From Baby Steps to Giant Strides - Greek Challenge

by Lynn Fitzpatrick on 31 Jan 2009
Lynn Fitzpatrick looks at the rise and rise of the Greek Challenge:

'We sailed a bit conservatively, and it’s nice to have a win in our second race ever,' said George Nottis, the shore crew manager for Greek Challenge following Greek Challenge’s dispatch of Shosholoza in the second race of the day and the Greeks’ second race in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.

Greek Challenge went into their second race of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series with a -1 in their scoreline for taking a hard contact penalty during the pre-start of their race against Alinghi on the opening day of the series. They also went into today’s race using a spare Emirates Team New Zealand spinnaker because they shredded their brand new kite during the drop following the race.

There is no question that Gavin Brady is a great helmsman and leader. He certainly had his work cut out for him with his new team, but Sotiris Buseas is a shrewd businessman and has used his resources well in getting his team this far.

Buseas started organizing his Greek Challenge about three years ago and tapped Greek Olympic, dinghy and big boat sailors on the shoulder to join the team. Among the first consultants he turned to was Sebastien Col, # 1 in the ISAF match racing rankings, and the K-Challenge helmsman.

Col and the core of his core team, Gilles Favennec and Christophe Andre, led the Greeks in a four-day training camp on the K-Challenge AC class boat. The regime:

Day 1 – How to manage the towline. How to leave the dock.
Day 2 – How to hoist main, raise sails, tack, drop sails, dock in and check all equipment
Day 3 – Jibes
Day 4 – Trim

Explained Col, 'It is hard to find the balance between racing and safety and these boats are dangerous if you jump into them and have the wrong expectation. It is very dangerous if you make a mistake. The noises and loads on the boats are tremendous.'

Upon arriving in Auckland, Buseas turned to Gavin Brady to take the helm on the borrowed LVPS boats. The recruiting continued through the week of training in Auckland and Brady focused the multi-tongued crew’s boat handling skills rather than concentrate on match racing.

Magnus Holmberg, Luna Rossa skipper, made light of the swiftness in which many of the teams came together and his team’s progress during the practice week, 'We know each other’s names!' Brady covered for Greek Challenge, 'The good thing about being in New Zealand, you can get away with calling everyone ‘Mate’.'

Today Poseidon is in a benign mood and Greek Challenge earned their first point in an AC class boat. They have '0' cumulative points and accomplished so much in very little time by tapping the best resources available to them. The momentum continues toward their America’s Cup challenge.

To read other stories on the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series by Lynn Fitzpatrick see www.worldregattas.com