From the following article published on Americascup.com
http://oracle-team-usa.americascup.com/en/news/66_Spithill-looks-for-3-peat-with-ORACLE-TEAM-USA.html
Jimmy Spithill will return to ORACLE TEAM USA as the team re-builds with a focus on winning its third consecutive America’s Cup.
The youngest skipper to ever lead a team to victory in the competition for the oldest trophy in international sport, Spithill says the lure of working with team principal Larry Ellison and CEO Russell Coutts again was too strong to ignore.
“There were some very good offers out there, but at the end of the day, Russell and Larry, I wouldn’t be here without them…” Spithill said.
Spithill has made the America’s Cup his life’s work, beginning as a 20-year old skipper of the Young Australia team in the 1999/2000 Louis Vuitton Cup. He’s raced in every event since then, making steady progress towards the victory in 2010, when he became the youngest skipper to win the trophy.
He followed that up with the successful defense last September and now he's looking to make it three wins in a row as skipper of ORACLE TEAM USA.
“Being a part of the team when we first won in 2010 and then to be able to get back to back wins and now to have an opportunity at a third, it’s been an amazing ride. I feel fortunate to have been a part of it since day one and I’m looking forward to going at it again.”
read more here
Showing posts with label Jimmy Spithill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jimmy Spithill. Show all posts
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
34th America's Cup, Gary Jobson interviews Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA part 4 and 5
From the following interview by Gary Jobson of Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA:
http://www.sailing.org/news/37075.php
part 4 of the interview
Gary Jobson
"The first couple campaigns you were in, in the America's Cup didn't go as well as you would have liked. So you must have learned some lessons along the way that helped you out a little bit later, particularly a couple weeks ago."
Jimmy Spithill
"Most definitely. These campaigns are incredible. It's a big people game too. You've got over 100 people working together. It's not a day job. It's an obsession. You're there six days a week usually. For a lot of guys it's almost seven days. Long hours. But it's a passion. You love it and you just can't wait to get up every day. You learn a lot. For me, the best opportunity for learning is usually in a defeat or usually when you go through a hard time. As Gary said, you know, it took me quite a few campaigns before we were able to finally pull off a couple wins. But even the successful campaigns, this past one is a great example, we capsized. We were the first ones to capsize in an AC72. We had a situation right before the competition where we had a couple team members involved in a Jury decision. So quite a lot of distractions. But it is during those hard times, that's usually the ultimate test for a team.
"And now, at the end of it, for instance I look back on the capsize as a real highlight or key moment because of the learning. Not because I've destroyed a $10 million boat but because I got to see how our team reacted in a tough situation. It wouldn't have been such a …I don't think people would have judged us too much if we said oh, if we split up or if it was just too hard or said hey guys this isn't for us. But this team doesn't do that. It's hey, no problem. There's no finger pointing. Let's get together. Let's work hard. Let's solve this. For me personally after the capsize I kept waiting for someone to come up and say something or at least point their finger at me and blame me for something. Someone must be a bit wound up about this? But they didn't. All they kept saying was don't worry, we're going to get you guys out on the water soon. We've got your back. This is fine. I think that's…when you face that as a team, that adversity, you almost get that sort of immortal feeling that hey, bring on the competition because if we can get through those sort of situations, we can take anything else on. It gives you confidence."
read more here
Interview of Jimmy Spithill part 5
http://www.sailing.org/news/37097.php
Gary Jobson
"If you were doing the football, there's always a sport where you compare the Peyton Manning's of today and who did he equate to in the past. So I would take an America's Cup skipper, who would I equate you to in the past? And I have read quite a bit about the America's Cup. Have you heard of the name Charlie Barr?"
Jimmy Spithill
"Yes."
Jobson
"So Charlie Barr was fearless and had very radical boats to sail, particularly with Reliance in 1903. And Nathanael Greene Herreshoff made the boat as radical and threw as much sail area and was the longest boat to sail in the Cup because he knew Charlie Barr was the one guy in the world to handle it. I think you are kind of the Charlie Barr of our era after what you did. Are you contemplating any Olympic campaigns? You haven't done an Olympic program I don't think."
Spithill
"No, didn't really have the opportunity as a kid. It's obviously one thing that is…that our sport is probably one drawback is that it is quite expensive. So it does take some resource to get it out there and that's something I think whether it's yacht clubs or sailing associations, I think that I'm really pushing for hard is to have programs where kids don't have to own a boat. So they can still come in and race. It's cheap. They can get out there even if it's on a weekend or something and learn the sport of sailing and be competitive. And then if they really want it, then they'll get there eventually.
read more here
http://www.sailing.org/news/37075.php
part 4 of the interview
Gary Jobson
"The first couple campaigns you were in, in the America's Cup didn't go as well as you would have liked. So you must have learned some lessons along the way that helped you out a little bit later, particularly a couple weeks ago."
