In this month&apos;s edition of the podcast, Shirley Robertson talks to a host of Olympic sailing stars as she delves deep into the world of British Sailing, and asks just why the team has become such a dominant force in Olympic Sailing.Robertson, a former Team GB member herself of course, a four time Olympian and double Olympic gold medallist, talks to three of Team GB&apos;s Tokyo 2020 gold medallists, discussing their own personal routes to victory, but also delving into life as a member of the most successful Olympic sailing team of all time.In part two of the podcast Robertson talks to the men&apos;s 49er Class crew Stu Bithell and she talks to Finn gold medallist Giles Scott.  Both Bithell and Scott thrilled British sailing fans in the manner of their medal wins, both managing to grasp gold medals that seemed to be slipping away in two of the closest medal races in recent memory.  Bithell and helm Dylan Fletcher just squeezed enough speed out of their 49er to put points between themselves and New Zealand gold medal favourites Burling and Tuke, while Giles Scott manoeuvred himself back into gold medal position on the very final leg of his medal race after a nerve wracking twenty minutes of sailing that saw the reigning Finn gold medallist re-start his race...:"The only way that I could really mess things up and slip off the podium was if I got disqualified and Josh (Junior) won the race.  So that is your doomsday scenario that you have to talk about....so the conclusion to that was if there is at all a chance of you being over the line, you&apos;re going back and of course in that race there was an individual recall flag.....as soon as the flag went up I was going back, there wasn&apos;t anything going through my head....and from there it was a full scramble to try and get back into the race."Robertson also gets an outside perspective on the Great British Medal Factory, talking to newly appointed US Sailing performance head Paul Cayard.  A former Olympian himself, Cayard has been tasked with turning around the fortunes of the ailing American sailing team, and has an interesting take on his observations of the British setup.In Part 1 of this edition she kicks off the podcast with the woman who&apos;s gold medal in the 470 Class in Tokyo makes her the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time - British 470 helm Hannah Mills.  Robertson also talks to the Team&apos;s Head of Performance, Mark Robinson, she discusses the rigours of back to back Olympic campaigning with Team GB&apos;s Luke Patience. A three time Olympian, Patience started his career with a silver in London, but after two consecutive fifth place finishes in Rio and Tokyo, is both honest and sincere in his description of the pain that constant Olympic pressure can bring.  It&apos;s a moving account from one of British Sailing&apos;s most eloquent of athletes.This edition of the podcast is in two parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact podcast@shirleyrobertson.com. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Shirley Robertson's Sailing Podcast

Season 3 - Ep10 - The British Olympic Medal Factory Part2

In this month&apos;s edition of the podcast, Shirley Robertson talks to a host of Olympic sailing stars as she delves deep into the world of British Sailing, and asks just why the team has become such a dominant force in Olympic Sailing.Robertson, a former Team GB member herself of course, a four time Olympian and double Olympic gold medallist, talks to three of Team GB&apos;s Tokyo 2020 gold medallists, discussing their own personal routes to victory, but also delving into life as a member of the most successful Olympic sailing team of all time.  She also talks to the Team&apos;s Head of Performance, Mark Robinson, she discusses the rigours of back to back Olympic campaigning with Team GB&apos;s Luke Patience, and she gets the outside viewpoint from US Sailing&apos;s Paul Cayard.Kicking off the podcast in Episode 1, Robertson talks to the woman who&apos;s gold medal in the 470 Class in Tokyo makes her the most successful female Olympic sailor of all time - British 470 helm Hannah Mills."At the Games there&apos;s so much distraction, there&apos;s a bit of a circus because it is the Olympic Games....it&apos;s like a marathon of horrible stressful days but what I think I&apos;m good at is just accepting that it&apos;s fine...the nerves are fine, it means you care, it&apos;s a good thing....it&apos;s just part of you for that experience, and being able to accept all those things that you can&apos;t control....whilst all that&apos;s going on the background, that&apos;s the difference between success and failure at the Games."Mills and crew Eilidh Mcintyre were one of three gold medal winning teams for the British Sailing Team in Tokyo.   In part two of the podcast Robertson talks to the men&apos;s 49er Class crew Stu Bithell and she talks to Finn gold medallist Giles Scott.Episode 1 wraps up with an insightful and moving discussion with 470 fifth place finisher Luke Patience.  A three time Olympian, Patience started his career with a silver in London, but after two consecutive fifth place finishes in Rio and Tokyo, is both honest and sincere in his description of the pain that constant Olympic pressure can bring.  It&apos;s a moving account from one of British Sailing&apos;s most eloquent of athletes.This edition of the podcast is in two parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact podcast@shirleyrobertson.com. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Season 3 - Ep9 - The British Olympic Medal Factory Part 1

