Coach 'Fletch' predicts medals

by Jessica Statham on 5 Sep 2000 Mike Fletcher, Coach of Star's, Tornado's and Finn's

Sail-world: Tell me about your coaching program over the past year.

Fletch: I left in early March with the Star sailors for Los Angeles to test sails and so forth. Then went to Amsterdam to pick up a boat and trailer. Drove it across Europe and caught the ferry to Majorca where we raced the European Finn's. I'm coaching the Tornado's, Finn's and the Star class. So I've been pretty busy.

Straight afterwards in Palma's the Tornado's had a major regatta. From there we went to France with all the Olympic Classes and I worked with the Tornado's there because that was their last regatta before the European's in Italy about two weeks later. Darren and John came second in the European's, which was like an Olympic Regatta.
Then I went to the "Spa" Regatta in Holland. I did a bit of work there with Michael Blackburn and his Laser. Then I went to Weymouth in London for the Finn World Championships to work with Anthony Nossiter. That was a good regatta.

Sail-world: How do you think the team's ISAF ratings compare with reality?

Fletch: Actually the ISAF rankings are pretty good now, mainly because all the Olympic sailors have been doing all the Regatta's. You start to get a fairly good results from all that and the ratings are quite realistic. Looking at the results from the major regattas that the Australian team had overseas this year, the competitors are all there. A lot of it's going to hang on the day.

The good guys will be there but you need good fortune sometimes. And when you're having a good day you're having a good day. You'll find the good guys are still there, in fact you'll find that the harder the conditions are the more the good guys will be there.

Sail-world: What do you think about the likelihood of severe chop? Do you think the spectator fleet is going to be static or do you think they're going to be wriggling and squirming?

Fletch: I think it will be pretty well controlled because the corridors are quite narrow that they're going to be working in. The speed limit is about 6 knots. There's going to be so many harbour patrol people out there that there won't be any shenanigans going on. I think it will be pretty good. The sailors are such professionals the good guys can handle whatever you throw at them. People say, you've probably got a big home advantage. Perhaps we will have a bit of advantage because we've seen this movie before.

Sail-world: Is there any prediction or feeling within the team about what the outcome is likely to be or is it not a subject that gets talked about?

Fletch: Everybody asks the question and you don't like to put the knocker on somebody by saying yeah he's going to win the gold medal. I could see three if we have a good week, and maybe even perhaps four or five other medals. They're capable of doing it, they've done it in the past, so just keep your fingers crossed is the answer.

Sail-world: So the build-up has been a long one for you, what do you plan to do after this regatta?

Fletch: I always enjoy the traveling and I enjoy the sailing scene and working with the top guys and the technology and everything, but I'm going to have a big rest.


Sail-world: Tell us about the Australian team training out of Balmoral?


Fletch: A lot of the teams have been training out of Woolhara and a lot from Middle Harbour. We've had our training partners in Balmoral. The German Tornado, Gaebler who's twice world champion, he's been our training partner for the last two or three years. They've been doing really good work there with testing sails and racing. We know one or the other will win a medal. And we're much better than they are anyway.

Sail-world: Tell us about the boat being named ' Fletch.' You must have been very honoured?

Fletch: Yeah, I sort of said, "Usually you have to die before you get a boat named after you". But I've succeeded before that. They kept it a complete secret. At the christening and they said, "Here you'd better put the team shirt on", and they gave me a shirt. "Come up and stand between us on the trampoline", and they started reading out all this stuff about me, then said, "We're going to name the boat Fletch" then they sprayed me with champagne. That was a bit of fun.

Sail-world: So are you more worried about them now?

Fletch: Only if they do badly and kick me. I said they're not allowed to do anything bad to the boat now. No punching or kicking or anything like that and no running into things with it. I've been working with John Forbes for 12 years and Darren has been involved probably for the last four or five years. I've had a very long-term relationship with them and the Tornado Class. I coached him with a Star in the Seoul Olympics and then again in Los Angeles and again in Atlanta and now again here

Sail-world: What boat did you start sailing in when you were young?

Fletch: I started sailing in Moths, single-handed boats. Did dingy sailing for thirty years. Sailed Finn's and 14 footers, Solings and Flying Dutchmen. A lot of the Olympic Classes. Went to the Olympics in 1972 as the reserve dragon, helmsman and crew. We missed out on selection to Cuneo who won the gold medal. They won two gold medals in that and we're hoping we can out-do them this year.

Sail-world: So have you actually competed in the Olympics yourself?

Fletch: No. Well the 72 one was when I went, but nobody fell over or broke a leg or anything. I was a sailmaker then, so I ended up coaching Cuneo because I made some of his sails. But when we came back, they said, "How about taking on a coaching job?"
Because I used to do a lot of that sort of thing and I thought that it probably wasn't a bad thing to do. I actually started sailing coaching in Australia. That's why most people just call me Coach.

Sail-World: Well Coach, thank you very much for your time, and we wish you and your teams the very best.