Britain will sail their first America's Cup challenge race in 16 years with two helmsmen, hoping to gain an edge in the important pre-start manoeuvres.
Syndicate chairman Peter Harrison said 28-year-old Andy Green, eighth in the 2000 world match racing rankings, would helm the silver and blue British boat for the
start of the first race before handing over to team skipper Ian Walker.
"There are some pros and cons. One of the disadvantages is that you have to change at some point, so you've got to make sure that change is smooth and efficient," Walker said.
"There are some advantages in that the starting helmsman is normally pretty emotional after the start, especially if it's been either very good or very bad, whereas I'd be far more detached from that," he said.
The British team are likely to use the slightly risky tactic throughout the Louis Vuitton challengers series.
In match racing formats, manoeuvres in the five minutes before the starting gun can be instrumental in determining the winner as the two boats jockey for the best starting position relative to the speed and direction of the wind and course conditions.
Harrison also confirmed his syndicate would use GBR-70 today.
Team manager David Barnes said GBR-70 was involved in a minor collision with a training boat on Friday, but was not damaged.
Green won the starting position ahead of Andy Beadsworth, the former Soling class European champion and British Admiral's Cup helmsman, but Harrison and Walker said crew lists would be re-examined before each race of the challenger series.
Walker, winner of two Olympic silver medals, said his relative inexperience in match racing was the main reason for handing Green the helm at the start.
Harrison built his team from scratch from August 2000, putting them well behind challenger heavyweights such as 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup winner Prada of Italy and Swiss syndicate Alinghi.
That tight schedule meant they could dedicate only about 20 days to practising their starting manoeuvres, so it was decided Green and Beadsworth would carry the responsibility.
"We made the decision that there wasn't much point in wasting any of those 20 days with me trying to learn how to do pre-starts ... far better when you've got two good guys to let them push each other to get better," Walker said.
The GBR Challenge's budget of an estimated $30 million is at least half that of Prada, Alinghi and US team Oracle, but Harrison said he hoped his relatively young crew would at least make the semifinals of the challengers series.
"We're realists, I'm not a fantasist, but we come here to win," Harrison said.
"Assuming there's not one boat that's just streets ahead of the others, or two boats ... once you get into the semifinals ... anything can happen from there."
- REUTERS
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Racing schedule, results and standings
Britain will sail their first America's Cup challenge race in 16 years with two helmsmen, hoping to gain an edge in the important pre-start manoeuvres.
Syndicate chairman Peter Harrison said 28-year-old Andy Green, eighth in the 2000 world match racing rankings, would helm the silver and blue British boat for the
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