It is incredible to imagine that in a year’s time we will be moving a chunk of the team over to Bermuda in readiness for the launch of our actual America’s Cup boat. This time 12 months ago we were working with a skeleton staff from an industrial park in Whiteley, while 18 months ago we did not even have a team, let alone a boat. The rate of development in this sport is mind-blowing.
In the past 12 months we have launched not one but two testing boats; recruited on all fronts, including appointing the former McLaren Formula One team principal Martin Whitmarsh to the role of chief executive, built and moved into our stunning new state-of-the-art headquarters in Camber Quay, Portsmouth; raced in three America’s Cup World Series events (finishing the series in third place overall), unveiled a new title sponsor in Land Rover and two top-notch commercial partners in CMC and BT. And I got married. It has been intense.
The Duchess of Cambridge hands over the World Series trophy after victory in Portsmouth
The highlight – wedding aside – was undoubtedly the Portsmouth leg of the America’s Cup World Series in July. Not only did we win our home event, but seeing hundreds of thousands of fans pack out Southsea Common to soak up the atmosphere and watch the regatta, which really showed off this generation of foiling catamarans in all their glory, was something I will always remember. I hope we get as many turning up in July 2016.
The ACWS is shaping up to be pretty epic next year, with as many as six events on the calendar. Already we have had five confirmed in Muscat, Oman (Feb 26-28), New York (May 6-8), Chicago (June 10-12) Portsmouth (July 22-24) and Toulon (Sept 10-11).
For us, of course, Portsmouth is the big one. But the two American legs are pretty intriguing. The New York regatta in particular, which was announced this month, has got everyone excited. Sailing on the Hudson River, on a race course set between Ellis Island and the tip of Manhattan, with New York’s iconic skyline and the Statue of Liberty providing the backdrop, is going to be special.
I know New York pretty well as my wife Georgie was based there for a while with her work. I have been for a few runs down the West Side Highway, although I have only ever sailed on the Hudson once, at the start of a transatlantic challenge with Sir Richard Branson in 2008.
Photo: HARRY KH/LAND ROVER BAR
It is an amazing place, though, and it is not hard to see why it is getting our sponsors and partners excited. Bernie Ecclestone has been trying to get a Formula One race off the ground in New Jersey for ages. It is a huge opportunity to showcase the America’s Cup in a key market.
From a Land Rover BAR perspective, we could not be happier with where we are. I estimated back when we started that we would need a budget of around £80 million to be competitive. We have had to revise that figure upwards a little bit after changes earlier this year to the size of boats and to the format, but not by much. And I am pleased to say we are well on target.
Personnel-wise we are looking really strong. With a second test boat due to be launched in 2016, we recently signed my old GB team-mate Leigh McMillan. Leigh is fresh from helming The Wave Muscat to their second Extreme Series title and, with all the fleet racing and eventually the match racing which we will be doing, we need a strong second helmsman to drive the second testing boat. Leigh will certainly keep me on my toes. He is a great guy and hugely experienced on catamarans from his time in the Extremes and GC32s.
Competition within the team is hugely important and we have purposely held back from recruiting too many sailors too soon. It is likely that we will bring another couple on board next year and that will keep everyone’s motivation levels high. I want real competition for places.
We finished third in the World Series this year, up there with Emirates Team NZ and Oracle Team USA, and we would very much like to win it in 2016. It is difficult to see any one team dominating because of the nature of the racing – tight courses, shifty breezes, high level of competition – but we want to be as consistent as possible.
Points do carry forward to the qualifying series for the America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017 so we are not just racing for pride.
We will be hampered slightly by the loss of our tactician, Giles Scott, for much of the year as he is off to the Olympics in August. It will be a blow losing him and losing key time in which to fine-tune that all-important helmsman-tactician relationship.
But on the flip side, it would be a massive boost, for him primarily but also for the entire team, if he could win gold in the Finn and keep the medal in-house. It is coming up for 16 years now since it has been in British hands between Iain Percy (Sydney 2000) and then myself. And the great thing about the way Giles is dividing up his time between the America’s Cup and his Olympic campaign is that when we do have him he is really fresh and excited to be out on the water. That rubs off on everyone.
For now, though, it is all about developing our testing boat. We had a bit of a crash this month, which was annoying as we sustained a bit of damage to the wing. But we will be back soon. The boat and the team are flying in every sense.
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