in April 2016 the Australian Nathan Outteridge competed in Barcelona in 49er. He was on his way to European gold, which was eventually won by another Olympic rival, New Zealander Peter Burling. Seven years later, Nathan and Peter are sailing again in the waters of Barcelona, but this time they are on the same boat. The two aboard the AC75, a ship that demands not only the highest sporting performance of the crew, but also the ability to understand all the equipment behind it and the technology that propels them to speeds never before seen on the sea.
Programmed to win (for some reason they are part of the elite of this sport), the sailors of the America's Cup play in a twenty-minute race the work of more than three years of hundreds of people. They make decisions while flying at over 40 knots and always want more, speed. The interpenetration between them is decisive. The slightest mistake here pays dearly.
“When Grant Dalton and Kevin Shoebridge asked me if I wanted to be part of Emirates Team New Zealand... Phew! It's just that I didn't need a second to answer... It's an incredible opportunity", insists Nathan. It has been more than a year since the proposal, and since then the focus has been on the next America's Cup, the one in Barcelona. It will be his third time. He participated with the Swiss team in the 2013 and 2017 San Francisco editions, “but then they decided not to compete in Auckland”, explains Nathan. There was no way he would miss an edition at home, and despite the fact that he could not be a navigator, he experienced the last Copa de America from another perspective: as a television commentator.
They say it's the best windsurfer. He has been (between 2007 and 2015) four times world champion in 49er, twice silver and two more, bronze. He has also won two silver medals at the World Championships in the Nacra 17 class. And the Olympics: the Australian won gold in the 49er in London after beating Burling and Tuke, and then the New Zealanders got their revenge in Rio, where Peter Burling got the gold.
In Barcelona, Nathan defends the New Zealand flag. He has the nationality because his wife, Emma – daughter of Ross Blackman, veteran manager of Emirates Team New Zealand – is from the country and they have their house there. The couple and their two children arrived in Barcelona in July. They are excited about the city. Nathan spends most of the day at the team's base, next to the World Trade Center, and on the water. "Part of our job is to know the sailing conditions and the other is to know the ship so that we can always sail faster," he says.
His day starts at seven in the morning. Gymnastics session - four of the eight crew members are cyclists -, technical sessions, simulator hours... "We usually take the boat out - the Te Rehutai with which they have sailed at more than a hundred kilometers per hour - at noon to take advantage of the sea breeze ". Then, prepare the objectives for the following day.
"One of the things that impressed me the most about the team is the level of organization, the precision with which everything is done," acknowledges Outteridge. Precision, the key word. As they sail, he and Burling pass the helm. The AC75's ride is very F-1. "It's like imagining driving a car, but as big as a truck." Each from his place, wearing a helmet and all connected by radio. At breakneck speed they read, process and interpret all the information that the screen gives, all kinds of levels, air speed, boat speed, sails, foils...
Throughout the summer - and while winter is going on in Auckland - they will train in Barcelona. Then, during the Barcelona winter, they will return, like the good weather, to New Zealand to debut the AC75 with which they will defend the Cup in one of the most contested editions.
