News Around the World
Olympic cycling medallist Simon Van Verhooven leads the Kiwi peleton at the 2017 America’s Cup in Bermuda. After being banned for the first Cup in AC75s, in March, cyclors are allowed again for the next event… whenever and wherever that might be. But initial studies are suggesting that, with the different requirements of the AC75s versus the previous AC50 cats, it is much less cut and dried which system offers better all-round power delivery when system weight and flexibility to move around the boat are also considered
challengers since 2007, after which the class of boat changed, so this is an encouraging start for the 37th Cup.’ The next deadline is 31 March for the venue announcement.
Four venues are in contention: Auckland, Ireland, Spain and Saudi Arabia, but ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton hinted at a possible ‘bolter’ yet to be identified. The venue will determine the dates of the next Cup regatta, but it will take place in 2024 which is also an Olympic year. This presents a dilemma for Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, who in 2021 became the first sailors to win an Olympic medal and the America’s Cup in the same year. Dalton made it clear that doing both in 2024 would not be an
option. At the time of writing Burling and Tuke had not committed to a return to ETNZ. Ivor Wilkins
SPAIN María del Mar de Ros (MMR), CEO of the Spanish SailGP team, first sailed Lasers and, later with Mónica Azón, 470s, competing as sparring partners for the Spanish Olympic team. She then considered an Yngling campaign for London 2012, but by then she was well into her university studies. With two degrees and an MBA, María del Mar then began working
in the financial consulting sector, first in private banking in Lon don, then in Madrid before later returning to her native Barcelona. Jordi Xammar then asked her for help managing Spain’s Youth AC team in San Francisco 2013, and when that was finished they looked for other ways to continue this sporting-business partnership. When the SailGP circuit was born they decided to look into it
more seriously but with a view to the 2022 season, only beginning work once Tokyo 2021 was out of the way. They met Russell Coutts and agreed to come in for 2022 as planned. However, when the Chinese team withdrew mid-season this year they were offered the vacant place. Rather than risk missing the train they decided to get going, despite the difficulty posed by so many Spanish sailors still being busy with Olympic campaigns. So MMR took leave of absence from her job and threw herself full-time into SailGP. Seahorse: How did you feel in this new professional sailing world?
32 SEAHORSE
María del Mar de Ros: I was surprised at how professional it is, it’s like a company. I come from the world of banking and financial consulting, a sector that is considered top in the level of demands on the individual due to the attention to detail and client relationships. I soon discovered that working at SailGP is much the same. Russell Coutts is a person with a very cold external demeanour. But under- neath he is very passionate – he convinced me that he had always wanted a young team and that he believed in us to deliver it. SH: Are you still dependent on SailGP’s core organisation? MMR: Yes, now totally. Until we buy the franchise we are totally dependent on them. I owe ‘myself’ to Larry Ellison and Coutts! Logically we have to focus the project on the Spanish market. I only really intervene with my opinion about general SailGP issues directly related to Spain, such as the choice of broadcaster and so on. In the end you owe it to whoever gives you the money. Now all
teams depend on SailGP except Great Britain who bought their franchise and Denmark. The Danes have a hybrid arrangement. They are a team operator as they have an important sponsorship deal, but they have not bought the franchise. So they have rights different from ours, but also from Great Britain. However, the circuit is still being created and they have allowed
adaptations to suit our needs. For example, we said that two simulator sessions were not enough for us to prepare, and they expanded them. We also wanted an extra coach, so they adjusted the numbers to make it possible. Then we found out when we got to our first event that the number of visas was limited by the pandemic. We have been learning and adapting as we go. SH: How do you make decisions in the Spanish team? MMR: I have autonomy to choose the people in the team but Russell has to approve the sailing crew. He has his opinion and, although he does not impose it, his point of view is always logical. He wants the best for the circuit and for each of the teams.
Internally we make our decisions jointly with Jordi Xammar and Florián Trittel. The three of us form the core of the team, and three is a number that avoids ‘you or me’ decisions. I remember that at the beginning Jordi told me that there would be no problems this way, that we would always find a solution.
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