Yachts & Yachting — March 2018

HARRY K-H/LAND ROVER BAR; LLOYD IMAGES

therewillbeayouthelement–allwe

haveseenisthevideo[aCupclass

announcement and rendering of the

venuefeaturedanareareservedforthe

YouthAmerica’sCup].Icertainlyhope

they do keep it as I think most people

would agree it has been a successful

initiative,” Macbeth comments.

However,theideawhenwesetup

the academy in 2014 was never to

specifically win anything. We wanted

to create a pathway into America’s

Cup racing, and other top level sailing

for young sailors. Of course I’m very

proudthatwedidwintheRedBull

YouthAmerica’sCup,butitwasalways

more about providing opportunities.

“[The academy] is absolutely

somethingIfeltreallypassionateabout

fromthestart.WhenIwasgivenmy

breakinsailingitwasthroughthegood

grace of a number of people that gave

meachancetogoandprovemyworth.”

HELP AND HINDRANCE

As much as he is keen to provide

opportunities for youngsters, Macbeth

isawareitisimportanttoinstilastrong

work ethic from the off. “It’s sometimes

difficult to balance giving people a chance

and ensuring they are not just served up

that chance on a platter. You can show

people the level they need to be and

encourage and help them to understand

how they can achieve that level, but

ultimately it is pretty much in their

hands whether they get there or not.”

The more we talk about the Academy

and Macbeth’s role as head of the sailing

team, the more it becomes clear that

his management style is to lead from

the front. He was on the boat for the

2017 America’s Cup but certainly felt

pressure to lead by example and operate

day-to-day management duties.

“I guess that was one of the big

challenges from the last cycle for me,

trying to find the balance between the

managerial role and the sporting role.

“I’vealwaystakentheviewthatthe

bestwaytoleadandinspireistolead

by example. As a professional sailor –

especially in the America’s Cup – you

strivetobethebestthatyoucanbefrom

asportingpointofview.Asaresultof

that,Ihavespentthefirst15yearsof

mycareerfocusedonbeingthebestand

the fittest and understanding my role

as a sailor. All of a sudden you put on

top of that a management role, but if

you want to lead a team from the front

that extra work can’t have an impact.”

MENTORSHIP

Given his passion for demonstrating how

things should be done, is the academy set

up to encourage young sailors to follow

his example? “We have a very detailed

trial period; we are obviously looking

for high class sailors, so hopefully we

should be able to see then if the qualities

we want are there. Within that trial I

really want the applicant to understand

from a commercial point of view what

it means to be a professional sailor.

“I think by being rigorous in training

and by expecting the same level of the

youngsters as we expect of our sailors,

that gives them a chance to see the level

they need to attain. And by them seeing

that, even if they do not make the cut in

the first instance, it gives them a focus

of what to go away and improve on.”

One of the key components of the

BAR Academy has been to compete

in the Extreme Sailing Series in the

Land Rover BAR Academy GC32. But

again victory has not necessarily been

the be-all and end-all. “Obviously we

are competitive sailors and if you put

us in a competition, then our goal is

always going to be to win. But, that

circuit is a way of showing young

sailors the level they are aiming for.”

Despite the initial plan being to get

the Academy team on the circuit and

see how they got on, Macbeth and the

team soon realised that mentorship –

having one of the pro sailors from the

AC team itself on board – was a far

better way of seeing improvement in

their academy sailors. As Macbeth says,

having Giles Scott or Ben Ainslie on

board demonstrates the level required.

“When the campaign was in full swing

we recognised the value of on board

mentorship but it was difficult to pull

Cup sailors from training and add

Extreme Sailing Series dates. After the

Cup we have done a bit more of this, but

for the coming season we will have Leigh

MacMillan as full time helm on the

GC32.” With MacMillan one of the top

helmsmen in the history of the inshore

catamaran circuit, he makes the ideal

person to mentor the young hopefuls.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the

team as they compete this season.

With higher crew numbers anticipated

for the new AC75, the names you see

this year competing are likely to be

names we see in Cup in the future.

Being rigorous in

training gives young

sailors a chance to

see the level they

need to attain

Above

Macbeth was an

endurance athlete

working in a kayak

store when he first

met Peter Blake

Below

Young sailors need

to appreciate

the level of

performance

required to win

GOAL SETTING FEATURE

Top tips: How to achieve your goals

Be clear about what your goals are: It’s easy to go

into every race or event aiming to win; short term goals

should be designed to help you achieve your long term

ambitions. That may mean not aiming to win every event.

Identify your key areas for improvement: This

can be done from self-assessment, but racing

against or with people above your level will

help you realise where you are falling short.

Plan for fitness: Figuring out what you want from a

training regime and designing strengthening exercises

to target specifics is important. If you need to be able

to hike longer you will need a different training pattern

than if you want to hoist your spinnaker quicker.

66 Yachts & Yachting March 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk