Peter Burling interview after McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds day 1
by Jonny Fullerton 10 Jan 2015 08:48 GMT
9-16 January 2015
Peter Burling at the 2015 McDougall McConaghy International Moth Worlds © Th. Martinez / Sea&Co / 2015 Moth Worlds
Jonny Fullerton talks to top 49er helm and Emirates Team New Zealand team member Peter Burling, after day one of the 2015 McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds.
Jonny Fullerton: Pete, a really tricky first day, very light and it looked like it was all about trying to maintain the pressure and get on the foils.
Peter Burling: Yes, I think you've summed it up pretty well there. It's been a while since I've sailed a Moth in those kind of conditions, or at least raced one in those conditions. It definitely took a few to get back into it. By the end of the day it just kept dropping and it was just whoever could stay on the foils the longest really. For myself I got pretty fortunate in that last race that I picked the right side on the last run and held onto my lead.
JF: We were on tenterhooks seeing if they were going to call that one, but I think you finished with a 7,2,1 for the day which is pretty respectable for the first day?
PB: Yes, the 7th - I was coming 3rd half-way through the race which was disappointing really, but I was happy to finish it off with a 2nd and a 1st. I definitely felt like I was improving and I'm sure the conditions are going to be completely different tomorrow.
JF: Let's hope so. A real day for the 49er guys, your mate Blair (Tuke) got a bullet in the last race on the other course, Goobs (Iain Jensen), Nathan (Outteridge) obviously and Chris Draper all scoring on the podium today.
PB: Yes Blair won that last race which was pretty cool, but on our course obviously Nathan and Draper were up there every time and Josh Mcknight as well.
JF: So you're showing the way for the Emirates Team New Zealand America's Cup team - are they knocking you up for a few hints?
PB: (laughs) We're just trying to do as well as we can here to be honest, I help out the boys as much as I can and try and get them going as quick as they can as well. It's being a really good fun experience for the group as sailors to do this. It's been really cool.
JF: I'm sure there's a little bit of rivalry between the team, I've heard from Ray (Davies) and Dean (Barker) that they're out there to beat each other as well as the rest of the fleet.
PB: You're out there for yourself to try and win the thing. But it's something where the better you go, the more you want to go better.
JF: The sailing world are also looking forward to this long-term rivalry that looks like it's going to be between you and Nathan going forward; you're rivals in the Moths, the 49ers and now the America's Cup. Where's that going to go?
PB: I don't know. We're pretty happy with how it's going in the 49er at the moment to be honest, we had a really good year last year. He's been definitely putting a bit of time into the Moth, probably a bit more than me recently, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes when we get a bit of breeze tomorrow. I definitely felt like at the beginning of the day he had a click on me but by the end I felt like I'd figured out how to make my boat go a bit better and I was really happy with how it was going at the end of the day to be honest. So now I'd be happy to get a bit more light air towards the end of the week, but it sounds like it's going to be a bit different tomorrow. It should be good fun.
JF: Thanks mate, all the best and good luck for the rest of the event.
PB: Cheers, anytime.
www.mothworlds.org/sorrento