Historic context
The bit we came for… Having taken line honours in the previous round-the-world race on UBS Switzerland in 1985/86 Pierre Fehlmann returned four years later with his second Farr sloop Merit (above) on which he narrowly won a race-long tussle for third with the Rob Humphreys designed maxi sloop Rothmans. Both boats were eclipsed by the Farr ketches Steinlager 2 and Fisher&Paykel. Fehlmann returned again in 1993/94… with two masts
After seven round the world races, six as crew and one as sailing manager, Brad Jackson is back for the 2017-2018 edition as watch captain on team AkzoNobel. In those seven races he’s picked up three victories racing aboard three of the most dramatic offshore monohulls ever built, the Maxi ketch New Zealand Endeavour with Grant Dalton and then the VO70s ABN Amro One with Mike Sanderson and Ericsson 4 with Torben Grael. Seahorse: You’ve been doing this race long enough to give us a good picture of its evolution to date… and what is already booked in for next time. Brad Jackson: I started back in 1993 with my first race on New Zealand Endeavour and we won. Then I went on to Merit Cup in 1997 when we came second. Next was Tyco in 2001, when we were fourth. Then came ABN Amro in 2005, when we won again. Then Ericsson 4 with Torben [Grael] in 2008… which we won. Puma in 2011, when we came third, then with SCA last race and now this team. Over those years the intensity actually
hasn’t changed that much, I think basically the biggest difference is timing. With the nature of a one-design fleet a lot less lead- in time is needed now but it is still critical to secure the funding early enough so that the team can prepare properly. SH:Over that period the biggest change was surely the switch from development classes to a very strict one-design… BJ: In a way. It was the biggest single change but largely because of the increased emphasis on weather, navigation and most important of all how to sail the boats well. More than ever today it is about people,
learning to sail the boat the best way, being accurate in the way you sail the boat and having the people onboard who can do that all of the time. If the people can get to that level then you are always going to be sailing the boat faster. It’s important in all races, but in this
race it’s taken on exaggerated significance. With the development fleets, the different boats had different strengths in different conditions; when you have certain condi- tions, you know you will be faster or
slower so your tactics and your navigation both become dictated by that. Not so now. SH: Did you find aspects of the previous race three years ago, the first in one- designs, surprising in any way? BJ: Not really, we mostly knew what to expect. The fleet generally seemed to stay together and most boats stuck with a pretty conservative approach. I don’t think that was surprising in a one-design race. SH: So how much do you miss the design and development in the previous races? BJ: Personally, I do miss that side of things. I still enjoy the racing side for sure, but as time goes on you really enjoy the design aspect, the development aspect. I find it very interesting. So if you have the time to look into that while you are also preparing for the race, you’re learning new stuff which was a pretty cool part of it all. SH: Are there many areas left with the VO65s where you think more speed can still be found… BJ: As sailing manager last time (with SCA) I haven’t sailed on these boats as much as the guys who did the last race but
SEAHORSE 29 w
PHILIPPE SCHILLER/PPL
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