Challenge rests with 11 men

Press, 29 August 1986, Page 25

Challenge rests with 11 men

The challenge for the America’s Cup requires a massive amount of preparation and support. The New Zealand syndicate has spared nothing in its bid to reach the final seven race series against the defender.

In the end though, success or failure will rest on the shoulders of 11 men — the crew of KZ7. The crew of 11 on a 12metre comprises the following: a skipper, a tactician, a navigator, a mainsail trimmer, two other sail trimmers, two “grinders” (winch operators), a sail lifter on the mast, a “pit man” (who passes up the sails from below deck and a man on the bow.

The skipper at the helm needs to do more than simply turn the wheel if he wants the craft to change direction. He must also synchronise the efforts of the sail trimmers on his crew, and alter the position of the trim tab on the aft end of the keel and turn the rudder. If he does not co-ordinate both tab and trimmers, the yacht may not change

position if he turns the wheel. The skipper must work two wheels, one for the rudder and one for the trim tab, as well as plan strategy with his tactician. The demands on other crew members are no less intense. The navigator must convey vital performace information from the shipborne computer to his skipper and tactician. The sail trimmer obviously have key roles. The four men on the grinder,

mast and pit positions must be supremely fit and strong so they can tighten or lift the heavy sails many times during a match race. The bowman must be strong as well as being an experienced sailor. A 12-metre differs from a normal racing yacht in many other respects. It has no engine and therefore must be backed up by a large powerful tender craft and a highspeed rubber runabout for emergencies during a race. This back-up, though expensive to provide, is as important as the yacht and crew themselves for without it gear failure could force a withdrawal during a race. The 12-metre yacht is different in another respect. The sails cannot be reefed (reduced in area) at all so the crews can be in for some exciting sailing if the wind increases during a race.

All this reinforces the fact that a 12-metre crew must be absolutely top rate if an America’s Cup challenge is to succeed. The quickest craft at Fremantle will not win the

cup if its crew is not up to scratch. The 11 crewmen for the B.N.Z. Challenge were named recently. As expected, Chris Dickson is the skipper. The crew who trained hard for a place on the yacht and missed out still have a vital role to play. They will crew on KZS which will continue to race KZ7 off Fremantle as the crew familiarise themselves with the boat. The full crew for KZ7 is:

Skipper, Chris Dickson; tactician, Brad Butterworth; navigator, Mike Quiltor; mainsail trimmer, Tony Rae; starboard trimmer, Kevin Shoebridge; port trimmer, Simon Daubney; starboard grinder, Andrew Taylor; port grinder, Brian Phillimore; pitman, Ed Danby; mastman, Jeremy Scantlebury; bowman, Erie Williams.