Today’s wing-sailed, foiling catamarans are highly manoeuvrable, sailed on shorter courses than their monohull predecessors and are capable of travelling at speeds in excess of 40 knots, meaning that the men who sail them must make rapid decisions under extreme physical stress.

America’s Cup teams are training on AC45 test boats at the moment, but will be competing on 50-footers in the America’s Cup proper next summer. The AC50 boats are currently being designed and built by each of the six teams competing in the America’s Cup.

“Today, the America’s Cup is like Formula One racing on water,” says 41-year-old Kiwi Craig McFarlane, the physical performance

manager with Oracle Team USA. Mr McFarlane joined Oracle in 2012 after spending 14 years training professional rugby teams, first in New Zealand with Wellington Lions and Hurricanes, and then in England with Leicester Tigers and Saracens

“The technology is so advanced now on these machines,” he says. “You’ve got to be strong to sail the boats, and you’ve got to be fit. Races take 25 minutes, and there are two races a day with a short turnaround. A sailor’s heart rate to sail foiling catamarans is between 80 and 99 per cent of their maximum heart rate. They are as fit as an ice hockey player or a rugby player. But, unlike ice hockey, there are no benches in sailing. ‘Recovery’ is when they cross the tramp to the cockpit. There’s not much of a rest for them.

“Our training reflects the sailors’ workload on the boat,” says Mr McFarlane, who played rugby and cricket in his youth, and studied exercise physiology and human nutrition at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. “We use technology to measure the human output that the guys are exerting on the boat. From that, we tailor the training and recovery programme.

“The guys have to be strong, but it has to be functional strength. They make a lot of dynamic movements during a race, so they need a good aerobic base. They make repeated high-intensity bursts for the entire 25 minutes of a race, twice a day. They will come out of a cockpit onto the tramp – a moving platform – and then sprint back into the cockpit without falling into the water, and perform their role as part of a team.

“They undergo cognitive training while their heart rate is high because they’ve got to problem-solve out on the water while under duress. An America’s Cup sailor must be capable of functional output while they are absolutely knackered. There is a lot of dynamic thinking and a short time during which to make decisions. As an America’s Cup sailor, you also need to have something deep inside you, that extra two per cent to get the boat over the line.”

Mr McFarlane says that while helmsman Jimmy Spithill has a less physical role on the boat than some of his crew, he nevertheless is absolutely committed to the team’s fitness regime. “When one of your leaders enjoys the training and fitness side, it picks up the guys around you,” Mr McFarlane says.

With 14 sailors on the Oracle team, and 12 required to put two testing boats on the water, the sailors also have to be durable. “With just two reserves, we can’t afford for anyone to be injured,” Mr McFarlane says. “That’s why we do medical, strength and fitness testing on all our guys. They’ve got to be bloody good sailors, bloody good in their position on the boat and medically and physically in good condition.”

One such sailor is Oracle Team USA tactician Andrew Campbell, 32, the US Collegiate Sailor of the Year in 2006 while at Georgetown University, the US Olympic Committee’s Sportsman (Sailor) of the Year in 2007 and a former US and world youth sailing champion in the Laser class.

Mr McFarlane says the six-foot, 194-pound Mr Campbell has reduced his body fat percentage from 15 to ten since joining Oracle Team USA in March 2014, while his weight has remained the same, meaning that he has lost body fat while increasing his lean muscle mass, which positively affects his output on the boat.

His scores have improved roughly 20 per cent in aerobic grinding testing that is conducted seven times a year. His strength scores have gone up 10 per cent across the board.

“Hands down, I’ve never been fitter,” Mr Campbell says after a morning workout. “The training is more high intensity rather than an endurance approach. There are a heck of a lot of people here who push you to get better. In the gym, and on the water, they push you all the way.”

Mr Campbell agrees that today’s America’s Cup puts greater aerobic demands on the sailors. “We do a lot of work in a shorter amount of time than was the case before,” he says. “The course is smaller, and the boats are a heck of a lot faster. We might do the same number of tacks, and the same number of mark roundings in the course of a day as were done before, but we do it in a condensed, 20-minute race.

“Because of that, our fitness regime is conditioned for faster-paced, higher heart rate sailing. It’s like being an 800 metre or 400 metre runner as opposed to pushing a shot put. During a race, some of our guys will run the tramp 10, 15, even 20 times, in a 20-minute period while the boat is doing 35 knots.”

Mr Campbell must not only meet the extreme physical demands of the sport – he is one of the four grinders on the boat – but, as tactician, he must also make sound decisions while doing so.

“I need to make good decisions very quickly at a high heart rate based on the other boats’ positioning,” he says. “I’ve got to effectively communicate those decisions to the entire team so that they know that, 25 seconds from now, we are going to tack or jibe. At the speeds we are going, America’s Cup sailing demands high output from a sailor.”

The Oracle athletes must be taken good care of, Mr McFarlane says.

“If they are going to win in Bermuda, and defend the America’s Cup for us, we need to look after them,” he says. “They are our prized assets. We must manage their training loads, manage their heart rate loads, and make sure they are getting proper sleep.

“Altogether, we get a picture of each athlete over a period of time. We can assess whether we are under-training or over-training them. We manage the athletes on a daily, weekly basis. That way, we can pull someone if we think they are fatigued. We tailor training loads to individuals – you have to be smart, you have to know the athlete.

“Our guys used to sail the boats, put the boats away, and then work on the boats. They’d be at our base until 7.30 at night. This time around, there is less of that. We are managing them as athletes and human beings a lot better.”

This article first appeared in RG Spring magazine in 2016.

The post A demanding endeavour appeared first on RG Magazines.

And while this lifestyle may seem hectic, many of the families who have moved to Bermuda for next year’s 35^th America’s Cup have used the opportunity to embrace different cultures and expand their family’s sense of adventure all while still incorporating traditions and routines to help keep themselves grounded.

