A conversation with Bora Gulari about the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympics

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 1 Aug 2016 American Bora Gulari is no stranger to high-performance sailing, be it a foiling Moth, a Melges 24 or a TP52. Gulari has played-and won-at the top of the game for years, but much more recently he turned his attention to the Rio 2016 Olympics, where he and crewmate Louisa Chafee will represent the Stars and Stripes in the wildly powerful Nacra 17 class. Not only does this represent a departure from monohulls for Gulari, but it also represents a huge step up for both Gulari and Chafee, who are both first-time Olympians.

But unlike other Olympic sailors who have spent the past quadrennial sailing, living and thinking together, Gulari and Chafee only started sailing together one week before this year’s Sailing World Cup Miami (January 23-30). To say that their learning curve has been steep would be a massive understatement, but both Gulari and Chafee are smart, fast and world-class sailors who have have been fortunate to benefit from some fantastic coaches, intensive training, and additional racecourse experience in the super-fast Nacra 17.

I caught up with Gulari a few days before he and Chafee departed for Rio to get a pulse on the team’s campaign and their mindset going into their first Olympic Games.

As a first time Olympian, what aspects of the games are you most excited about?
I guess just the whole experience. I mean I can’t even imagine what the Games [will] be like I guess. I’m just excited to go do it!

As skipper, what aspects of the regatta are you the most focused on?
How to get us past the other boats and go around the racetrack as fast as possible.
[Also], just making sure the boat is ready, [and that] we’re ready to perform to the best of our abilities and try to not leave any stone unturned.

What skills have you and Louisa been concentrating on for the past two or three months?
Mainly just racing, getting accumulated to Rio, and just improving our racing skills.

Have you guys spent a lot of time down there?
Yeah, we’ve spent—I would say—it must be almost two months.

Has it been mostly light air in Rio?
It’s been a little bit of everything. It’s been breezy days, it’s been light days but more just moderate conditions.

Do you guys have a set of conditions that are your sweet spot or are you feeling pretty well-rounded?
I feel fairly well-rounded but I’ve been trying to optimize up towards what I feel like Rio conditions would be. That being said, I’ve never been to a major championship where conditions behave as they are supposed to, so who knows.

What sailing skills do you think are going to be in the highest demand from a technical standpoint?
I think [it will be a] very good test of skills. You’ve got to be smart and faster to prepare for lots of shifts and lots of things that influence the racecourse. So—[you’ve got to be a] well-rounded sailor-I don’t think you can be just a one-trick show.

What kind of mental skills do you think are going to be required for you guys to stand out from the rest of the fleet?
I think if you think about it too much you’ll have some problems on that front. Sometimes [a] person can be their own worst enemy in the Games, [at least] that’s what I gather so— [I’m just trying] to stay calm and not think about it too much.