Part 2 of this months&apos;s  edition of the podcast which sees Shirley Robertson talk to one of the modern America&apos;s Cup era&apos;s most influential sailors as she interviews Australian Glenn Ashby.  An integral part of Emirates Team New Zealand, Ashby has just won his third America&apos;s Cup, and talked to Robertson after celebrating the team&apos;s successful defence in March 2021.Like many of Robertson&apos;s guests, in Part 1 Ashby reveals that his early life in sailing saw him working in a sail loft, having left school at the age of sixteen, but by then he had already made a name for himself out on the water.  Growing up sailing on a lake in Bendigo, Victoria, the first time Ashby sailed on the sea was at eleven years old, in a regatta that saw him become junior state champion.  From there, only a potential career racing motorbikes was going to stop the young Ashby becoming a professional sailor - motor sport lost the battle, for the teenage Ashby, Europe was calling...:"There was a French guy, I heard a bang bang bang on the window, he was throwing stones from on the street to wake me up...and I got down to the boat park and the whole fleet had left, my boat was the only boat on the beach with the cover on.  If I hadn&apos;t made that race I&apos;d have lost the regatta!"That admission from Ashby from his first A-Class Worlds regatta win in 1996.  He would go on to claim nine more A-Class world titles, three Formula 18 World titles and three Tornado world titles.  His ability to sail fast cats fast soon saw him claim a spot at the Olympics where in 2008 he won a silver medal in the outgoing Tornado Class with fellow Aussie Darren BundockInevitably Robertson and Ashby turn to chat of the America&apos;s Cup which was itself beginning to look at multihulls for the 2010 Deed of Gift Match.  Once decided, Ashby&apos;s inclusion was inevitable.  Having joined BMW Oracle for the 2010 edition, Ashby then began a career with Emirates Team New Zealand, as they looked to win the 34th America&apos;s Cup in San Francisco.  What followed for Ashby has been a three Cup campaign with one of the most successful teams of the modern era, but as Ashby reveals, after the shattering defeat in San Francisco, things could have been very different in deed."Sitting in the board room with seven or eight people having to make a decision, with Dalts saying &apos;it&apos;s up to you guys, do we shut the doors, or do we keep them open, what do we do?&apos;  The brutal reality of the doors of a team that had been around for twenty odd years, to have to be part of that decision making process to shut the doors after being so close, it just didn&apos;t feel right."And so as Ashby reveals, the comeback began.  It&apos;s a revealing chat, as Glenn talks through the "clean sheet of paper" that saw Emirates Team New Zealand ultimately win the 35th America&apos;s Cup in Bermuda.  It&apos;s an inspirational tale told by one of the team&apos;s pivotal members.Robertson&apos;s interview with Ashby is a fascinating discussion, looking behind the scenes of some of the modern era&apos;s most talked about Cup moments, from trying to keep the foils of the AC72 a secret pre San Francisco to redemption in Bermuda and the foiling monohulls of AC36, all told first hand from one of the modern day sailing&apos;s genuine pioneers.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Season 3 - Ep8 - Glenn Ashby Part2

