News

June 20, 2008

Racing in the TP52 class isn’t about turning up on the day and hoping for some good wind… time and preparation goes into creating the exciting display of sailing prowess that is the MedCup.

With very little time between some of the 6 MedCup events, it’s often a race against the clock to get everything and everyone ready. Both the racing team and the shore crew have little time to put their feet up.



As soon as a regatta is over, the shore team gets down to business. The first step is to go back to base, which in the case of Mean Machine is shared between the two ports of Palma de Mallorca and Valencia. Once the boat is safely ‘home’ it’s a question of refining and tweaking and giving the ‘Machine’ a good bit of TLC.

And what about the sailors themselves? Well for some of Peter de Ridder’s guys, depending on their role onboard, life can continue with relative normality. A break between events can mean a pause, but that doesn’t mean that training stops. Even if the next regatta is weeks away, keeping in top physical form is key. Everyone, from the Bowman to the Tactician trains in between events, be it working out in the gym or out in the fresh air. Tony Ray can often be found in the gym first thing in the morning, whilst Joe Allen might be out jogging shortly after dawn and Navigator Kevin Hall might be riding his skateboard. As well as all of this the guys also continue to race in Match Races, World Championships or Offshore regattas in other classes.

There’s also the important job of the sails to attend to. Jon ‘Gundy’ Gundersen spends much of the time between races taking care of the Mean Machine sail area. It’s important to look at every aspect of the sails and make sure that any damage is repaired and that they are in perfect condition to take on the next gruelling MedCup event.

The Afterguard also has a lot of work to do between events. Each AUDI MedCup event is held in a different area of the Mediterranean, and that means different wind, different currents and a whole new set of conditions to grapple with. Navigator Kevin Hall is part of this section of the team onboard Mean Machine: “For me a big step in preparation for the next regatta is to review my performance and equipment from the last regatta to make sure any tweaks I want to make are warranted and reasonable. Most of the rest of the prep happens at the site in the days leading up to the event, reviewing the geography and topography of the area, getting used to any unique navigation issues, and getting comfortable with the calibrations in the local breeze profile”

In terms of physical preparation Kevin Hall has a fun and varied regime: “My fitness between events currently involves me skateboarding with our son riding his scooter, sailing my foiling moth, and chasing our one and a half year old up and down the stairs – I get to the gym occasionally. The most important thing is that I stay down at my target weight, so not as much ice cream as the Finn days!”