Jimmy Spithill is one of the great sailors of the 21st century. He is Australian, he captains the United States SailGP team and the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, one of the six boats that aspire to win the 2024 America's Cup to be held in Barcelona and which is held by New Zealand.
It would be his third Auld Mug (the Jug, the old cup) after the two he got with Oracle in 2010 in Valencia, an easy victory with much technical superiority, and another miraculous one in San Francisco in 2013 after one of the most successful comebacks. impressive in the history of this sport.
In the last edition, that of 2021, they beat the rest of the applicants but lost in the final against Peter Burling's Emirates Team NZ, whom Spithill considers the most complete rival. Exclusive interview in Singapore, where the Australian competed on the SailGP nation circuit with many of his upcoming rivals in Barcelona next year.
In addition to Burling, there is his compatriot Tom Slingsby (American Magic), Sir Ben Ainslie (Ineos Britannia) and ) Quentin Delapierre in the French, the K-Challenge. Fighting among so many figures forces you to be daring, bordering on the limits, and at the same time, humble. Something almost impossible to understand until one hears one of his favorite phrases: "One day you're a gamecock, and the next you're a feather duster."
His career is full of triumphs, some legendary. Is it difficult to always remain humble?
When you face the best every day, in every race, it's not that you feel humble, it's that they make you feel humble. Because they are the best in the world. The natural thing is to keep your feet on the ground. I looked, something I've known since I was a kid, is that I don't have the talent of the rest of my rivals. They have much more than me and so, from the beginning, I worked in a different way. There are many examples in which great athletes in history were not the first choice, they were not the first on the list. They had no choice but to work harder than the rest.
Have you learned that from other sports?
Yes, I have seen it in other disciplines. Michael Jordan was not the number one in the draft, nor was he the second. Tom Brady, the quarterback, was chosen in a very backward position, in the sixth round (in position 199). What unites them? The talent, but above all that they worked more than anyone. Having a special gift and knowing that you have it is a double-edged sword, it is dangerous because it can make you lazy. That was never my problem due to lack of talent. My option was none other than to get up earlier, stay longer than the rest and, in a world like this, surround yourself with people who are better than you. I learned that at a very young age because it allows you to try to progress to get to their level.
Actually you started very young.
And he was always the smallest. In many of the crews in which I have sailed, he was the youngest. Everyone was much better than me and that forced me to work twice as much.
It's funny, because many of your rivals both in SailGP and in the America's Cup, Tom Slingsby, Peter Burling... claim that you are better than them. It is true that at the Olympic level there is no discussion: Ben Ainslie is the best.
In the end, I think the results are what they are and conclusions can be drawn from there. In my case, I never went to an Olympic Games. From an economic point of view it was never an option. And at the time when I could have gone, I really enjoyed racing with a larger crew rather than doing it individually.
So there is no way to know who is the best?
If you ask me and I look at all aspects, the number one sailor is Pete (Burling) not to mention his mate Blair (Tuke). They have done well wherever they have competed: Olympic Games, Ocean Volvo Race, America's Cup...
What goes through your head at the races? Do you concentrate and abstract? Do you navigate with sensations?
In short races, the pressure is extreme. There is a big difference between SailGP, where all the boats are equal and you don't have any advantage in that sense. In the America's Cup, on the other hand, the design of each boat is different. In Valencia we came out with a (superior) design and the race was over early. The important thing, always, is that when the pressure assails you, you have to think about what your next moves will be, at least one or two: and when you make the decision, you have to be very calm. It doesn't work for me to yell or panic, because it's not good for the team. Some do and it works for them.
Get ahead of the moves?
Yes, I see regattas as a game of chess, you have to anticipate what will happen.
When one sees the sailboats floating on the water one thinks of that advertisement of the athlete about to start running but wearing high heels. The slogan read “power without control is useless”.
Control is essential because if you go super fast, but you control one of the maneuvers, everything stops, the boat stops flying, you have to raise it again...
Always competing with the same contenders, where is the line between friendship and rivalry?
Oh that's interesting. One of the aspects that SailGP has contributed to the circuit is that: relations between us have improved because we don't have to hide anything, we all share design, telemetry data and sometimes facilities. We have done it with the New Zealanders and the Australians. Right here, if you have some time, you sit on the sofa and chat with them. The challenge of the America's Cup is different: you never see your rival because you are hiding all your secrets and your technical assets. You only coincide in the press conference.
What is your recurring nightmare?
Not a nightmare, but my most constant fear is letting my team down, failing them. I have always been afraid of making a mistake that would throw everything away.
What is the difference between the F50 of Sail GP and the AC75 of the America's Cup?
The F50s are more like a zodiac, in the sense of how you steer it, there are six crew members... instead the America's Cup catamarans are very powerful, much bigger and you need a lot of strength to handle them to the point that the grinders already they do not activate their arms but pedal, because they get more power. I think all the teams are going to do it like that in Barcelona. At first the New Zealanders did it in Bermuda. In New Zealand, when they beat us, there was no pedaling, and now in Barcelona it will be open to everyone.
How do you imagine the competition in Barcelona?
I really want to go because I think it's going to be quite tough. Barcelona is going to see the first America's Cup in which foil sailboats will sail with waves. Until now all the tests had been with flat water. In Bermuda it was, San Francisco too… There may be good waves. I have seen it when Alinghi has sailed or in the Transpac52 class regattas. It's new to everyone. It's already a little closer, the appointment is fast approaching.
In Valencia, his team flew like a butterfly and stung like a wasp. They won overwhelmingly.
Valencia is a very important place for me and my family. We were the first crew to arrive there, back in 2004. We settled. The truth is that now I am excited to go to Barcelona and sail there.
Rudy Tomjanovich, the Houston Rockets coach, left for history the phrase "never underestimate the heart of a champion" after overcoming a series that they had almost lost. You and your team had it much worse in San Francisco and you won. Do you remember often? Do they remind you?
Yes, it is unavoidable. That was a huge effort from the entire team. It is what it was. It was everyone's attitude. Not only those of us who boarded the ship, but also the shore team, the engineers. It's a lesson from sport that you can apply to life and that's great.
They were 8-1 down and won 9-8…
We were so low that we stopped looking at the top and the final victory, and we went step by step, race by race. That was lesson number one. Number two: we never give up. Someone told me that it is very difficult to beat someone who never gives up. It's like the boxer you knock down and he gets back up. And we were also lucky, a comeback like this doesn't happen every day.
Have you already tied the number of victories in the America's Cup with Sir Russell Coutts, promoter of Sail GP?
Actually I think I already surpassed him by one race. Now I feel like I'm even with Dennis Conner and this is funny because my family lives in San Diego and Dennis is my neighbor. Fun.
After so many years in Italy, will you speak bene l'italiano?
My Italian is very bad (laughs). Actually the whole team has to speak English because of me. It's embarrassing, that's the truth, I feel bad. Now I can understand it… what happens is that some speak with a Sicilian dialect, others are from the north, from Trieste.
Sounds like an excuse...
(Laughter) The truth is that I have a great time competing with Luna Rossa. For some reason, I have had many triumphs and satisfactions competing in Italy, perhaps because of that family spirit that you have...
It was a career leap for you, but it worked out well for you.
When we live in Sardinia it's great, the lifestyle is fantastic. The people are wonderful. At the same time, racing Luna Rossa has taken me out of my comfort zone. In the last Copa del América I noticed it. I spent 10 years with Oracle, a great team, we had rotations of people, but basically we were the same. I went to Luna Rossa alone. The rest were all Italian. And it was good for me.
