JC: This is a really grandiose environment to be announcing the America’s Cup Partnership. It’s a momentous milestone but does it feel like now that the ACP has been announced, that we can put an end to stories about lawyers and paperwork and start to talk about boats and sailing again?
KS: It is a really big moment in the history of the America’s Cup – I would probably say one of the biggest in the last 170 years – so it definitely feels appropriate to do it in this beautiful palace here in Naples. Not everyone in our team has been involved in that, but a few of us have and it’s been a pretty long year.
You know, it’s dangerous to ever forget about the sailing and the technology and the designing, so that has carried on in the background. But, for sure, it was really nice to get this confirmed and done, have all the teams locked in, and start looking forward to starting racing this year.
JC: Every America’s Cup cycle I start by asking you or Dalts how beatable you guys are – and one of you tells me how worried you are about getting it done this time. So, how do you feel about it this time?
KS: We feel confident within the team. We are a pretty well-oiled machine now [because] we have been running a long time. We have got a lot of good people and I think the way we run ourselves has become really efficient.
We have a lot of strong leaders within the group. So there’s not just two people making decisions, there’s 10 people making decisions.
We are also refreshing the team, which we do after every campaign to try and plug gaps and get stronger where we thought we could have done better – because if you think you did everything perfectly last time then you are in trouble.
So that’s what we have been working on over the last year. Now the sailing programme is well underway in Auckland. So all good.
JC: What is an example of something you could have done better from AC37?
KS: It could be anything. One of 100 or more little things, whether it be technical issues on the boat, things we could have done better on the foil programme, or something in the way we sailed the boat.
JC: It looks like you have what is effectively an Emirates Team New Zealand ‘works team’ racing in SailGP now with Nathan Outteridge, Chris Draper, and Andy Maloney all making their debut with the Swedish Artemis team down in Perth recently. They made a pretty strong start, were you watching all that closely?
KS: We were, absolutely. It’s a big ask for Nathan and a brand new team to go out and sail off Fremantle where it’s particularly strong and tough. But they had a great day on that Saturday and sailed really consistently. Our coach Sam Meech is coaching them as well – so it’s a nice fit and we think it works well for us. You can’t have the guys constantly testing year in and year out without racing. So it’s nice to have SailGP as well.
JC: So, did you have a hand in setting that all up?
KS: Well we were supportive of it for sure. Nathan had been cruising around the world on a catamaran since the last Cup and he was very keen to get back into the racing. Obviously we were very keen for him to be as well. Then, when the opportunity arose to have more of our guys with him, we thought that was a big positive.
JC: Might all that help avoid scheduling clashes between the America’s Cup and SailGP?
KS: We don’t know 100 per cent at this stage what the 2027 calendar looks like, but hopefully it’s going to fit in. It doesn’t help anyone to have direct clashes. But then some things – like the Match starting on July 10 – are locked in, and then the rest of our schedule has to fit before that.
JC: Hopefully SailGP will respect that period?
KS: Well, they have their programme and their sponsors to look after as well – but I’m sure that, with a bit of diplomacy, we can make it work.
JC: One of the biggest changes to the team this time around is the absence of Peter Burling. How much of a blow has that been? How much has he been missed in the campaign so far?
KS: Pete's been a huge part of the team’s successes over the last 10 years. It was great having him with the team and I think he loved being with the team as well. But this time, we just couldn't make it work.
He’s pretty busy with running his own SailGP programme. The team's bigger than one person. There's 120 people there that are trying to win too. So at some point we just had to do what we thought was the right thing for the team.
Pete's been a huge part of the last three victories and he's led the way in a lot of areas. He's very technical. He really understands the design process and the physics of the AC75 more than most. But, in saying that, when someone leaves there are opportunities – and you can already see where people have risen to the top.
So we're pretty comfortable with where we sit. We're lucky we've got Nathan – who's been a great addition to the team – and we still have the backbone of all the guys that were there last time.
JC: You've got an empty slot there in the driving position. Any thoughts on who might fill that?
KS: We're not locked in on anyone just yet – and that's the absolute honest truth. We're going to see how the next couple of months play out. We're sailing the 40s against each other pretty competitively. We'll be launching the AC75 soon in Auckland, and we'll make the decision on that when we have to.
