Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

A

ll types of sailboat

racing have a similar

form, utilising the same

techniques, and similar

strategies, whether it

be for the Olympics, America’s Cup or

round the world races. ose who have

scored at the highest level in all the forms

of the sport conrm these statements.

One might have thought that Peter

Burling and Blair Tuke, the helmsman

and foil trimmer of Emirates Team

New Zealand’s Cup winner and 49er

Olympic gold medallists, would be at

an initial disadvantage as newcomers to

the Volvo Ocean Race. But Burling, who

joined Bouwe Bekking’s Brunel crew,

and Tuke who is on Xabi Fernandez’

team on board Mapfre insist otherwise.

Blair says: “I sailed the America’s Cup

doing specically one job. It was a really

rened, key role... is is a step back,

more like sailing the 49er. e [Volvo

Ocean 65] boats are all one design. But

how you set them up makes a dierence.

I have been with Mapfre for a couple of

months and enjoyed the challenge.”

Peter Burling admits:“Yes, it is very

dierent”, but insists that it’s also very

similar because “you are trying to

make your boat go faster all of the

time. For myself I do a lot of driving

and try to make the boat go fast, and

I become involved in the technical

side of things, just like the Cup. My

role is pretty similar here. I have got

to make the boat go faster than the

others, which is very similar to the Cup;

dierent boat, dierent techniques.

You have got to have the right sails

up with the right conguration and

make the boat go fast. You have to

work on all the crossovers and make

sure we have the fastest conguration,

and we are still working on those.

“e boats that have done a lot

of preparation have come out well

on the rst two legs, and that is not

surprising, but we are closing the gap.”

Blair compared the task to sailing

a small boat: “My role as a trimmer/

helmsman, involves setting sails up,

trimming them to go as fast as you

How much similarity is there between o

shore, America’s Cup and Olympic sailing?

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke are weighing in on the debate

Bob Fisher

OPINION

One of the biggest

names in yachting

journalism, Bob

Fisher has a passion

and depth of

knowledge that’s

second to none

possibly can, setting the boat up

dierently to someone else and trying

to make it fastest on the water. It is an

all day job getting it going better and

better. So it is a key role as trimmer,

as much as it is as helmsman. at

keeps me busy most of the time and

there are other jobs that ll up the rest

of my time. I jump up and help the

guys on the foredeck with the jobs in

hand. ey are dierent skill sets.”

It was pointed out that they were

much dierent skill sets to small boats.

“ey are, but then the dierences are

the technical skills – peeling sails for

some of the manoeuvres. But it is similar

to the 49er, so if someone is doing it

better than you, they are going faster,

but you try things to set the boat up

dierently to make the boat go faster.”

Peter agreed: “We got caught out

sometimes on congurations and the

way of sailing the boat. You spend a

lot of time with the other boats, next

to them, and watch what they do to

make them go fast. We feel we are in a

pretty good space to keep charging on.

We have a crew change here [in Cape

Town]. Louis [Balcaen] is coming on

board and he is highly experienced as

a driver and this will really help us in

the Southern Ocean having lots of good

My role is pretty similar to the Cup... I have got to

make the boat go faster than the others

Above

Peter Burling

at the helm of

Brunel in the Volvo

Ocean Race

MARTIN KERUZORE/VOLVO OCEAN RACE

drivers on board; you don’t want to do

long spells down there in the cold.”

One couldn’t help but mention that

the Southern Ocean is very dierent

from the Great Sound in Bermuda.

But Peter had the answer: “Everything

is dierent to the Great Sound! I am

looking forward to getting down there

and seeing dierent wildlife now and

then and dierent parts of the world

in which we try to race. Everywhere

in this race is dierent. Cape Town is

dierent – all but two of the Whitbread

and Volvo races have called in here.

It’s pretty cool to spend a few weeks

here and then go onto Melbourne.

“It has been a bit of time since Volvo

has done the whole of the Southern

Ocean. e next leg is then from

Auckland around Cape Horn and then

onto Brazil. And unless you do this race

you are never going to experience some

of the more testing types of sailing.”

Paul Goodison has proved that its

not what you sail but the way that

you sail it by winning the Star Sailors

League. Nothing could be more dierent

from the 1911-designed Star than the

foiling Moth, of which Goodison is

twice (currently) World Champion.

It tends to prove the thoughts of Blair

and Peter. Sailing is sailing aer all.

February 2018 Yachts & Yachting 13

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