Sitting down with America’s Cup players

Shirley Robertson

In this edition of Shirley Robertson’s Sailing Podcast, the double Olympic gold medalist is in Barcelona just days after the end of the 37th America’s Cup, seeking to learn from the people involved in the competition.

With the smell of champagne still fresh in the air, Robertson sits down with successful Defenders Emirates Team New Zealand, to talk to port side helm Nathan Outteridge, and sailing team coach Ray Davies.

Robertson also talks to Challenger INEOS Britannia’s port side helm Dylan Fletcher and starboard trimmer Bleddyn Mon, about the most successful British Challenge in the modern Cup era.

Having commentated on every moment of every race in Barcelona, Robertson is well placed to quiz her four guests and kicks things off with Cup rookie Dylan Fletcher. An Olympic 49er gold medalist from Tokyo 2020, Fletcher was a late edition to the afterguard at INEOS Britannia but played a pivotal role in mastering the AC75 and progressing through an enthralling Louis Vuitton Challenger Series, a run that ultimately saw the British team reach the Cup Match for the first time in sixty years:

“It was unbelievable to cross the finish line and book our place in the Match, obviously it was too long since a British boat was in that and to do that alongside Ben and the rest of the Team that’s been ten years in the making was a massive achievement.”

Robertson stays with the port side helm seat as she then jumps yachts, to talk to the Defender’s Nathan Outteridge, another 49er gold medalist, and former Olympic training partner to Team New Zealand starboard helm Pete Burling.

Outteridge is no stranger to Cup campaigns having twice represented Sweden’s Team Artemis Racing in previous America’s Cups, but was sailing an actual Cup match for the very first time, against a very well matched opponent:

“I received an update from the design team saying ‘This would be the expected performance deltas between the hulls in a thirty minute race’ and it was under five seconds. Between all of them,” notes Outteridge.

Robertson shifts back to the Challenger to talk to INEOS Britannia’s starboard trimmer Bleddyn Mon. Sailing in his third America’s Cup with Ben Ainslie’s British team, Mon studied as an aeronautical engineer and has a key role in data analysis:

“A lot of the races are won and lost by a few metres here and there and that distance you can really claw back in some maneuvers and small gains in performance so a big part for us was in maneuvers, we spent a lot of time looking at tacks. Every single day!”

Robertson’s final chat is with America’s Cup regular Ray Davies. Sailing coach at Emirates Team New Zealand, Ray has been a permanent fixture in the Team since 2003, Barcelona marking his seventh Cup campaign after a career chasing the illusive trophy. He’s done so with some success, boasting multiple wins for Team New Zealand both on and off the boat, and has relished his time coaching a sailing team rich in high end sailing expertise:

“They developed a boat that at the end of the day was relatively easy to sail, because they put the hours and hours into the systems and the way they could change the modes on the boat relatively easily, so when they were actually racing….the steering of the boat became the easy part of it.”

Throughout this podcast, all of Robertson’s discussions serve to illustrate the dedication and intensity of racing the AC75s at such a high level. Attention to detail, processes and systems are all discussed to a fascinating degree as each team member reflects on their time racing the Cup Match in Barcelona.

Part One:

Part Two:

Shirley Robertson OBE made history by becoming the first British woman to win Olympic Gold Medals at two consecutive Olympic Games. Shirley Robertson’s Sailing Podcast, produced and edited by Tim Butt of Vertigo Films, is available to listen on her website or via most popular podcast outlets, including iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, and aCast.