In Tune With The Alinghi Team
WEDNESDAY, 27 JUNE 2007
As the heat continues to soar high in the ongoing 2007 America’s Cup, the players of the participating teams are likewise discovering a lot of wonderful things about themselves and the teams they are involved with. One sailor shares his experience in sailing and fighting with the defending champion.
It is the first time that Spain national Jordi Calafat joins the Alinghi team for the America’s Cup and as early as now, this sailor is already confident that his team will be able to retain the America’s Cup title.
"We have good speed, which in this sport is the key thing," says Calafat. "To have this speed you need to have a very good design team and very good sailors. The sailors need to give the best information to the designers so when you put all the ingredients together, with the shore crew, you get this result."
As part of his preparation for the big challenge, Calafat shares that he makes sure he is always in good mental shape since he needs to give input about the wind and the position of the tactician.
"As traveller and strategist you give input in many ways," adds Calafat. "You have to work with the mainsail trimmer and helmsman in terms of the mode we are sailing the boat in and our relative speed. You also have to help the tactician to decide where to go and where to tack, particularly in the light air. It is a big responsibility because if you make a bad call it can be really bad for the race."
For more information, read the full news story at www.bymnews.com.
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