This month&apos;s edition of the podcast sees Shirley Robertson talk to one of the modern America&apos;s Cup era&apos;s most influential sailors as she interviews Australian Glenn Ashby.  An integral part of Emirates Team New Zealand, Ashby has just won his third America&apos;s Cup, and talked to Robertson after celebrating the team&apos;s successful defence in March 2021.Like many of Robertson&apos;s guests, Ashby reveals that his early life in sailing saw him working in a sail loft, having left school at the age of sixteen, but by then he had already made a name for himself out on the water.  Growing up sailing on a lake in Bendigo, Victoria, the first time Ashby sailed on the sea was at eleven years old, in a regatta that saw him become junior state champion.  From there, only a potential career racing motorbikes was going to stop the young Ashby becoming a professional sailor - motor sport lost the battle, for the teenage Ashby, Europe was calling...:"There was a French guy, I heard a bang bang bang on the window, he was throwing stones from on the street to wake me up...and I got down to the boat park and the whole fleet had left, my boat was the only boat on the beach with the cover on.  If I hadn&apos;t made that race I&apos;d have lost the regatta!"That admission from Ashby from his first A-Class Worlds regatta win in 1996.  He would go on to claim nine more A-Class world titles, three Formula 18 World titles and three Tornado world titles.  His ability to sail fast cats fast soon saw him claim a spot at the Olympics where in 2008 he won a silver medal in the outgoing Tornado Class with fellow Aussie Darren BundockInevitably Robertson and Ashby turn to chat of the America&apos;s Cup which was itself beginning to look at multihulls for the 2010 Deed of Gift Match.  Once decided, Ashby&apos;s inclusion was inevitable.  Having joined BMW Oracle for the 2010 edition, Ashby then began a career with Emirates Team New Zealand, as they looked to win the 34th America&apos;s Cup in San Francisco.  What followed for Ashby has been a three Cup campaign with one of the most successful teams of the modern era, but as Ashby reveals, after the shattering defeat in San Francisco, things could have been very different in deed."Sitting in the board room with seven or eight people having to make a decision, with Dalts saying &apos;it&apos;s up to you guys, do we shut the doors, or do we keep them open, what do we do?&apos;  The brutal reality of the doors of a team that had been around for twenty odd years, to have to be part of that decision making process to shut the doors after being so close, it just didn&apos;t feel right."And so as Ashby reveals, the comeback began.  It&apos;s a revealing chat, as Glenn talks through the "clean sheet of paper" that saw Emirates Team New Zealand ultimately win the 35th America&apos;s Cup in Bermuda.  It&apos;s an inspirational tale told by one of the team&apos;s pivotal members.Robertson&apos;s interview with Ashby is a fascinating discussion, looking behind the scenes of some of the modern era&apos;s most talked about Cup moments, from trying to keep the foils of the AC72 a secret pre San Francisco to redemption in Bermuda and the foiling monohulls of AC36, all told first hand from one of the modern day sailing&apos;s genuine pioneers.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Season 3 - Ep7 - Glenn Ashby Part1

Part 2 of this month&apos;s podcast which sees  Shirley Robertson talk to one of the world&apos;s leading offshore and Maxi yacht skippers, from New Zealand, Mike "Moose" Sanderson.  With tales to tell from the America&apos;s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and a host of successful Maxi yacht campaigns, Sanderson is a man who very obviously loves to talk sailing.  Having left school early to pursue a career as a sail maker, he has spent his entire adult life immersed in the sport, and from his very first answer his enthusiasm and passion is there for all to hear.Having sat down to talk just days after Emirates Team New Zealand&apos;s win at the 36th America&apos;s Cup, the pair kick things off with a short chat about the successful defence of the Cup, before moving on to Sanderson&apos;s early love of sailing and desire to make a living from the sport.  HIs early inspiration was New Zealand&apos;s 1987 Freemantle America&apos;s Cup campaign, and of course Sir Peter Blake, and "Steinlager 2&apos;s" Whitbread win of 1990, both of which drove him to quit school and take to sailing.  Within a few years he had attracted the attention of some big names, in a country where big things were happening in the sport of sailing.  At twenty one he was on the crew of New Zealand Endeavour, off around the world on the Whitbread, and his career was well underway."What was unbelievable about that campaign was that it was only four or five years after Freemantle, and all my heroes from Freemantle were actually sailing on the boat, these guys had literally all been on posters on my wall, and now I&apos;m getting to sail around the world with them!"That 1993/94 Whitbread Race was his first of many circumnavigations that made a big impression on the young twenty two year old."My first time around the world was like honestly, it was like reading a book about the round the world race...in the Southern Ocean we broke the mizzen mast, everything which I dreamt about, good and bad, it all happened.  It was a very surreal time."The 1993/94 Whitbread was the start of a career that would take in America&apos;s Cup campaigns, multiple Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race campaigns, and a World Sailor of the Year win in 2006, having become the youngest skipper ever to win the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race leading the famed "ABN Amro I" campaign.  His career spans the modern era of yacht racing, and has seen him sail with some of the biggest names in the sport.He talks candidly about the Cup period in 2003 in Auckland when Alinghi beat Team New Zealand, and of the implications that had for the sport...:"That 1989 to 2000 period was interesting times....post 2000 of course was probably the biggest turning point in professional sailing that we&apos;ve seen....because it went from something that you could possibly live on to literally overnight salaries tripled, quadrupled, whatever you like, suddenly every man and his dog was putting up there hand.  It was a great time to be a professional sailor"As an insight into the modern professional era of competitive sailing, this honest and engaging interview opens the door on life as a professional in our sport, and takes the listener down a multitude of different avenues, as Sanderson opens up on a lifetime spent sailing at the highest level. This edition of the podcast is in two parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact podcast@shirleyrobertson.com. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Season 3 - Ep6 - Mike Sanderson Part2

