For Max Sirena, skipper of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team challenging for the upcoming America’s Cup trophy, sailing is an obsession. The Prada America’s Cup World Series runs from 17-20 December. Debbie Hathway chats to Max ahead of what promises to be a jaw-dropping spectacle of sailing.
Category:
Heroes
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Listen to this podcast with Skip Novak – best known for his participation in four Whitbread Round the World Yacht Races. This included three races as skipper with Alaska Eagle, Drum and Fazisi. The podcast spans his career in racing and his Antarctic expeditions with Palegic.
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A jam-packed SailGP season has been scheduled for 2021 with new venues added to spice up the racing. But luckily the 2020 season did produce some sailing, and the sailors still have something to say about this short season. Sir Ben Ainslie of Team GBR talks tech with Emily Nagel.
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Peter Burling is no stranger to sailing at the highest level. Whether it’s competing in the Olympics, The Ocean Race or the America’s Cup as pilot of Emirates Team New Zealand. It’s therefore no surprise that he has been recognised for these achievements in the form of one of the most prestigious awards in sailing – the Magnus Olsson Prize.
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Off Watch chats to Carolijn Brouwer, a three-time competitor in The Ocean Race, who sailed to victory with Dongfeng Race Team in that epic final leg of the last race, finishing in her home port of The Hague. Watch this interview for an in-depth and honest talk about her very successful sailing career. Did you know that before she was an offshore sailor, Carolijn was an incredibly accomplished dinghy sailor in the 470, Laser Radial, Europe and Tornado class? She won World Sailor of the Year in 1998 and raced in the Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
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Jonathan Paarman is a legendary, fearless wave-rider from Cape Town, South Africa who was ranked #15 in the world in 1976. Paarman was born in 1954 and was raised in Cape Town. He is one of five brothers and the son of a commercial fisherman. His extensive knowledge of the ocean in both surfing and sailing has led to him working in the boat building industry. Today, he and his brothers Mark and Roger build custom catamarans for Balance Catamarans at Nexus Yachts based in Cape St. Francis, South Africa.
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Our profile of a pro this week is on Ian Walker, who is no stranger to ocean racing. He is the only British skipper to have won The Ocean Race in 2014/2015 with ‘Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’. Today Ian is the Director of Racing at the Royal Yachting Association. In this interview with Niall from Offwatch, he talks about his fascinating career in The Olympics, The America’s Cup, and of course his famous victory in the 2014-15 Ocean Race with ‘Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’. Ian also discusses how to get into The Ocean Race as a sailor, as well as his opinion on one-design sailing.
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This week OFFWATCH chats to Peter Burling and Blair Tuke. Their CV is impressive: Olympic gold medal winners in the 49er, America’s Cup winners in 2017 with Emirates Team New Zealand, and of course they both sailed in the last edition of The Ocean Race – Peter on Team Brunel, and Blair aboard MAPFRE.
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Tracy Edwards was the skipper of the all-female entry Maiden in the 1989/1990 edition of the Whitbread Round the World Race. She was just 24 years old! Tracy and her crew broke barriers, and proved so many people wrong in the male-dominated sport. They weren’t even expected to finish the first leg, but they did just that, and went on to win both southern ocean legs too.
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Jeff Ayliffe caught up with the formidable Tina Plattner prior to the start of the Odzala Discovery Camps 52 SUPER SERIES event in Cape Town. There’s so much more to Tina than meets the eye, with her passion for sailing, horses, people, life and learning.