SUMMER 2019
SW
046
STARTING LINE
PROFILE
Benjamin’s Etchells. Later, he’ll
be Moth sailing with the best in
the country, coaching the whip-
per-snappers of ski sailing and
collecting paychecks from J/70
owners. It’s all higher and faster
for Goldsberry these days.You’re from Hawaii, I can tell by
your slang, Braddah! As far as
I can tell, you learned to sail at
the age of 12 in San Francisco.
How’d you get from then to now?
I was never involved on the East
Coast until Benj [Benjamin]
heard about me. He’s so good
about identifying young tal-
ent. He’ll see a 29er sailor and
say, “You’ll be sailing with me in
eight years.” I sailed with him
in 2009 at Key West Race Week
on a Club Swan 42. I did bow
and he was tactician. After we
won, he told me, “Jonny, one
day I’ll have my own program.”
He was right. I now sail with a
lot of programs, including a few
with Steve.
The [Spookie] TP52 started
happening in 2017. I once com-
plained about one of our jibs
and Benj went out and bought a
new jib the next day. The team
said they’d been complaining
about this sail for months.
I didn’t realize how much he
trusted me at that point. He just
drives the boat and wants to
be told everything. He doesn’t
need it, but it’s so great to have
someone I respect give me
that trust.Was it your goal to be a full-time
pro or did you stumble into it?
Blame it all on following my
passion in skis and my 49er
campaign. Charlie Smythe
and I were sailing to help pay
for our Olympic campaign.
Charlie won two Melges 20
World Championships with
Morgan Reeser. We were too
distracted with pro sailing and
too nice with our Olympic train-
ing. We would freely give advice
to the younger 49er sailors. We
were too friendly and helped
out Eric Stork and Trevor Moore.
They beat us. Even though the
passion was the campaign,
the career wound up sticking.You’ve taken to Moth sailing too.
I saw foiling a few years ago asbeing important, especially with
the America’s Cup being in foil-
ers. I couldn’t aord a Mach2
so I borrowed an old Bladerider.
Anthony Kotoun warned me
that I’d be fixing the thing
the whole time. He was right.
Charlie McKee loaned me his
Mach2, and in training I was the
first boat around the first mark,
but I couldn’t go downwind. Last
year, I bought an old Exocet
Moth, and it’s amazing where
that leads. I was just tuning with
Brad Funk. Going upwind I’m not
losing an inch.Your Moth sailing put you in the
mix with all the best sailors in
the world. But do you still have to
hustle for gigs?
It’s good now that they know
I’m here, but I don’t call for
jobs. I had a bad situation with
an owner once. I’d rather run a
ski lift in Vail instead of dealing
just for a paycheck. You gotta
keep it fun and keep passion in
the game.There’s no clear pathway, yet, to
becoming a professional sailor.
Any advice for the young’uns
that want to be like Jonny?
If anyone wants to be a pro-
fessional sailor, they have to
campaign for at least one quad.
I coach and see kids that can’t
splice. They can’t keep their
mainsheet from twisting. If that
happens, you’re screwed.What do you teach others about
what you do on a boat?
I tell juniors, “If you want to be a
good skipper, start on the bow.
Know what they [drivers] need.
Have versatility.” I was a bit out
of my element in the TP52s, and
I went to Morgan Trubovich, the
trimmer. I’m not afraid to say,
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
I’ve learned how to make proper
teams work together. Michael
Menninger is the calmest sailor,
for example. Let him do his job
on the helm or with tactics and
you’ve won the regatta. I’m the
speed guy. If the driver gets
anxious, I have to figure it out.A lot of big-boat pros are all
“beer and burgers” after sailing.
You’re a Hawaiian, West Coast,
skiff guy. Are you any different?With big-boat programs I eat
as much as I can with team
meals. The food is free. Even
if I don’t eat for a week, I’ll still
weigh 158 pounds. But good
food is important to me. I grew
up on smoothies in Hawaii. My
parents took rice and veggies,
blended it up and fed it to me as
a baby. I eat anything, but I mix
good smoothies. Spinach, kale,
almond butter, protein powder,
coconut milk.There’s also a big social-drinking
influence in sailing.
Sailing is my preferred drug of
choice. I drink when I’m social-
izing at the yacht club, if it
relaxes the people around me.
Otherwise, I prefer to go for a
bike ride instead.Your Facebook Live attempts
from the Sydney Hobart start
were shaky, but hysterical and
wacky. Is that how it always is?
I got so many props for those
videos. People are asking me,
“How do you sail with a phone
in your hand?” I have a blast
sharing with people. Not a lotof people get to do this stu.
My mom and dad get to see me
at work. On the Hobart, I was
on Facebook Live filming [crew-
mate] Justin Shaeer. After the
third video, he finally said to me,
“I invented that app.”Professional surfer John John
Florence was onboard with you
too. Totally inspiring surfer but
not a top sailor. How’d that go?
Our parents know each other.
Us sailors, we don’t know any-
thing about other sports’
athletes. Half the crew knew
John John, half the crew didn’t.
He’s a really good kid. He got up
for his watches and did it. Half
the guys sailing this race said
they wouldn’t do it again. He
wants to get more into sailing.The first live videos I saw from
you...classic Goldsberry. You’re
kicking it at some remote-control
sailing pond, eating pizza, with a
little toy dog yipping around....
That was at Spreckles Lake in
San Francisco, the oldest model-
boat pond. I go down, hang out
with my friends; it’s pretty ther-
apeutic. I don’t have to get
wet—it’s super easy. Once you
get into it, a little rig change,
adjust the mast....I knew you’d go there.
It’s cool; it makes a big
dierence!Proudest moment in your
career?
Every day I wake up. I could
easily be digging ditches some-
where and never known this
existed.What’s next for Jonny? You ever
consider settling down?
I’m booked. That’s what I know.
Dating is super-gnarly. Last year
I saw a bunch of guys getting
divorced. How do I not let that
happen?But your career. What’s the long
game?
I almost don’t have time to
think about the long game. If
someone were to say, “Here’s
an o©ce to be a millionaire, but
you have to stop sailing,” I can’t
do it. If I wake up, I’m fed, paid,
go sailing—I’m OK. QI tell juniors, “If
you want to be
a good skipper,
start on the bow.
Know what they
[drivers] need.
Have versatility.”