The New York Times International - 30.08.2019

8 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL EDITION

MAXI YACHT ROLEX CUP

There was a time when success in com-

petitive sailing basically required great

seamanship, strategy and tactics. Fit-

ness was just part of the mix.

That has changed.

Grand Prix racing yachts have al-

ways been complex, but powerful hull

designs have evolved in recent years

with sky-scratching carbon-fiber masts

and powerful thermomolded sails,

which exert thousands of pounds of

force.

These boats are markedly faster and

more athletic than their forebears. Man-

aging a contemporary raceboat is physi-

cally demanding, and the crew must ex-

ecute complex, highly choreographed

maneuvers, with great strength and of-

ten with minimal notice. Crews that race

aboard the fastest boats must be ultrafit

and train like Olympic athletes to pre-

pare for world-class regattas.

“Being an athlete is needed, and sail-

ing is moving that way,” said Ryan West,

head of athletic performance for the

Bella Mente and American Magic racing

programs.“We look at sailors as individ-

uals, and we treat them in a holistic

manner, including nutrition, hydration

and loading, both on and off the water.”

At the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which

will be hosted by the Yacht Club Costa

Smeralda in Sardinia from Sunday to

Saturday, some of the world’s biggest

sailing yachts will compete, and top

teams frequently draw America’s Cup-

level sailors, like some of those on Bella

Mente, who are expected to race in the

Cup with American Magic.

This is not the kind of yachting where

stewards serve lunch. It is hard work,

and performance is paramount. There is

zero patience toward anyone who is not

making the yacht sail faster.

Once the team announces a maneu-

ver, the lighter, more nimble sailors

scurry to the foredeck to finagle sails,

while larger crew members, called

grinders, assume their face-to-face bat-

tle stations at the boat’s five, two-person

grinding pedestals, which deliver power

to the manual winches that trim the

shape of the sails to match conditions

and wind angles. Imagine stationary

bikes for the arms.

“There are times when guys are spin-

ning the handles for a short time, but at

high intensity,” said Steve Wilson, a de-

sign team member for Bella Mente and

American Magic. “Other times they’re

grinding for longer periods, but at lower

power. One is bench-pressing, one is car-

dio. The big guys are expected to do

both.”

Getting into shape for this demanding

work requires proper hydration and nu-

trition, and carefully monitored and

role-specific workouts, diet and down-

time.

“Rest and recuperation are para-

mount aspects of allowing athletes to

improve,” West said. “When they train,

they’re applying a stimulus, but they

only get stronger by allowing their body

to recover and adapt to the load. So, in

addition to training, they need ample

time to rest,” which includes one off day

per week.

“We run a periodized yearly pro-

gram,” he said, explaining that the

team’s America’s Cup challenge gives

them the luxury of a nonstop, multiyear

training program.

“What phase we’re in will determine

what the workout is,” he added, describ-

ing the four training phases — general

preparation, strength, specialization

and power — that enable the sailors to

achieve peak fitness for top regattas.

The team’s workday typically starts

with an hour of strength training and

conditioning. This involves 15 minutes

of mobility work before transitioning to

crucial lifts and core work, such as

situps and crunches. Sailing comes

next, followed by role-specific training.

For example, the grinders can expect

afternoon gym sessions on machines

that mimic onboard grinding pedestals.

“We look at what each role demands,

each individual’s ability, and what physi-

cal attributes they need onboard,” West

said.

This becomes especially important on

yachts with linked hydraulic systems

and two-person grinding pedestals.

Bella Mente has eight manual-power

winches that are driven by five grinding

pedestals and up to 10 sailors. Switches

direct this sailor-generated power to

these winches or the yacht’s hydraulic

systems.

“Winch handles can turn the winches,

or they can turn the rotary hydraulic

pump,” Wilson said. The pump powers

the hydraulics that control parts of the

yacht’s sails and rigging. “The sailors

can activate a button that sends the

drive power to the rotary pump or frees

the linkage” to spin a particular winch.

Wilson said that in 15 knots of wind,

sailors handling Bella Mente’s huge

mainsail and jib would be wrestling

sheet loads of 3,500 to 8,000 pounds,

while the mast-supporting headstay

and running backstays must withstand

32,000 pounds and 18,000 pounds. Off

the wind, Bella Mente’s spinnaker,

which flies from a 110-foot carbon-fiber

mast, can deliver 4,000-pound sheet

loads.

“Physical training becomes quite a

challenge,” said Cooper Dressler, a

grinder for American Magic and Bella

Mente. “There’s not time off. You can’t

take a week’s vacation because you’ll

lose your fitness fast. We basically have

to maintain peak fitness all the time.

“We spend 20 to 30 hours in the gym

per week. It’s a full-time job.”

While the Maxi 72 class offers the re-

gatta’s stiffest competition, the J Class

yachts, ranging in length from 119 to 143

feet and built to the design rule that gov-

erned the 1930-37 America’s Cups, are

its grandest dames and weigh about as

much as an empty Boeing 777-200.

“The loads and weights of a J Class

yacht are significantly more than the

modern maxi yacht,” said Peter Holm-

berg, helmsman of the J Class yacht To-

paz and a silver medalist at the 1988

Olympics. “It’s due to weight. A typical J

weighs 397,000 pounds, while a modern

maxi yacht weighs 121,000 pounds.”

For comparison, in 12 knots of wind,

Holmberg estimated that Topaz’s main-

sail would deliver sheet loads of 30,

pounds, while her headstay and running

backstays must withstand 72,

pounds and 64,000 pounds. Topaz’s 161-

foot mast also flies staggeringly heavy

sails.

“Moving sails is the biggest job, be-

fore and during sailing,” Holmberg said.

“Hoisting and dropping sails requires

everyone who isn’t steering or trimming

to assist. Jib drops can see 15 to 20 guys

helping muscle the sail onto the deck.”

Unlike that of the teams for big races

like the America’s Cup and Olympics,

which typically provide fitness and nu-

trition programs, the fitness culture

aboard Topaz is self-regulating, Holm-

berg said. “It’s up to each of us as profes-

sionals, or just smart sailors, to be at the

required fitness level,” he said.

That is not saying that J Class sailing

is casual. Racing days are often 12 hours

long, and team fitness is vital.

Wilson said it was important to

achieve the right balance between per-

formance and reliability, from the crew

and the boat, whether aboard a J class or

a Maxi 72.

“Yacht racing is like any racing,” he

said. “Getting it right is really tricky.”

To race faster, sailors get fitter

Crews train like Olympic

athletes as they prepare

for world-class regattas

BY DAVID SCHMIDT

Athletes

Left, the crew of

Bella Mente during

a training session in

July in the waters off

Palma, Majorca.

Below, Sean O’Hal-

loran of the Ameri-

can Magic shore

team, at the team’s

Rhode Island base.

Racing teams must execute complex, highly

choreographed maneuvers, with great strength and

often with minimal notice.

AMORY ROSS

NICO MARTINEZ/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK

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