News Around the World
It took quite a while to get his SuperFoilers working properly but, after more than six months of testing plus the introduction of some all-star sailors, Bill Macartney’s dream of a second televised grand prix sailing tour is coming to fruition. The concept – build the rig and foils first and only later sling in a minimalist platform – was always going to be hard to pull off but, with Morelli & Melvin designing and the experience and credibility of Macartney’s hugely successful 18ft Skiff TV circuit in the 1990s, the right bits were always there
rowing to the America’s Cup for Bermuda but, with the cycle system emphasising leg strength, the change in his case was not as dramatic. However, like Van Velthooven, Sullivan is also a regular visitor at the ETNZ base… pounding that grinding pedestal. ‘You consult experts in similar sports and you have your own
ideas of what to do,’ says Simon about this physical remodelling. ‘It is just a matter of deciding to do it and then getting on with it. There is no secret to it. It is about doing the hard work.’ Living with the hurt is a term he frequently uses and one senses
he has developed a greater capacity for hurt than most normal mortals both during his cycling career, where he earned the nickname Rhino, and now with sailing. One only had to witness the total 110 per cent commitment expended on the Great Bermuda Sound to appreciate his somewhat laconic comment that the AC50s were ‘thirsty boats’ – thirsty for hydraulic power, which the cyclors provided. Simon developed the will to win young. ‘Every weekend my mum
and dad were taking me to compete in events. I have been competing ever since I can remember. If a challenge is put in front of me I will do everything I can to win, but I also try to have fun doing it. My approach is to train hard, race hard and don’t sweat the small stuff.’ Part of this philosophy was honed in the tough school of keirin
cycle racing in Japan. This is more gladiatorial combat than a test of speed, with riders wearing body armour and physically blocking and bashing each other on outdoor concrete tracks in all conditions. Stretchers at every corner remind contestants that a world of pain awaits the weak or unwary. It is the only sport in Japan where gambling is allowed and heavy
betting, not to mention the involvement of crime syndicates, make it a high-stakes multi-billion dollar business. Riders are locked away in isolation for four days before a big race – living in dormitories without cellphones, computers or any other form of contact with the outside world to reduce the chances of race fixing. While 3,500 professional cyclists compete on the Japanese circuit
only nine invited foreigners are allowed. Having progressed to the top of the sport at an international level, the will to win was undoubt- edly already well embedded in Simon, but surviving six months a year in Japan for five years taught him a lot about operating in a
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foreign culture in quite extreme circumstances. ‘It was a jungle,’ he says. ‘You are definitely the horse and the jockey in one and you are competing for the financial gain of millions of other people. ‘You learn to adapt to anything and also that you can handle it
– you have to handle it – without getting too stressed.’ A kind of zen-like state… ‘don’t sweat the small stuff plus a faith that every- thing will work out if you make the right decisions’. Adapting to another sport, even starting out at the pinnacle, was never going to be much of a big deal after Japan. As for competitive cycling, that is consigned to the past. He still
bikes for fitness and to get around, but his racing days are done. ‘It is a great sport and a great way to see the world. It is a cool feeling doing 70-80km/h around the boards. But when a new challenge came up it was a good time to sign that one off and move on.’ Ivor Wilkins
AUSTRALIA To boldly go Blue Robinson spoke to Bill and Jack Macartney on their SuperFoiler project, designed from the foils up, creating what Nathan Outteridge describes as ‘a boat that is beautifully balanced to helm… but definitely requires my full attention!’ Seahorse: Why the SuperFoiler concept and how did it end up the way it has? Bill Macartney: I guess when we sold out of the original 18ft Skiff Grand Prix circuit we did so knowing there was some unfinished business for us building a more international top-end programme. We had a strong and robust business model that essentially was built around hard experience, which is all about understanding how you deliver cost-effective value to sponsors and venues. Instead, though, we went off and created another business and had a successful 20 years with that, but we have always had in the back of our minds that if the right circumstances arose we would reawaken the grand prix sailing model. When we started to see Moths foiling my sons and I thought,
‘Wow, that is different!’ Intellectually you tend to resist doing it as you know it’s a massive amount of work, but when the AC72s
w
ANDREA FRANCOLINI
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