Shirley Robertson: The Barcelona Review – Analyzing the 37th America’s Cup
by Shirley Robertson 1 Nov 16:17 PDT
2 November 2024
Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Race 8 – October 18, 2024 © Ian Roman / America’s Cup
In this episode of the podcast, Shirley Robertson is in Barcelona shortly after the conclusion of the 37th America’s Cup.
With the scent of champagne still lingering, Robertson chats with victorious Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand, including port side helm Nathan Outteridge and sailing coach Ray Davies, to explore the winning strategies of the Cup. In this segment, she also speaks with Challenger INEOS Britannia’s port side helm Dylan Fletcher and starboard trimmer Bleddyn Mon about the remarkable British Challenge in the modern Cup history.
Having provided commentary on every race of the Barcelona Cup regatta, Robertson is in an excellent position to interview her four guests, starting with Cup newcomer Dylan Fletcher. An Olympic gold medallist in the 49er from Tokyo 2020, Fletcher joined the INEOS Britannia team later than most but played a crucial role in mastering the AC75 and advancing through a captivating Louis Vuitton Challenger Series, culminating in the British team’s first Cup Match appearance in sixty years.
“It was surreal to cross the finish line and earn our spot in the Match; it had been far too long since a British boat had reached that stage. Accomplishing this alongside Ben and the rest of the Team, which has been a decade in the making, was monumental,” he shares.
Shifting gears, Robertson turns to the Defender’s Nathan Outteridge, another Olympic gold medallist in the 49er and former training partner to Team New Zealand’s starboard helm Pete Burling. Outteridge, familiar with Cup campaigns after representing Sweden’s Team Artemis Racing twice in previous events, experienced his first actual Cup match against a well-matched rival.
“I got a report from the design team estimating ‘These would be the expected performance differences between the hulls in a thirty-minute race,’ and it was under five seconds,” Outteridge remarks.
Robertson then returns to the Challenger to chat with INEOS Britannia’s starboard trimmer Bleddyn Mon. Competing in his third America’s Cup with Ben Ainslie’s British crew, Mon, an aeronautical engineer by training, plays a vital role in data analysis.
“Many races are decided by just a few metres, and that distance can be regained during maneuvers and small performance gains; thus, we devoted considerable time to tacks and refining our processes, striving to improve every single day!” he explains.
Robertson’s final conversation is with America’s Cup veteran Ray Davies, the sailing coach for Emirates Team New Zealand. Having been with the team since 2003, Barcelona marks Davies’ seventh Cup campaign in a career focused on capturing the elusive trophy. He has seen success, achieving multiple victories for Team New Zealand both on and off the water, and enjoys coaching a team filled with top-tier sailing talent.
“They crafted a boat that ultimately was relatively simple to operate due to the countless hours dedicated to optimizing the systems and the ease of switching modes. Consequently, when racing, maneuvering the boat became the simpler task,” he adds.
Throughout this podcast, all of Robertson’s discussions illustrate the commitment and focus required to race the AC75s at such an elite level. Each team member reflects on their experiences racing in the Cup Match in Barcelona, emphasizing the importance of attention to detail and well-defined processes.
This episode of the podcast is presented in two parts and is available for listening on Shirley’s official website podcast page – www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast, as well as through major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and aCast.
