SPEEDBOAT TRANSATLANTIC RECORD ATTEMPT
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| Mike Sanderson interviewed by Harken |
| Friday, 16 June 2006 |
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Thirty-six-year-old Kiwi Mike Sanderson, TEAMORIGIN's team director, boasts an impressive career. The seasoned 2006 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year has won the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race twice, breaking the 24-hour monohull speed record with ABN AMRO ONE in the process. He brings experience from three previous America's Cup campaigns, including the Oracle BMW challenge in 2003 and the victorious Team New Zealand challenge in 2000. From their home in New Zealand, he and his wife, Emma, recently collaborated with renowned Argentinean boat designer Juan Kouyoumdjian on Pindar's cutting-edge Open 60 project.
Around the Ocean or Around the Buoys
TEAMORIGIN
The British challenger, TEAMORIGIN, plans to compete in at least the next two America's Cup challenges. TEAMORIGIN hopes to bring the America's Cup (originally known as The Hundred Guinea Cup) home for the first time since the schooner America raced the Royal Yacht Squadron around the Isle of Wight over 150 years ago. Organized by Sir Keith Mills, the British businessman who founded Air Miles and who ran London's successful bid to host the Olympics in 2012, the syndicate was named TEAMORIGIN in reference to a fresh and innovative force in British sailing as well as Britain's historic role in the race. As the team director, Mike Sanderson is responsible for performance operations and for selecting TEAMORIGIN's crew.
As director of TEAMORIGIN (British entry for the 33rd America’s Cup) your commitment to this program is huge. Do you have additional sailing plans?
There is nothing part-time about running an America’s Cup team, and I’m giving TEAMORIGIN 110 percent. I love the IMOCA Open 60 class and want to stay involved in the boat’s development. The Pindar 60 program is also dear to my heart. I can’t wait to see the results of our creation: how fast the boat sails, what races it will win. I still plan to sail on Pindar, but only for relaxation. For example, this Sunday we have given ourselves the day off from TEAMORIGIN, so I’ll shoot out for a sail on the 60. To be honest, I can’t wait!
AMERICA’S CUP
Sir Keith Mills has committed TEAMORIGIN to both the 33rd and 34th America’s Cups. As team director, how do you see your position evolving?
I would love to do a good enough job withTEAMORIGIN to be asked back by Sir Keith for the 34th America’s Cup. For sure, I want to stay with this team which I have played such a big part creating. However, it’s a fact that America’s Cup teams must perform, and if they don’t, things have to change. For now, that’s not a concern. It’s all about winning and enjoying the experience with the people along the way.
You are responsible for TEAMORIGIN’s performance operations, including the design team and crew selection. Will this management structure be as effective in an America’s Cup setting as it was for the AMROs in the last Volvo Ocean Race?
At 36, I am young for this role, so I keep running the campaigns the only way I know how. I surround myself with the smartest people possible and make sure I roll up my sleeves and lead by example.
What role do you hope to fill on TEAMORIGIN?
The new rule doesn’t allow two-boat testing, so we need as many people as possible on board to get the boat around the course and to liaise with the design and technical teams on our performance and the competition’s. I love this side of the sport and have never made it a secret that I want to race in faster boats than the competition.
I see my position on TEAMORIGIN as a member of the afterguard in a runner/pit-assist kind of role to help the guys with the boat’s performance from the technical side. I want to be there with the guys, so I really know what’s going on.
What can the America’s Cup and ocean racing do to make sailing more spectator-friendly?
I think sailing is working hard to be more spectator-friendly. It’s simple, really—make the boats more exciting to watch and put more cameras out there so people can see the crazy things we do now. I think the last Volvo did an excellent job bringing human interest into the race—people actually started identifying with the guys.
The 2007 America’s Cup was damn exciting to watch because the racing was so close. However, the America’s Cup is appreciated more from a sailor’s perspective and it’s harder to attract a larger audience. This new class of faster boats will really increase interest because there will be more action on the race course.
