROES IS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR MANY YOUTH CUP HOPEFULS, THE MASTERS OF THE GAME HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED TOO
Never underestimate the influence of sailing heroes. “When they saw Ben Ainslie walk into the room it was like they’d been electrocuted,” said Greig City Academy director of sixth form and sailing co-ordinator Jon Holt, speaking about some of his students. “Just seeing Ben in person was a huge buzz for them. And when he and Hannah Mills then came over and gave them tips on the sailing simulator it was clear just how much this meant to them.”
The Greig City Academy needs little introduction, thanks to the impressive and sustained amount of work to inspire youngsters from way outside sailing’s normal catchment to get involved in the sport. From taking part in the Rolex Fastnet Race aboard their 45-footer Scaramouche, to dinghy racing at a variety of levels and venues, the Academy’s sailing programme continues to introduce waves of youngsters into the sport.
This time though, Holt and his students were in central London, attending the official announcement of the British America’s Cup team’s sailing squad and major new sponsorship deal for the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup events later this year. They were clearly impressed and keen to master the pair of sailing simulators that had been set up.
But sometimes the admiration flows the other way. Having prised Ben off the simulator I reminded him about a comment he’d made about the Italian team Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and one sailor in particular, 19-yearold Marco Gradoni some two months earlier, at the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah.
“I stand by what I said then, it was one of the most, if not the most impressive things that I’ve seen in the sport,” he said, referring to the dominant performance that Gradoni and the three other crew aboard their foiling AC40 had delivered.
“To be able to develop the skills so quickly from simulation to reality is super impressive. When I think back to my Olympic career and coming into America’s Cup match racing, it was a much bigger transition because you went from sailing a Laser to a massive displacement monohull with 18 crew. It took a long time to understand the nuances of match racing too. Now, if you sail a foiling Moth or a 49er or any high-performance dinghy there’s not a huge difference between those and getting on an AC40 or an AC75. I think that’s largely why we’re seeing a much faster transition and that’s great for the sport.”
But while the racing in Jeddah was impressive, it also made me wonder what the Youth America’s Cup might look lik
