SailGP Sydney: Josh Junior exploring new role with NZ SailGP Team

Over the past couple of SailGP events, there’s been a personnel change in the New Zealand team.

A consistent member of the onboard crew since the team’s inception, grinder Josh Junior has not been on the water. Granted, the last two events have been light air affairs and the teams have often been sailing with just four on board, but Marcus Hansen and Louis Sinclair have been on grinding duties when more hands are required on deck.

Junior’s move off the boat is not a cause for concern, however. The 34-year-old has no intention of calling it a day just yet, but has instead moved into a role which he likes to call “the seventh sailor”.

Junior has been manning the onshore coaching box, a new initiative brought in by SailGP in Cadiz last October. In a similar vein to a Formula 1 pit wall, screens are set up with vision and data that allows Junior to relay information back to the team onboard to help with race strategy. Among the tools available to those at the desk is the SailGP umpire app, which provides a different perspective of the course the sailors onboard don’t get to see.

While some have referred to it as a coaching role, Junior had a different view.

“I love sailing and, to be fair, I’m pretty much doing the same role I did on the boat,” he told the Herald.

“When you look at the umpire app, you look at it from a bird’s eye view and you get a really good perspective on the direction the boats are going and what’s happening - and you’re not sweating and struggling and puffing, so you’ve got quite a good perspective and quite a clear frame of mind.

“You’re a little bit removed from it, but you’re well and truly in amongst it.”

Junior’s position in that role remains an ongoing trial. He is very much still a member of the sailing team, but will again be in the booth this weekend when the team take to Sydney Harbour looking to further close the gap on the Australians at the top of the table.

After a rather eventful first half of the season, the Kiwis have managed to claw their way back to second, six points behind the Australians who have again been the most consistent performers despite the fact they haven’t won an event yet in this campaign.

There will be a bit of a change onboard as Nathan Outteridge steps in as helmsman, with Peter Burling unavailable on parental leave.

Outteridge has been working alongside the majority of the Kiwi team in their respective roles with Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup crew so it won’t be too bad a change. However, Junior said it would be interesting to see if they can get up to speed quickly.

“I think our team’s got a whole lot of processes that we like to use and if we can bring him into some of those and give him the best chance to steer the boat as well as he can, that’ll be awesome.

“They call him the wind whisperer in SailGP, so we’re pretty keen to see how good he is and learn a few tricks off him too.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.