“It is difficult. The reality is that you can’t do it because there’s not F50s just lying around in marinas around the world. All the boats are on tour. In Sydney, we have a practice day on Friday, then straight into racing for real on Saturday and Sunday, and that’s the same for most events,” Scott said.
“You’ve seen it historically with teams who come in, you’ve got to serve your L plates a little bit. You certainly saw it with the Kiwis ... their first few events, they had some struggles until they found their feet. Now they’re firing. For me personally, I’m just trying to do whatever I can to fast-track my learning.
“The great thing is, as new as I am to it, everyone else on the boat is not new. They’re all over it and perfectly placed to guide me through.”
Scott made his SailGP debut last month in Abu Dhabi, replacing Sir Ben Ainslie as the driver of the Great Britain entry. Ainslie stepped down from an on-water role with the team to focus on his duties with America’s Cup challenger of record Ineos Britannia and his role as chief executive of the British SailGP team.
Scott, also a member of Ineos Britannia’s America’s Cup team, was thrown into an even more unfamiliar situation for his first event with a change to the course having a huge impact on racing.
On day one in Abu Dhabi, the league ventured away from the regular layout of the course and added a second-reaching mark to the start of the race. It essentially meant the teams played follow-the-leader through the first two legs before things opened up to allow for proper racing, but the light air meant by that point the podium positions were all but locked up.
The additional reaching mark meant racing would take place much closer to the grandstands, but several of the league’s sailors voiced their frustration at the set-up and it was changed back to the more-familiar format for the second day of the event.
In Sydney, the league is expecting to see a return of some good breeze, after a series of light-air events in Europe and the Middle East.
It will be a good test of where Scott is in his development, but also an event several teams will be targeting as one with which they can begin their chase of the Kiwis and Australians — including the Brits, who sit sixth on the ladder heading into the event, nine points behind the second-placed Kiwis but just two points off third place.
“The main goal for the team for the season is still to achieve that top-three position and have a shot in the final. That’s still the goal and I’m hopeful that it’s certainly achievable. I suppose the caveat of that is there are a lot of unknowns of how quick that upskilling process is going to be for us.
“I think with different conditions at the last event, perhaps I’d be better placed to say how I felt about that, but really with how it played out, it still feels very much like a first event for me [in Sydney]. We’re just going to have to suck it and see, but for sure, from a team perspective, we’re striving to make that top three and have a shot to win the season.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