Jimmy Spithill
"Most definitely. These campaigns are incredible. It's a big people game too. You've got over 100 people working together. It's not a day job. It's an obsession. You're there six days a week usually. For a lot of guys it's almost seven days. Long hours. But it's a passion. You love it and you just can't wait to get up every day. You learn a lot. For me, the best opportunity for learning is usually in a defeat or usually when you go through a hard time. As Gary said, you know, it took me quite a few campaigns before we were able to finally pull off a couple wins. But even the successful campaigns, this past one is a great example, we capsized. We were the first ones to capsize in an AC72. We had a situation right before the competition where we had a couple team members involved in a Jury decision. So quite a lot of distractions. But it is during those hard times, that's usually the ultimate test for a team.
"And now, at the end of it, for instance I look back on the capsize as a real highlight or key moment because of the learning. Not because I've destroyed a $10 million boat but because I got to see how our team reacted in a tough situation. It wouldn't have been such a …I don't think people would have judged us too much if we said oh, if we split up or if it was just too hard or said hey guys this isn't for us. But this team doesn't do that. It's hey, no problem. There's no finger pointing. Let's get together. Let's work hard. Let's solve this. For me personally after the capsize I kept waiting for someone to come up and say something or at least point their finger at me and blame me for something. Someone must be a bit wound up about this? But they didn't. All they kept saying was don't worry, we're going to get you guys out on the water soon. We've got your back. This is fine. I think that's…when you face that as a team, that adversity, you almost get that sort of immortal feeling that hey, bring on the competition because if we can get through those sort of situations, we can take anything else on. It gives you confidence."
read more here
Interview of Jimmy Spithill part 5
http://www.sailing.org/news/37097.php
Gary Jobson
"If you were doing the football, there's always a sport where you compare the Peyton Manning's of today and who did he equate to in the past. So I would take an America's Cup skipper, who would I equate you to in the past? And I have read quite a bit about the America's Cup. Have you heard of the name Charlie Barr?"
Jimmy Spithill
"Yes."
Jobson
"So Charlie Barr was fearless and had very radical boats to sail, particularly with Reliance in 1903. And Nathanael Greene Herreshoff made the boat as radical and threw as much sail area and was the longest boat to sail in the Cup because he knew Charlie Barr was the one guy in the world to handle it. I think you are kind of the Charlie Barr of our era after what you did. Are you contemplating any Olympic campaigns? You haven't done an Olympic program I don't think."
Spithill
"No, didn't really have the opportunity as a kid. It's obviously one thing that is…that our sport is probably one drawback is that it is quite expensive. So it does take some resource to get it out there and that's something I think whether it's yacht clubs or sailing associations, I think that I'm really pushing for hard is to have programs where kids don't have to own a boat. So they can still come in and race. It's cheap. They can get out there even if it's on a weekend or something and learn the sport of sailing and be competitive. And then if they really want it, then they'll get there eventually.
read more here
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
34th America's Cup, Gary Jobson interviews Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA part 3 of 5
ORACLE TEAM USA celebrations
©ACEA
From the following article on sailing.org:
Jobson Meets Spithill
Part 3 of 5
From an America's Cup winning tactician to a winning skipper. ISAF Vice-President Gary Jobson caught up with ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill at the end of 2013.
Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.
Part 4 of 5 will be available on the ISAF website on Tuesday 14 January 2014.
Gary Jobson
"So I understand that you took some flying lessons. Did that help you understand wings, foils, aerodynamics?"
Jimmy Spithill
"Definitely. I actually took the flying lessons, got my license when we did the wing on the trimaran. That wing on that trimaran was the biggest wing ever built in the world. Aircraft Aerospace. Everything. 230 feet. Massive. Doesn't fit under the Golden Gate Bridge if we were to sail the boat there. It's a huge bit of kit. I just figured, look the best way to learn about wings is to get a pilot's license. I had a break. I had a couple weeks off at the time and I thought okay down to Australia and I sort of went to this sort of little country air strip and learned with a couple of great guys. We went up and everything. I said I've only got two weeks. We have to go up every day in this little, tiny two seaters Cessna. It was straight away, it was amazing how similar it is to sailing. It's all about lift, drag, balance. A well set up plane is very easy to fly. Just like a boat that is well set up, it's easy to sail. Get your head out of the boat and look around and you're not fighting the boat. The same with the plane.
"It was amazing to see how many people in sailing have their pilot's license. Tom Schnackenberg, Russell Coutts, Larry Ellison. I could go on and on and on. I'm really fascinated by it. The next one on my list is the helicopter. It sort of reminds me of these boats that you've got so many things going on at once. The flying, yes, I love it. It's an amazing thing out there and certainly the technology."
read more here
Sunday, 12 January 2014
34th America's Cup, Gary Jobson interviews Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA part 2 of 5
From the following interview on sailing.org by Gary Jobson of Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA:
10 January 2014, 03:06 pm
Jobson Meets Spithill
Part 2 of 5
From an America's Cup winning tactician to a winning skipper. ISAF Vice-President Gary Jobson caught up with ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill at the end of 2013.