Shirley Robertson&apos;s guest this month is one of the most successful tacticians of the modern era.  From the America&apos;s Cup to the Whitbread, the Admirals Cup to the Sydney Hobart, New Zealand&apos;s Brad Butterworth has been at the sharp end of competitive sailing for his entire adult life, and has a grand prix sailing CV few could match.The duo sat down together at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland where Butterworth had been consulting for the official Challenger of record, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.  The pair kick things off by discussing various aspects of the thirty sixth America&apos;s Cup, including the adoption of the new Cup Class, the AC75, and Brad&apos;s role as mediator between the Challenger and the Defender.Sailing since his early school days, Butterworth has strong opinions on various aspects of the America&apos;s Cup, and as a winner of four consecutive Cups for two different nations, has more back to back race wins than any afterguard member in Cup history, a fact that in 2004 saw him honoured in the America&apos;s Cup Hall of Fame.  In Part 1 of this two part podcast, Robertson and Butterworth  talk about his days campaigning with Sir Peter Blake, in the Whitbread Race of 1995, a race that saw &apos;Steinlager II&apos; dominate the fleet, a fact that had a great effect on the up and coming Butterworth, but in Part 2 the talk centres on Butterworth&apos;s successes in the America&apos;s Cup, winning  for New Zealand in 1995, successfully defending the Cup on home waters in 2000 and then, in a move hugely unpopular with the sailing mad New Zealand public, moving from Team New Zealand to Swiss rivals and eventual 2003 winners Alinghi...:"It was crazy, it was madness, they were trying to put bullet proof vests on us when we towed out, he (Coutts) had protection, I had protection, a lot of the guys, Kiwis, had protection....they started a movement called Blackheart, which was a great name, for a group that hated us guys.  It got out of control.  They tried to make it as hard as they possibly could to leave here and compete."As an insight into the behind the scenes goings on at the highest level of our sport, this two part podcast is a fascinating discussion with one of the most candid, high level names in sailing.  From nationality rules to classes of boat through to race formats and court cases, all told from the perspective of a man who openly admits few people would ever call him diplomatic.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Season 3 - Ep4 - Brad Butterworth Part 2

Shirley Robertson&apos;s guest this month is one of the most successful tacticians of the modern era.  From the America&apos;s Cup to the Whitbread, the Admirals Cup to the Sydney Hobart, New Zealand&apos;s Brad Butterworth has been at the sharp end of competitive sailing for his entire adult life, and has a grand prix sailing CV few could match.The duo sat down together at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland where Butterworth had been consulting for the official Challenger of record, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.  The pair kick things off by discussing various aspects of the thirty sixth America&apos;s Cup, including the adoption of the new Cup Class, the AC75, and Brad&apos;s role as mediator between the Challenger and the Defender.Sailing since his early school days, Butterworth has strong opinions on various aspects of the America&apos;s Cup, and as a winner of four consecutive Cups for two different nations, has more back to back race wins than any afterguard member in Cup history, a fact that in 2004 saw him honoured in the America&apos;s Cup Hall of Fame.  Robertson and Butterworth spend much time discussing this rich Cup history but also talk about his days campaigning with Sir Peter Blake, in the Whitbread Race of 1995, a race that saw &apos;Steinlager II&apos; dominate the fleet, a fact that had a great effect on the up and coming Butterworth...:"He&apos;s the best seaman I&apos;ve ever seen, with seamanship skills by far the best, in the world, I would say, and he taught us guys all of what we know today....When he put his (sea)boots on, you paid attention, you&apos;d think &apos;OK, things are a bit hairy up there&apos;, he was very good with the weather, he had the utmost respect from us guys, until the day he died."With Blake as skipper, and Butterworth as one of the watch leaders, "Steinlager II" won every one of the six  legs of that 1989-90 Whitbread Race, and remains the only boat to have ever sailed a clean sweep of what is now The Ocean Race.In 1989 Brad Butterworth joined the crew of Larry Ellison&apos;s Sayonara to sail in the Sydney to Hobart race, taking line honours in an addition that would become synonymous with tragedy and loss of life.  Six sailors were lost as the one hundred and fifteen strong fleet were battered by unprecedented storms on the 630 mile course."It&apos;s a hard thing for them to do but they should have cancelled it, or delayed it, by two days would have made a huge difference.  But it was a beautiful day sailing out of Sydney Heads, a full on Sydney farewell, and then that night that southerly buster came in and just got worse and worse.  And then the wind gear blew off the top of the tree at seventy two knots, it took us four hours to put the storm jib on, the sea state was so bad"In Part 2 of their chat Butterworth talks to Robertson about winning the Cup for New Zealand, successfully defending the Cup on home waters and then, in a move hugely unpopular with the sailing mad New Zealand public, moving from Team New Zealand to Swiss rivals and eventual 2003 winners Alinghi...:"It was crazy, it was madness, they were trying to put bullet proof vests on us when we towed out, he (Coutts) had protection, I had protection, a lot of the guys, Kiwis, had protection....they started a movement called Blackheart, which was a great name, for a group that hated us guys.  It got out of control.  They tried to make it as hard as they possibly could to leave here and compete."As an insight into the behind the scenes goings on at the highest level of our sport, this two part podcast is a fascinating discussion with one of the most candid, high level names in sailing.  From nationality rules to classes of boat through to race formats and court cases, all told from the perspective of a man who openly admits few people would ever call him diplomatic.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Season 3 - Ep3 - Brad Butterworth Part 1

