* Ed Baird - Back on the helm with LUNA ROSSA for AC34? Like the Ken Read's, Terry Hutchinson's, Chris Larson's, Dave Curtis', Maurizio Santa Cruz's of the world, winning the World Championship in a one-design class like the J/24 is terrific training for sailors wishing to succeed at world-class levels offshore and around the cans. There is NO substitute for starting with world-class one-design dinghy sailing, then jumping into world-class one-design keelboat sailing to learn what it takes to prepare boats, fine-tune the sails, practice perfect boat-handling and motivate the crew to work as a cohesive team with the ultimate goal in mind of sailing to win. Few practicioners know how to do it well consistently. Ben Ainslie comes to mind as a good example of a next generation sailor that is learning the art and science of it quite well. Amongst the "old guard", Ed Baird is certainly amongst the best. Ed was at the helm when the Alinghi team won the 32nd America's Cup in 2007, which led to him being honored that year as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Last week it was announced that the Italian fashion house PRADA was returning to the America's Cup scene, where team owner Patrizio Bertelli - a three-time America's Cup campaigner - had reassembled the LUNA ROSSA team for the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in La Maddalena, Sardinia next month. Read more about Ed's interview and current sailing plans on Scuttlebutt.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
J/24 Champion Ed Baird Skippering LUNA ROSSA
* Ed Baird - Back on the helm with LUNA ROSSA for AC34? Like the Ken Read's, Terry Hutchinson's, Chris Larson's, Dave Curtis', Maurizio Santa Cruz's of the world, winning the World Championship in a one-design class like the J/24 is terrific training for sailors wishing to succeed at world-class levels offshore and around the cans. There is NO substitute for starting with world-class one-design dinghy sailing, then jumping into world-class one-design keelboat sailing to learn what it takes to prepare boats, fine-tune the sails, practice perfect boat-handling and motivate the crew to work as a cohesive team with the ultimate goal in mind of sailing to win. Few practicioners know how to do it well consistently. Ben Ainslie comes to mind as a good example of a next generation sailor that is learning the art and science of it quite well. Amongst the "old guard", Ed Baird is certainly amongst the best. Ed was at the helm when the Alinghi team won the 32nd America's Cup in 2007, which led to him being honored that year as the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Last week it was announced that the Italian fashion house PRADA was returning to the America's Cup scene, where team owner Patrizio Bertelli - a three-time America's Cup campaigner - had reassembled the LUNA ROSSA team for the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in La Maddalena, Sardinia next month. Read more about Ed's interview and current sailing plans on Scuttlebutt.