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Emma Outteridge probably has the most experience for the life of a wanderer.

Born while her parents sailed around the Pacific islands of New Caledonia; travelling around the world, and sailing, have become the fabric of her life. At the age of five her father became the business manager for Team New Zealand and she spent much of her life moving around with the America’s Cup as well as doing her own stint working for the organisation.

She’s now married to Australian Nathan Outteridge, Artemis Racing’s skipper and helmsman, and had no apprehension about moving to Bermuda for AC35.

“It’s normal for me to feel comfortable living on small islands in the middle of nowhere,” she told RG Magazine mere hours before taking off again, this time to Uganda.

She is the volunteer coordinator for a school in Uganda and earlier this year she fundraised for a new school bus. At the end of October she delivered the bus, having used her contacts within the America’s Cup family and those she has met in Bermuda to raise the money needed.

“The community in Bermuda and the AC family are very interested and engaged in events going on in the world,” she said. “Both are very aware that the world they live in is very small and I’ve found that growing up on an island the isolation means you have to be more outward looking.”

She said she is constantly amazed by how many people in Bermuda know about the cup and are genuinely excited about next year’s event.

“During the World Series [in October of 2015] it felt like the old days in New Zealand. Everyone in New Zealand loves sailing and here it was the same. Everyone was out there watching. Not everyone out in fancy boats but whatever they could get their hands on from kayaks to dinghies to super yachts. I keep seeing so many similarities of these two worlds that I am a part of,” she said.

While the scenery may change every couple of years for her, Mrs Outteridge has found great comfort in the places she has lived.

“I celebrated my birthdays in a different house until I was 12. The norm for me is not having a norm. But because I was brought up to have an unconventional way of life it has given me a sense of freedom in moving.”

The couple will spend their first Christmas in Bermuda as a married couple and will, naturally, spend the holiday on the beach.

“It’s sounds like everyone goes to the beach here just like we would at home in New Zealand, so I think I will feel right at home.”

* * *

While Helen “H” Draper led a more settled life growing up, living in the same Essex town until she went to university, she has openly embraced her mobile life, even with two children in tow. Married to fellow Brit, SoftBank Team Japan’s wing trimmer/tactician Chris Draper, the pair have always been involved in sailing but didn’t start moving around until their son, Harry, was 18 months old. Since then the family have lived in New Zealand, where their daughter Lily was born, as well as San Francisco and Sardinia, Italy.

“When moving so much with kids you have to be quite flexible and adaptable,” she said.

No matter where the family is she makes sure to stick to a routine, whether it’s as simple as making pancakes on Saturday mornings.

“It’s really important for the children that there is some sort of structure no matter where we are,” she said.

“There is a sense of community with the team as well as amongst teams,” she added. “Because we don’t get to see extended family as much but we have our extended family within the team and that can be a fantastic sort of support. We’ve also had a great opportunity to be able to mix with other families within Bermuda.”

While it can certainly feel a bit unsettling to not know what the future holds, Mrs Draper said they have learned to adapt.

“You aren’t exactly the master of your own destiny but with every opportunity we take the bull by the horns and are always excited about the next place we will end up.”

They have found that the family-oriented community in Bermuda has allowed for them to spend time together as a family, even with Mr Draper’s busy schedule.

“Moving to Bermuda we’ve found that because people are so used to transient people that we’ve been able to slot right into the community and really enjoy Bermuda and everything it has to offer.”

The family welcomes the adventurous life and sees it as a great learning experience for their children.

“The enrichment of other cultures and the many experiences that our children will have that they wouldn’t be getting has been very fortunate for us. We have lots of experiences and make memories that will be very special to look back on,” she said.

 * * *

While Swiss nationals Nadia Di Biase and her husband, Julien, continue to observe Swiss National Day on August 1 (with plenty of melted cheese!), they also mix in celebrating July 4 and Thanksgiving, since all three of their children were born in the United States.

“Our tradition is Thanksgiving, we love everything about it. Giving thanks, gathering and sharing are the fundamental values of our family,” she said.

Mr Di Biase is the events director for the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) but has previously worked with Oracle Team USA where his job took them from Switzerland to Valencia, Spain, San Francisco and now Bermuda. The family has found that their transition to Bermuda has been very smooth and, as their children are still quite young, there haven’t been many challenges to all of the moving.

“We have been warmly welcomed everywhere…What is really hard is to be away from family and friends. We miss the grandparents as much as they miss their grandkids. It is really hard both ways,” Mrs Di Biase said.

But they have made the most of the ability to discover new places and their travels have taken them to Hawaii, Alaska, Yucatan and Cuba. Even so, their hearts still remain in Switzerland.

“Once a year we head to our beloved Swiss mountains and spend a few weeks secluded in our old chalet. We are all so excited to see the snow, although trying on closed shoes and down jackets has become the kids’ worst nightmares recently!”

 * * *

Australian Cat Hollis, whose British husband Sam is the chief operating officer for the America’s Cup Event Authority, has also intertwined her own country’s traditions with those that the family have picked up along their travels.

“As an Australian we celebrate Australia Day and ANZAC Day wherever we are in the world. We have been back to the UK about six times already since we have lived here – it is so convenient – however Australia is a little too far to go with two small children. I read lots of Australian books and talk about Australian animals. I attempted to make pavlova last year. It was a disaster with the humidity but I try and make other Australian style food as we think it’s important that our kids know where their parents came from,” she said.

“We have, though, adopted Thanksgiving from living in the US, where our son was born, so we will try and keep that going and perhaps we will take something with us from Bermuda too.”

This article first appeared in RG Winter last year.

The post Born to wander appeared first on RG Magazines.