Season 3 of the Podcast continues here with Part 2 of Shirley Robertson&apos;s chat with American Magic main man Terry Hutchinson...:Shirley Robertson&apos;s Sailing Podcast continues with this, the second of a two part interview with one of the sport&apos;s most decorated skippers.  American sailor Terry Hutchinson has been a world champion sixteen times, he&apos;s twice been World Sailor of the Year and has competed in five America&apos;s Cup campaigns.  Most recently he lead the New York Yacht Club&apos;s return to the Cup as the skipper and Executive Director of AC36 Challengers American Magic.Talking in Auckland after the culmination of the Prada Cup Challenger Series, Hutchinson and Robertson spend this Part 2 discussing American Magic&apos;s campaign at AC36,  in a franf and candid interview that sees Terry initially reveal how the team  felt about their fellow Challengers heading into the Prada Cup,  discussing the landscape heading into the start of competition in Auckland.  In a pragmatic and candid discussion, Terry then talks Shirley through the race against Luna Rossa on January 17th, as he reveals the impact of the team&apos;s capsize on the campaign...:"In retrospect the thing I regret the most is not chirping up and saying, having the presence of mind to say  &apos;hey, just protect the asset here&apos; because we had a big lead. but the previous leg, we had done the exact same manoeuvre." It&apos;s an honest and revealing discussion that takes place at a difficult time for Hutchinson, clearly disappointed at the end result for a team that he feels had a lot more to give at AC36...:"The hard part is that my measure is the scorecard.  When I get on the plane, I definitely know I&apos;m gonna be sad, we&apos;re leaving without what we came for, and at the same time I do take solace in the fact that we conducted ourselves in the manner that not only the Club, but our principals would have expected us to.  That has to mean something, but I still use the scorecard as the measure."This edition of the podcast is in two parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact podcast@shirleyrobertson.com 

