Yachts & Yachting – April 2018

J

ust how physically tough is

America’s Cup racing? “When

I was campaigning a 49er for

theOlympicsIusedtohave

tohitthegymeveryday.Now,

it’stwiceaday.Thereisabigdifference

betweencampaigningatthetoplevelof

dinghy sailing and campaigning for an

America’s Cup.” So says Will Alloway,

Land Rover BAR Academy sailor and

skipperoftheteam’sExtremeSailing

Series campaign in the GC32, and M32

Med series sailor with TeamNL. Our

conversation takes place at the team’s

base in Portsmouth, and Will is on his

wayto‘Fortitude’attheLandRoverBAR

HQ to join the other Academy sailors for

a bi-weekly fitness test. This will involve

three minutes at max power on an

assaultbike,brokenbyashortrecovery

period, before another 12 minutes flat

out. Will describes the tests as “savage”

butacknowledgesitispartandparcel

of working towards his ultimate goal

of competing in the America’s Cup.

He’s already closer than many,

having sailed with the Land Rover BAR

Academy in Bermuda as part of the

Red Bull Youth America’s Cup training

squad. Prior to that, his sailing had

followedarelativelystandardpathway

–hewasamemberoftheTopperand

29er youth squads – until he became

one of the very first recruits to the Land

Rover BAR Academy, almost three

yearsago.HavingroundedouthisCV

with big boat and offshore experience

priortoapplyingtotheteam,he’snow

bringinghisskillsasamaritimelaw

FITNESS FAST

TRACK

Land Rover BAR’s coachBen Williamsand sailor

Will AllowaytellGEORGIE CORLETT-PITTabout the

physicalaspectsoftheirAmerica’sCupcampaign

FITNESS FAST TRACK FEATURE

graduate, as well as working towards

becoming a rigger under the expert

guidance of BAR Rigging’s Chris Noble.

Of the intense physical regime that

both the Academy and senior Land

RoverBARsailorsmustadhereto,

hesays:“Itistough,butIcouldn’tdo

my job without it.” Typical sessions

comprise core, mobility, strength and

cardio elements, and are individually

tailored and monitored to ensure

each sailor reaches very specific

gym,knownasFortitude.Williamshas

over 10 years’ experience in elite sports,

including judo, triathlon and motorsport

and joined the team back in 2014.

With full length windows giving a

view directly down into the boat shed,

Fortitude is spacious, light and airy, but

otherwiseatfirstglancelooksmuch

like any other gym. Closer inspection

revealsthat’sfarfromthecase,as

Williams demonstrates the specialist

grinder equipment, talks through the

bespoke winch-rope simulator set

up,pointsoutthededicatedpilates

andrehabarea,showsofftheseparate

physiotherapy room, and enthuses

about first-of-its-kind push-pull

benchequipmentthat’ssoontoarrive,

developed exclusively by Land Rover

BAR’s base supplier, Bulldog Gear.

Whiteboards on the wall display

targets and challenges set by Williams

forthesailorscominginforthe

next session, each with a poignant

countdown reminder of how long

until their next sailing event. The

differences are subtle but it’s clear

this is no ordinary gym set up.

The core of senior squad sailors –

Ben Ainslie, Giles Scott and Leigh

McMillan are amongst those regularly

in the gym. Williams explains:

“There are two elements to winning

the America’s Cup. There is the four

week window itself, ‘game time’ if

youlike,andthenthereisthethree

year lead up. This is when we work

with the athletes to maximise their

potential, allow recovery, and figure

fitness targets, as well as physical

attributes, depending on their role.

TRAINING TO WIN THE CUP

“The sailors are operating at an elite level

and we take a very dynamic approach,”

explains Ben Williams Land Rover

BAR’s lead strength and conditioning

coach, as we step into the expansive

Right

Elite training at

BAR’s Fortitude

specialist centre

Below

Individual fitness

programmes

depend on a team

member’s role

66 Yachts & Yachting April 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk