Previewing the 2016 Alcatel J/70 Worlds with Paul Cayard

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 26 Sep 2016 When it comes to sailing on San Francisco Bay, San Francisco native Paul Cayard (57) has traded tacks with some of the world’s best sailors, including Dennis Conner, Tom Blackaller (1940-1989) and John Kostecki, to name just a few. Cayard started sailing the Bay when he was still small, and his career has seen him stand on the top step of the winner’s podium at the 1988 Star Worlds and the 1997-1998 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race (now the Volvo Ocean Race) as skipper of EF Language, and he has also competed in high-level events such as the Olympics (twice), the Volvo Ocean Race (as skipper of Pirates of the Caribbean), and the America’s Cup (seven times).

From September 27 to October 1, Cayard and many of the world’s fastest One Design sailors will gather on San Francisco Bay’s Berkeley Circle for the 2016 Alcatel J/70 Worlds, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club, to compete against a fleet of 75 boats from 15 countries. The entry list reads like a who’s-who list of top-flight international One Design sailors including 2014 J/70 World Champion Tim Healy (USA 2), 2015 J/70 World Champion Julian Fernandez Neckelmann (Flojito Y Cooperando), and multi-time J/24 World Champion Maurício Santa Cruz (Bruschetta), as well as Kostecki, who is the only person to have won sailing’s grand trifecta of the America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and an Olympic medal.

Cayard will be joining forces this week with owner/driver Carlo Alberini, spinnaker trimmer Sergio Blosi, and mainsail trimmer Karlo Hmeljak aboard the Italian-flagged Calvi Network.

I caught up with Cayard a few days before the regatta’s start to get his pulse on the level of competition that’s he’s expecting on the Bay this week, as well as his thoughts on the kind of mindset and big-fleet management skills that will be needed to shine at this star-studded regatta.

What kind of competition are you expecting this week?
It’s going to be a very tough event at the J/70 Worlds. [75] boats [that] all go pretty much [sail] the same speed, and there are a lot of good sailors involved here, including Kostecki, [Bill] Hardesty and [Jeff] Madrigali and myself, we are all crewing on different boats, so I think that it will be a great championship.

You’ve sailed on the Bay your whole life, what sort of conditions are you expecting this week?
Well, normally we’d be expecting a little more wind especially with this heat we are having right now, but looks like the forecast is pretty mild for the first few days which is a little bit surprising, but you know, we’ll take whatever we get.

So what’s it like to be on a One Design starting line with 75-plus boats?
Well, It’s you know, you have to really pick and choose your spot, you’ve got to figure-out what end of the line you want to be on, [and] more importantly what way you want to go on the racecourse. The starting line [could] be close to half a mile long, so if you want to go to the right, you’ve got definitely start on the right side of the line. You’re not going to get there from the left.

So early commitment on the line?
Yes, early commitment on the line depending on what’s side of the course you want to play.

How much a factor do you think local knowledge will be on the Berkeley Circle?
It’s not that big of a factor down there, it’s a pretty neutral zone and in fact the other day I was out there protecting the right and the left was really strong. There are days when the winds are a little mild [and] the left [side of the course] is really strong. So I think if it’s [blowing] sort of 12 to 15 knots, it will be a very open racecourse, and that will be great for the championship.

What kind of mindset is needed as you approach a world-class event like this year’s J/70 Worlds?
The first thing you want to do is make sure your speeds [are] dialed-in because in a [75]-boat fleet, having a little bit of speed edge is a huge advantage. We’ve been working on that a lot.

You’re not going to win the regatta in the first race but you could lose it. So [at first] you’re just trying to get a couple of good races in. [Then], as the regatta proceeds along, you can make a bit of a strategy as to what you think you need to do [on a particular day], get in a position that you want to be in, and-certainly if you’re trying to win-you may [eventually] have to start making a little more of an aggressive game plan.