Season 3 - Ep2 - Terry Hutchinson Part 2

Shirley Robertson kicks of Season 3 of the Podcast with American Magic main man Terry Hutchinson...:Shirley Robertson&apos;s Sailing Podcast is here for another Series, and gets underway with this, the first of a two part interview with one of the sport&apos;s most decorated skippers.  American sailor Terry Hutchinson has been a world champion sixteen times, he&apos;s twice been World Sailor of the Year and has competed in five America&apos;s Cup campaigns.  Most recently he lead the New York Yacht Club&apos;s return to the Cup as the skipper and Executive Director of AC36 Challengers American Magic.Talking in Auckland after the culmination of the Prada Cup Challenger Series, Hutchinson and Robertson spend much of Part 2 discussing American Magic&apos;s campaign at AC36, but kick off the podcast here with tales of Terry&apos;s early career, during which he shares an admission that as a school boy in 1983, he skipped class to go and watch Dennis Connor, then sitting at 3-3 against "Australia II" ultimately lose the America&apos;s Cup...:"I thought, there&apos;s a big race going on and I need to go and watch this so I asked my teacher if I could go to the bathroom, and I just kept walking and walked down to Marmadukes in Eastport and watched Dennis go from winning that race to not winning.  After the race was over I walked back into school and low and behold everyone was wondering where I was, my Mom was there wondering &apos;what did you do!&apos;, and I was &apos;Race 7 of the America&apos;s Cup was going on, I had to go and watch it!&apos;"It was a determination that would see Hutchinson rise through the ranks of the American sailing world, joining Paul Cayard in 2000 as main trimmer on board America One.  The pair discuss Terry&apos;s early Cup exploits, including joining the 2003 Stars and Stripes campaign with Dennis Connor...:"I went to his house for dinner, he cooked this incredible chicken curry, and I went to his house and when I walked in, he&apos;s got this replica of the America&apos;s Cup.  To be considered part of his team, was really an unbelievable compliment." Other Cup highlights in this part include sailing against Alinghi for Emirates Team New Zealand in 2007, and then campaigning with Artemis in the build up to San Francisco 2013, during which time Hutchinson sailed on the radical new Extreme Sailing series.  Robertson and Hutchinson also discuss the phenomenal success of Quantum Racing, the TP52 sailing series and Terry&apos;s relationship with team owner Doug DeVoss.Inevitably though, much of the chat centres around the 36th America&apos;s Cup, and Terry&apos;s recent campaign with American Magic.  In Part 2 Terry reveals how the team  felt about their fellow Challengers heading into the Prada Cup, as they discuss the landscape heading into the start of competition in Auckland.  In a pragmatic and candid discussion, Terry then talks Shirley through the race against Luna Rossa on January 17th, as he reveals the impact of the team&apos;s capsize on the campaign...:"In retrospect the thing I regret the most is not chirping up and saying, having the presence of mind to say  &apos;hey, just protect the asset here&apos; because we had a big lead. but the previous leg, we had done the exact same manoeuvre."It&apos;s an honest and revealing discussion that takes place at a difficult time for Hutchinson, clearly disappointed at the end result for a team that he feels had a lot more to give at AC36...:This edition of the podcast is in 2 parts and is available to listen to via the podcast page of Shirley’s own website, at www.shirleyrobertson.com/podcast or via most popular podcast outlets, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast and aCast. The podcast is produced and written by Tim Butt - for further enquires, please contact podcast@shirleyrobertson.com 

Season 3 - Ep1 - Terry Hutchinson Part1

As the sailing world comes to terms with the withdrawal symptoms brought about by the conclusion of AC36, Shirley Robertson takes one final look back at the three months of Cup action with co-commentator Kenny Read.  Throughout this single episode extra edition of the podcast, there are also appearances from Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Pete Burling, Luna Rossa&apos;s co-helm pair of Jimmy Spithill and Francesco Bruni, and an exclusive chat with INEOS TEAM UK front man, now representing the AC37 official Challenger of Record, Sir Ben Ainslie.Commentating at his third America&apos;s Cup, North Sails President Kenny Read joins Robertson to talk through their experiences from three months in New Zealand, including some insight into the broadcasting of AC36.  They discuss the winning differences between the Defender and the Challenger, but also reveal some  amusing moments from three months spent living in the sailing obsessed city of Auckland...:"I walk around the corner and there&apos;s a guy standing there with his shirt sleeves cut off, it&apos;s about ten thirty at night, and he&apos;s got a Burling tattoo on his bicep, he&apos;s a big guy, with a big bicep, and I lean over and say &apos;Is that temporary?&apos; and he goes "Hell no mate, this is the real thing!" and he flexes!  The passion!!  He has a BIG Pete Burling tattoo on his bicep!  So, you know what, this passion is what we want to see behind the curtain, inside Team New Zealand, because it&apos;s there!"The pair discuss the passion and culture they&apos;ve experienced while working in Auckland as well as the differences between the two teams of AC36. They look at the personalities involved, and go through some of the rumours circulating around the future of the Cup. Recorded before the official announcement regarding AC37 by Emirates Team New Zealand, Reed and Robertson look at what they already know, and discuss the new AC75 Class and how they have matched up to the foiling classes of previous Cups. And they also talk about how the end of the Cup usually then signals the start of the transfer season for both sailing and back room Cup staff...:"This is a professional sporting event right, and free agency just started at about 6:05 last night.  You don&apos;t think there&apos;s phone calls being made to key players right now, then you&apos;re dreaming!  Do you think the Italians will be back...?  I would imagine they would love to be back, but back to what?  You have to preface by saying nobody knows where, when, how or what.  And until that happens, I know the New York Yacht Club, they&apos;re sitting there saying &apos;show me the rules and I&apos;ll let you know if I&apos;m gonna come."Robertson ends the podcast by talking to INEOS TEAM UK skipper Sir Ben Ainslie, fresh from the announcement that the team will be the Challenger of Record for the next edition.  Amongst other things, Ainslie reveals his thoughts on the declared intention to commit to the retention of the fully foiling mono hull, the AC75, for AC37 and beyond...:"The fact that we&apos;re committing to the AC75 Class is a massive boost for the Cup, I&apos;d like to see that class committed to for the next ten years or more.  One of the most successful Cups we&apos;ve seen in the modern history of the Cup was in Valencia with version five of the IACC Class, so sticking to the AC75 Class is really key for the short to medium term future of the Cup."Ainslie&apos;s interview with Robertson concludes this edition, which marks the end of Season Two of the successful Sailing Podcast.  After a short one month break, Season Three will see the podcast return with a host of new interviews lined up from some of the biggest names in the sport."Since July 2019 we&apos;ve published thirty eight episodes of the podcast, at an edition a month for almost two years, that&apos;s well over forty hours of audioSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Series 2 - Ep23 - AC36 - The Final Word

