Cup experience than her and
we’re so happy to have her on our
team. I would love to see a female
or African American be involved
in our ownership group. Let’s
make sailing cool, let’s make
sailing inclusive, let’s teach people
about the American dream –
that’s really what our challenge is
about. Everyone on our team
believes we have a chance to
win the America’s Cup. We all
believe that we can change the
sport. I grew up with a single
mom. I never met my dad. I didn’t
grow up in the same world as a lot of people that have
grown up sailing and I feel so lucky to have been
introduced to the sport. I want to open that door
forotherpeople.
HOWDIDYOUENDUPINHOLLAND,MICHIGAN,TOBUILD
YOURFIRSTBOAT?
Hollandkindoffellintoourlapandwecouldn’tbe
moreexcitedaboutit.There’sareallyunique,fast-
growingindustryofaerospaceandtechthathasmoved
intotheMichigancommunityaftercarmanufacturing
kindofleftin2008.Sowearereallyproudtosaythat
we’vebrought 50 jobstoHolland,Michigan,andwe
planonbuildingtwoboats.Obviously,alotofthatis
fundraisingdependentbutwe’refourmonthsintothe
buildofourfirstboat.Wehaveanall-Americandesign
officeledbyJBBraun.
ASALATEENTRY,CANYOUCATCHUP?
Wesubmittedourentrytowardtheendofthedeadline,
butwe’vebeenworkingonthisfortwoyears.I’vebeen
workingwithTeamNewZealandpersonallyfortwo
years.Wehadalotofthingsgoingonbehindthescenes
thatnobodyknewabout.Soyes,Ithinkthatwecan
catchupandactuallythatwehavecaughtup.
WHYDIDYOUCHOOSETHELONGBEACHYACHTCLUB?
WehaveagreathistoryherewiththeCongressional
Cup.Taylorhaswonitfourtimes;Ihavewonitonce.
AndtheLongBeachYachtClubisaplacewhere,when
youwalkinthedoor,you’regreetedwith,“Hey,how
areyou?Nicetoseeyou.”Ithinkthey’vecreatedavery
progressiveclubhereinthatthere’salotofkidsthat
comethroughthedoorsanditdoesn’thavethenormal
yachtclubfeel.We’resettingouttochangesailingand
makeitmorerelevantagaininthewayDennisdidback
inthe1980s;thatwasreallyimportanttous.BMoreCupteamsannounced
NewteamsfromMaltaandthe
Netherlandshavealsorecently
beenacceptedbyRoyalNew
ZealandYachtSquadronas
challengersforthe36thAmerica’s
Cup.TheMaltaAltusChallenge,
supportedbytheRoyalMalta
YachtClub,becamethefourth
contender.PasqualeCataldi,an
Italian-bornpropertytycoon
basedinMaltaandheadofthe
developmentcompanyAltus,is
theprincipalbacker.Thesixth
challenger,DutchSail,issupported
byRoyalNetherlandsYachtClub
andRoyalMaasYachtClub.Itis
makinghistorywithitschoiceof
OlympianDutchwomanCarolijn
Brouwerashelmsman.THECHALLENGERS:- LunaRossaChallenge(Italy)
(ChallengerofRecord) - AmericanMagic(US)
- INEOSTeamUK(UK)
- MaltaAltusChallenge(Malta)
- Stars+StripesTeamUSA(US)
- DutchSail(TheNetherlands)
CAN YOU TURN A GREAT ATHLETE INTO A SAILOR?
I think most great athletes can adapt to just about
anything. [The grinders] are operating at a 100 percent
heartratefor 40 minutes,soaMichaelPhelpsor
somebodyofthatcalibercanadaptextremelyquickly.
HASMICHAELPHELPSSHOWEDANYINTEREST?
Wehaven’tspokentohimdirectly,buthe’sanAmerican
athletichero.Hewouldstepontooneoftheseboats
andbethebestgrinderintheworldafteranhour.
AREYOULOOKINGTOCHANGESAILINGCULTURE?
Oneofmypersonalgoalsistomakesailingmore
inclusive.Sailingtodayisarichwhiteman’ssportand
Ithinkthatweneedtochangethat.We’vetold
ourselves,let’sgetthebestathletesinthedoor.
MelindaErkelens,ourgeneralcounsel,isthebestin
thebusiness.There’snobodywithmoreAmerica’s
OPEN TRYOUTS
The Stars + Stripes
team has held foiling
camps in Long
BeachonGC32
catamaransaspart
ofitstryouts,open
toathletesoutside
ofsailing,too33