Update Later I started with the original Tornado, without a gennaker. Then
the class was modified for 2004 with the gennaker, and then the carbon mast arrived. When I started in Nacra there was no foiling, then it was semi-foiling and at the end it was really foiling properly! So actually I did each Olympics with a different boat! SH: Which was the most complicated? SL:Without any doubt the current Nacra. The pressure you have just sailing the boat well is tremendous; there is a big difference in speed between sailing it perfectly or just very well. It requires you to focus so much on boathandling that on an upwind leg you can only look quickly at the racecourse two or three times, so you must be able to read the wind very quickly. It is both very difficult and very interesting. SH: Tell us about your crews… SL: They are all brilliant! I couldn’t have achieved anything without my teammates. I was lucky to have the best. Cole (Mariano Parada), Camao (Carlos Espínola), Ceci (Cecilia Carranza) and now Vicky (Victoria Travascio) are exceptional sailors and super people. I am happy that I am still good friends with all of them. SH: Is coaching part of your future Olympic plans? SL: I have offers, from federations and from sailors. A few weeks ago, before the World Cup, I was coaching Ruggero [Tita] and Caterina [Banti] – very interesting as they were still my rivals! I still have the desire to win an Olympic medal and as a coach it is a possibility… SH: So no chance of one ‘last’ Olympic campaign as a sailor? SL: No, that book is now closed. I am convinced I have made the correct decision. I am excited to take some time to reflect and con- sider other things in life. It’s been many years saying no to a lot of things to focus only on the Olympic campaigns, which is a very demanding world. Not being in that world any more opens up oppor- tunities and I want to have the time and peace of mind to enjoy them. SH: I’m going to make it easy for you, instead of asking for one I’m asking for three. What are the championships you remember most? SL: Rio 2016 for the victory, for sharing it with my children who competed in the 49er, and the medal ceremony in the presence of my mother, my brothers and many of my friends due to the proximity to Buenos Aires. I don’t think you can get better than that. Another is the 2004 world championship victory in the Tornado,
and another is the first medal I won in Athens – it was a reward after 24 years of hard work since my first Olympic campaign. SH: Inevitably now is the turn of the worst memories… SL: Noooo, I don’t hold bad memories of championships that went wrong for me. From every one you lose you learn a lot. In the campaign for China I only had one year of preparation because I was in the America’s Cup with Victory Challenge; and a few months before the Games we finished last in Hyères! It was a moment that made us reflect a lot and form a new and better plan!! (They still won a bronze!) I am also not very happy with the two Games that I competed in
with Camao (Carlos Espínola). We won bronze in both, but especially the one in Athens, I never understood why we didn’t win it. We were World and European Champions and we navigated the regatta very well; but one race was cancelled, plus we lost a win to a tremendous wind shift at the end. Several little things happened to us that caused us to lose the top spot but even after a lot of subsequent analysis I never found out why we lost. SH: Would you like to highlight three of your rivals? SL: First of all, Robert Scheidt. An athlete in every sense of the word. His performance, nobility as a rival and human quality make him my first choice. Then Roman Hagara who won two golds in the Tornado, we were training partners. Both he and his crew Hans (Hans-Peter Steinacher) are excellent people, very very hardworking. And another one, Torben Grael. Although at the Olympic level I did not compete against him, I did in other categories such as Snipe, keelboats in South America and Europe. A wonderful sailor and a good friend.
Correction Upscaling Works (issue 553) Manufacturers Gurit have pointed out that resin-to-fabric ratios quoted for SPRINT were based on super- seded information and these figures are not a fair representation of the current system. Readers are referred to Gurit’s Product Catalog and Data Sheets for the latest information.
q 16 SEAHORSE Brought to you in association with
SNAPSHOTS
l All the young dudes… gold medallist Jonathan McKee and Cup- winner Pedro Isler teamed up to take the ORC Two-handed Worlds l Doubt they’d have won… if Nicolas had turned up… l Nicolas Lunven… is the new skipper of Holcim PRB l A man who… doesn’t just call the weather, he tells it what to do l Predecessor… Kevin Escoffier is still dealing with personal matters l Lonely…Peter Gibbons-Neff is the sole US skipper in the Mini Transat l Forza, Pete… who is also a big fundraiser for veteran causes l Satisfying… 14 women skippers in this year’s big (little) one… l Tougher… than ever to get into, with an entry limit of 90 boats... l And… more than 300 properly active Mini skippers out there l Surely not… does Don McIntyre price in opening-week emergencies to fire up the media? l Less than… a week into the Ocean Globe Race the helicopters were up for an injured crewman (he lived) l ‘Vilanova I La Geltru hosts huge regatta!’… yes, a 210-boat turnout for the Patin Catalan Championships... l Two small hulls… one big sail, no rudder (more soon) l Also busy… in Vilanova, a famous name with fine Cup heritage… l How proud… the Wizard of Zenda must be… l Keeping on eye on the shifts… while watching over grandson Harry Melges IV and NYYC American Magic l And didn’t they do well… bloody A they did (go, Terry!!!) l Low-riding to glory… that’s the aim from now on l Nice one… Grant Dalton was awarded a trophy by King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain for delivering the America’s Cup to the city of Barcelona... l Noooooo… and six Spanish businessmen pick up a large tab l (We tried… we really did) l We’ve been fast… we’ve been broken but to date we’ve always been safe (Charlie Enright)... l The one potential change… 2023 ‘Ocean Racers’ do not seem to like is the idea of shortening the 35-day epic across the bottom of the world with a stopover l Which says a lot… about the historic importance of this race… l Even more… about those who continue to compete l Talking calibre… forza too, young Timothy Long... l Previous Seahorse… Sailor of the Month, lapping the UK solo at 15 l Now… youngest skipper to finish the Figaro Solitaire, aged 18… l Three weeks… after finishing his last school exams l Preparation for Solitaire 2024… is well underway l Things not to do… you decide: l But… the three people rescued in the Coral Sea are not rushing to go to sea again… at least not in another inflatable catamaran… l THIS IS NOT… a wind-up. They really did begin the expedition on an inflatable trimaran (stop it, at the back) l Later rescued… more than 450nm north of Cairns… l That Darwin Award… was theirs for the taking… l Had the pesky… Aussie Air Force done the decent thing and looked the other way l Go, Pom… big props to Sir Ben and BAR, winning the glamour SailGP round in Saint-Tropez... (and the next one – ed!!) l Bit like… the Monaco Grand Prix… l If you’re only… gonna win one l Two weeks later… it was back to earth in Vilanova, but… l Reflect cleverly, study wisely, apply intelligently… because getting punched in the face with 12 months to go is better than last time… l Auckland 2021… and one thing was so instantly horribly clear… l That… lovely-looking silver dog was never going to hunt l Huge props too… the whole of Bella Mente… l Jeez… it’s been a long road and hard work… l But ya… got there (we never doubted it) l Grim grim grim… what a month it’s been for losing good people… l Captain… Bill Pinkney was a great man… l US Sailing Hall of Fame… and the first black man to sail solo round the world via the great capes, taking along with him 30,000 US schoolkids through a brilliant early education programme… l Long… before anyone could even spell ‘internet’ l Dave Scully… members of the Seahorse family raced with him, travelled with him, ate and laughed with him… l Marc Lombard… truly, truly, only the good die young l Take time, learn more…
eurosailnews.com l Then join in…
RaceBoatsonly.com
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