With the final races of the 36th America&apos;s Cup Match now just moments away, Shirley Robertson previews the action in another two part podcast from the heart of the action in Auckland New, Zealand.The two part podcast kicks off with an interview with the port side helm of the successful Challenger, the AC36 Challenger of Record, Luna Rossa&apos;s Francesco Bruni.  Bruni has been at the forefront of the Italian team&apos;s significant improvements in performance over this campaign, and is both realistic and candid as he discusses their Prada Cup success.  He attributes much of that success to the calm and level head of co-helm, Jimmy Spithill, and is both respectful and hopeful when quizzed about their Cup opponents, Emirates Team New Zealand."We know they&apos;ve ben pushing a lot their package for speed, they have small foils, a small rudder, sometimes they lose control a bit because of that.  They are not unbeatable I think but they will definitely be hard opponents to be sure. And they have experience, their whole campaign, package , people, experience I think is the biggest asset they have."Following on from the discussion with Bruni, Robertson talks to Emirates Team New Zealand super coach Ray Davies.  Davies is a mastermind of the new world of Cup racing, and has been a proud member of the Kiwi outfit for almost two decades.  The gossip around the harbour side in Auckland of late has been of the team&apos;s sensational speeds out on the water and Davies is quick to dispel any chat that the team are anything but race ready.  While the Challengers have all been fighting out against each other, the Defender has been clocking up the training miles out in the Hauraki Gulf, and as competition draws near, Davies is clear on how pleased he is with the team&apos;s progress...:"We just get more comfortable all the time now, sailing in breeze.  With these type of boats you get a little nervous when you hit that fifty knot mark, but now it&apos;s just standard but once you get comfortable with that, you&apos;re just looking for more and more.  The guys are doing an incredible job, sailing the boat, but once you know the limits of the boat and the boat&apos;s working well then you can just push harder and harder."Both Bruni and Davies discuss their thoughts on their respective opponents, their thoughts on how the racing has been to date, and how and where the match may be won and lost.  Ahead of the first to seven wins match, it&apos;s an insightful listen to augment enjoyment of the upcoming broadcast.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Series 2 - Ep21 - AC36 Preview Part 1

