The crew on board 52 Super Series newcomer Provezza will be working just as hard at learning each other’s names as they will be on their teamwork during today’s Royal Cup, skipper and double Olympic Silver medallist Nick Rogers said.
The Royal Cup, the third regatta of the new TP52 circuit, will be the debut racing event for the team that formed just two months ago as the part of the latest venture of Provezza, the Turkish team famous for a string of campaigns spanning more than two decades.
Rogers said the faces of the crew were still fresh and the teamwork a little rusty, but the crewmen were prepared to give it their all in the competition against some of the world’s most accomplished sailors.
I did my first practice start yesterday, and we were early, but it’s good, the boat feels strong enough to do well and be competitive. It is that fresh that I am still putting names to faces. But in being a fresh team we race without the pressure of expectations.
Rogers
Racing a 52-footer is quite a change for the 35-year-old father of two from Lymington, England, who is more familiar with the 470 Class in which he claimed two Olympic silver medals.
Adjusting from racing with a crew of one, to racing with a double-digit crew is one of the biggest challenges for Rogers, as it turns racing into a game of teamwork rather than individual skills he says.
In a 470 even though we were a team it was just the two of us and we knew exactly what the other was thinking, where as in a team of 15 that’s impossible,
that’s the big difference, it’s all about the team and trying to keep everyone on their game. It’s about practice and patience.
Rogers
Despite admittedly having very little practice Rogers is confident his team, owned by Ergin Imre, has what it takes to mix it up with the likes of 52 Super Series leader Quantum Racing.
For sure, we can win.Every dog has its day and if we have a good day we could beat them, but in terms of averages I’m sure they’ll beat us.
For us to have our day it will come down to the strongest performance areas of our boat, which is for us the lighter wind, because we’re a narrower boat, and we prefer the flatter water.
It also means us getting everything right like nailing the start and having really great tactics. If we can do that we can win.
Rogers
The Royal Cup starts at 1100 UTC, 1300 local. The first day of the four-day regatta will comprise of a maximum of three races.