PINDAR OPEN 60
The theory that we ran with for the New Pindar 60 was all based on how powerful we thought we could make an Open 60 and still make it the fastest option for one person to sail. We quickly discovered that the more powerful the boat was, the fewer sail changes it needed when being raced around the world on Virtual Router. In fact, compared to the old Pindar, it was a very significant number: the new boat needs over 120 fewer sail changes. That’s a big factor for a solo sailor. In many ways, we wanted to design Pindar as close to a multihull as possible. I argued that the new boat could never be too powerful because Ellen MacArthur sailed a 75-ft (23-m) trimaran around the world and no matter what we did to an Open 60, it would never be as powerful as a 75-ft (23-m) multihull. Personally, I would race a 75-ft (23-m) trimaran against an Open 60 any day.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE
The route of the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race, formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race, runs through some of the toughest waters on the planet. For the 2005-2006 competition, the Volvo Open 60 was replaced by the Volvo Open 70 in an attempt to relax current restrictions and to accommodate new technologies. To increase power and speed, the boat was designed with six additional feet of waterline and a canting keel. For the 2008 Volvo, organizers have also planned a new route. Boats will depart from Spain and visit South Africa, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, China, South America, USA, Ireland, and the Baltics.
What are your thoughts about the next Volvo Ocean Race?
It is going to be very interesting to watch how the next race plays out. Once again, there will be just enough entries. Personally, I never thought it was a great idea to reduce the time from four years to three, but it is that fine line with trying to keep existing team sponsors involved versus giving new teams the opportunity to go out there and raise money. I think that it was necessary, unfortunately, for them to take the race to new key markets to interest more potential sponsors. The budgets are getting so big that it wouldn’t have survived the traditional route.
What do you think about the addition of a media contact aboard each boat?
The addition of a media person is going to be a good thing for the TV coverage, but I hope it doesn’t stop the skipper and the crew from writing articles—they had a huge following. Often the guys would really wear their hearts on their sleeves with what they were going through and you could really get a feeling for the pressure. Somehow, they need to ensure that perspective isn’t lost.
SANDERSON FUN FACTS
How does it feel to be an expectant father?
I am really looking forward to being a dad. People often remind me that this will be my biggest
challenge to date! I have no doubt that my wife, Emma (Richards) Sanderson, will be a great mum. While she was pregnant, Emma was aboard when Pindar’s mast broke the first time, so the kid has already dropped his/her first mast!
What is your favourite sailing format?
I love both inshore and offshore. At the end of the day, I love the challenge of trying to get around the course faster than anyone else. I also enjoy pre-race boat development, setup, and tactics on race days.
Why did you build a powerboat?
Bottom line is that I love boats! Always have—my parents will tell you that all I wanted after I learned to talk was a boat with a motor! I love racing yachts and I love cruising in powerboats.
Why is your nickname “Moose”?
Robbie Naismith gave it to me because I looked like a guy he worked with in Sydney who they called “Moose”—boring, huh?
Do you still sail dinghies?
When I can, but not as often as I would like.
What is under your bed?
Absolutely nothing. As my wife, friends, and family will tell you, I am a clean freak.
SANDERSON ON HARKEN
I am a huge fan of Harken. There are three key things you know when you place an order. First, the gear is beautifully designed and engineered. Hundreds of hours of R&D have gone into the development of every last component.
Second, the gear is reliable, whether you are in a tacking duel in an America’s Cup race or charging through the Southern Ocean at two in the morning. You just expect everything to work, and it does. Reliability is such a huge part of our sport and we expect nothing short of 100-percent reliability.
The third thing is, Harken’s service program is fantastic. Wherever and whenever there is a major event, the Harken van seems to be there, along with a whole assortment of spare parts and a very knowledgeable team to help you. Maybe even Peter Harken will be there for that little bit of special help.
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