This month&apos;s edition of Shirley Robertson&apos;s Sailing Podcast sees the double Olympic gold medallist talking to one of the current stars of the 36th America&apos;s Cup, as she chats with British INEOS TEAM UK tactician, Olympic Gold medallist and multiple world champion in the Finn Class, Giles Scott.At just thirty four years old, Scott is already sailing in his third Cup Challenger Series campaign, and has become a pivotal part of Sir Ben Ainslie&apos;s after guard.  During racing, discussions between the pair on board the British boat &apos;Britannia&apos; are available for all to hear on the live broadcasts of the event, and reveal an understanding and relationship that spans over two decades.In the first part of this two part podcast, Scott discusses his early days of sailing, and how a move to the Finn Class saw him campaigning with Ainslie in the build up to the 2008 Olympics in China.  Three years later, at just twenty four, Scott was a dominant force in the Finn, but describes the bitter disappointment of  missing out on a London 2012, as Ainslie took the British Finn spot in their home Olympic Games.  It was a set back that would forge within Scott an even greater resolve.  By Rio his domination of the Finn Class was absolute, and his relief at finally clinching the Olympic gold medal was there for all to see as he sailed to victory in Brazil with a day of racing to spare...:"I always got a lot of grief in the build up to Rio because I was a boring winner, I&apos;d never celebrate, I&apos;d never give them the amazing photo, or, you know, I&apos;d always just give it the thumbs up but  the reason I did that was because it wasn&apos;t the one that I wanted.  So the out roar of winning in Rio was, it was a big release of all that tension, emotion, I kind of, had done what I&apos;d aimed at, yeah, it was a good moment."Part one of this edition covers much of Scott&apos;s Olympic career, as he remains in hopeful preparation for the postponed Tokyo Games of 2021,  but in Part two, chat turns to the America&apos;s Cup, and the British team&apos;s goal of winning the Cup back for the first time in it&apos;s one hundred and seventy year history.

Series 2 - Ep19 - Giles Scott Part1

This month&apos;s edition of Shirley Robertson&apos;s Sailing Podcast sees the double Olympic gold medallist talking to one of the current stars of the 36th America&apos;s Cup, as she chats with British INEOS TEAM UK tactician, Olympic Gold medallist and multiple world champion in the Finn Class, Giles Scott.At just thirty four years old, Scott is already sailing in his third Cup Challenger Series campaign, and has become a pivotal part of Sir Ben Ainslie&apos;s after guard.  During racing, discussions between the pair on board the British boat &apos;Britannia&apos; are available for all to hear on the live broadcasts of the event, and reveal an understanding and relationship that spans over two decades.Part one of this edition covers much of Scott&apos;s Olympic career, as he remains in hopeful preparation for the postponed Tokyo Games of 2021,  but in Part two, chat turns to the America&apos;s Cup, and the British team&apos;s goal of winning the Cup back for the first time in it&apos;s one hundred and seventy year history.This episode of the podcast turns to Scott&apos;s America&apos;s Cup career, as he talks though his early days in the Cup with the Luna Rossa team of the AC34 campaign, before moving on to his time with Ainslie&apos;s AC35 LandRoverBAR team, and the campaign in Bermuda.Much of the chat here though is of course about AC36, the Cup here and Auckland, as the pair talk through the problematic opening World Series races, the Team&apos;s dramatic turn around in form and the up-coming Prada Cup Final match with Luna Rossa. Robertson and Scott discuss the Team&apos;s unbeaten run in the Round Robins of the Prada Cup, but they also reflect on whether American Challenger, American Magic&apos;s capsize has effected the approach of the other teams racing."These boats are extreme, they&apos;re set up on a knife edge and if you want them to be faster you go closer to that knife edge, and that&apos;s the way that we race them, we have to to because we want them to be as fast as they can be, so yeah, you&apos;re never ever that far away from a bit of a &apos;whoopsie&apos;."Scott&apos;s onboard relationship with Ainslie, the team&apos;s crew set up and specifically Scott&apos;s hybrid role as tactician - come - offside - pilot has so far proved successful in the shifty winds of this Auckland race course, but in discussion with Robertson, it&apos;s a success that Scott is typically modest about...:"Of course Ben wants the right information coming to him and is unforgiving because like me, he wants to win races, like all of us in the team, and racing these boats is pretty high pressured and it&apos;s not the most relaxing thing to do, although at times, when things are going well, from the comms it almost does sound relaxing but it isn&apos;t.   So yeah, I think, I just want to nail every piece of information that I give, make sure it&apos;s as fact based as I can make it  and that we&apos;re hedging the right way and responding to the competitor in the right way."The Prada Cup Final kicks off on February 13th and will see Scott&apos;s INEOS TEAM UK race against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli in a first-to-seven-wins final to decide the Challenger for the 36th America&apos;s Cup.Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/sailingpodcast)

Series 2 - Ep20 - Giles Scott Part2

In depth and personal interviews from the leading characters of Sailing's diverse competitive arena, hosted by the sport's leading media personality, double Olympic gold medallist, Shirley Robertson.From inside the closed doors of the America's Cup, to the pressures and excitement of the Olympic race course, the danger and jeopardy of racing non-stop around the planet to the ultimate quest for the world's fastest sailing boat, Shirley Robertson sits down and talks all things sailing with the brightest lights in the sport.

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Shirley Robertson's Sailing Podcast

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