Wild Oats XI is the most successful yacht in the history of the
Rolex Sydney Hobart and their teamwork is a fundamental part
of their success. Majority of the crew have raced on the boat for
years and that is a display of Ricko’s success as skipper.
“He has a very loyal band of followers and team on Wild Oats. It is
an old established team, with a huge amount of experience and it has
morphed over a long period of time into a bunch of very compatible
guys,” explained Murray.
"Ricko leads them well, he leads from the front and he doesn’t ask
anyone to do anything he wouldn’t do. And he steers the boat in the
tough times really well.
“As a result of that, he has the respect, he respects the crew and the crew
respects him. The owners fall in that position as well.”
HIGH PRESSURE
When you are racing a multi million dollar boat owned by
someone else the pressure to perform is high. If you let the
pressure get to you, your performance will usually suffer.
Sportsmen are usually trained to deal with these situations,
when years of work comes down to this one race. Not letting the
pressure affect your performance is a key difference between a
good sportsman and a bad one.
Some sailors will get excited but then quickly get on with the job.
Iain Murray explained how Ricko deals with these situations:
“I think you can see that he gets excited at the start and that is
well documented. That all sort of goes away when we get into it
and get into the swing of it. Particularly in a sutiation when there
is Wild Oats against Comanche, its sort of David vs Goliath when
you look at the boats.
“Each of those boats has its strengths and it's how you use those
strengths and apply it to the weather conditions that you have got
at the end of the day.”
Sailing as a sport is not only physically but mentally
challenging. When all the physical elements are put into place,
your mentality and that of the crew is what is important. If you
have the best boat, gear and crew all ready to win, but a bad
mental state, something is going to come undone.
This is where the skipper is so important. Keeping the team
together not just physically but mentally. Knowing that they are
ready for whatever challenges are thrown at them, bouncing back
from the bad races or parts of races.
When Comanche launched off the start line of the recent Sydney
Hobart Race, the television audience heard Ricko's amazement as she
sailed away from them. But the Wild Oats XI team held in there till
they had the opportunity to pounce. At one stage they held a 40nm
lead over the Americans. And at the end of the closely fought battle,
the two skippers congratulated each other.
“You’re not always going to win the start and bits of pieces but I
think patience and controlling the exuberance to hit a home run out
the park on every opportunity is how you win regattas.” ✵
35
Riley Quality Marine Fittings,
153 Bellevue Parade, Hurstville NSW 2220
Tel: (02) 9546 3406 Fax: (02) 9546 6717
[email protected]The choice of championsThe choice of champions
C12388 ASL Dec-Jan 2015.indd 1 11/11/14 9:44 AMTHINGS TO REMEMBER:
- Remain positive
- Don't let them get into your head
- Don't panic
- Be prepared
- Minimise mistakes
- Respect your team and competitors
Touch here
to nd this
locationTouch here
to watch
videoKeep scrolling
for exclusive
Ipad gallery