If you missed Part 1 then it is available here. Part 3 of 5 will be available on the ISAF website on Monday 13 January 2014.
Gary Jobson
"There were a few theories in the New Zealand press going on. We'll cast that aside for the moment. One of the other changes you made was to bring Ben Ainslie on the boat. In the long history of the America's Cup it is very rare in the actual Cup to change one of the crew, whether you're winning or losing. So what was behind bringing Ben Ainslie in and what difference did that make?"
Jimmy Spithill
"We had amazing depth in our sailing team. We actually had it set up this way on purpose because our campaign was based around trying to sail two AC72s. We don't get to race in the challenger series. Big advantage to the challenger. Always has been. To take on two 72s, we honestly didn't know how often we'd be able to sail one let alone two which is a big undertaking. So we hired the best guys we could.
read more here
Saturday, 11 January 2014
34th America's Cup, Gary Jobson interviews Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA part 1 of 5
From the following interview posted on the ISAF website:
9 January 2014, 02:53 pm
Jobson Meets Spithill - Part 1
From an America's Cup winning tactician to a winning skipper. ISAF Vice-President Gary Jobson caught up with ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill at the end of 2013.
Offering a fascinating insight into the 2013 America's Cup, Jobson and Spithill analyse what went down in San Francisco, USA.
Enjoy part 1 of 5… Part 2 will follow on 10 January 2014.
Gary Jobson,
"All of us here love sailing and everybody is a sporting enthusiast and everybody likes an underdog and everybody likes a good contest, and when Jimmy walked into the press room the score was now 8-1, Emirates Team New Zealand had won their eighth race. One more race and it was over for your team. You walked in there and declared, "we can win races, we're not done. This could be the greatest comeback in sailing." And I was sitting there thinking well either you're going to be the next Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in the Super Bowl, or look like Y.A. Tittle in the end zone after losing the championship. You're the next Joe Namath. What was in your head that gave you the confidence to say that we could turn this around?"
Jimmy Spithill,
"I think it's the people around you that give you the confidence. The America's Cup, by no question, is by far the biggest team sport out there. It's huge team size. We're talking over 100 people. Obviously there's the sailors. There's the guys that are on the boat that go out and do the racing. But really you're nothing without all your other team members. The shore teams, what we call the pit crews, the designers, the engineers, the people in the office, the guys cleaning the base. Everyone is just as important as the other person. I think once you get out on the water, for me, it's looking next to the guy standing within the guys, that guy that you face on either side of you and knowing that he'll do anything for you. He is almost like you, in fear of letting your teammates down. It's that sort of dedication. You'll do anything. Whatever it takes for your teammate. And when you get that sort of synergy involved and where your teammates put the team number 1 and themselves #2, then that's the ultimate. That's team sport. When you look around even up to the Navy Seal level, that's something that is consistent in, almost like a family or brotherhood of guys that will just do anything for their teammates. That really is a really rewarding thing when you get that thing. It's hard to put words to it, I'm probably not doing a good job of it, but it's an amazing feeling."
Enjoy part 1 of 5… Part 2 will follow on 10 January 2014.
Gary Jobson,
"All of us here love sailing and everybody is a sporting enthusiast and everybody likes an underdog and everybody likes a good contest, and when Jimmy walked into the press room the score was now 8-1, Emirates Team New Zealand had won their eighth race. One more race and it was over for your team. You walked in there and declared, "we can win races, we're not done. This could be the greatest comeback in sailing." And I was sitting there thinking well either you're going to be the next Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in the Super Bowl, or look like Y.A. Tittle in the end zone after losing the championship. You're the next Joe Namath. What was in your head that gave you the confidence to say that we could turn this around?"
Jimmy Spithill,
"I think it's the people around you that give you the confidence. The America's Cup, by no question, is by far the biggest team sport out there. It's huge team size. We're talking over 100 people. Obviously there's the sailors. There's the guys that are on the boat that go out and do the racing. But really you're nothing without all your other team members. The shore teams, what we call the pit crews, the designers, the engineers, the people in the office, the guys cleaning the base. Everyone is just as important as the other person. I think once you get out on the water, for me, it's looking next to the guy standing within the guys, that guy that you face on either side of you and knowing that he'll do anything for you. He is almost like you, in fear of letting your teammates down. It's that sort of dedication. You'll do anything. Whatever it takes for your teammate. And when you get that sort of synergy involved and where your teammates put the team number 1 and themselves #2, then that's the ultimate. That's team sport. When you look around even up to the Navy Seal level, that's something that is consistent in, almost like a family or brotherhood of guys that will just do anything for their teammates. That really is a really rewarding thing when you get that thing. It's hard to put words to it, I'm probably not doing a good job of it, but it's an amazing feeling."
read more here
Monday, 10 December 2012
The Wing - AC Discovered, Episode 67
In this edition of the AC discovered video the focus is on "the wing".
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