Cup man's storm before the calm

Mike Sanderson knows exactly what he's going to do come the end of the America's Cup.

"I am going to go away on my boat, Blinder, a 34-footer.

"It may just be me and the dog again but I am going to get away."

But before Sanderson can even contemplate lazy days on his boat, there is one almighty challenge ahead for the Oracle BMW Racing mainsheet trimmer.

In just over a week his team line up against Alinghi in the Louis Vuitton challenger series final - a best-of-nine series to decide who will race Team New Zealand for the America's Cup in February.

Oracle have beaten Alinghi just once in the series and that was back in round-robin two.

The last time the two met, Alinghi trounced Oracle 4-0 in the semifinals.

"It probably concerns me a lot less than it concerns a lot of people because I was there," he says. "Things didn't go our way. None of us would say we sailed particularly well. We just had one of those weeks."

This is Sanderson's third America's Cup campaign.

His first was with Chris Dickson on Tag Heuer in 1995 and in 2000 he joined Team New Zealand late in the campaign.

"I was lucky enough to get a call at about this time of the year and I joined Team New Zealand for the last couple of months to do in-house racing, to do the mainsheet on NZL57 with Dean Barker, which was great.

"It was good to sail with all those guys and to get an opportunity to go into the best America's Cup team at such a late stage. The minute I walked in the door I knew they were in good shape."

Sanderson's association with Oracle came after he landed a job on syndicate boss Larry Ellison's maxi, Sayonara.

"I have raced since 1998 on Sayonara. It was logical for me to come with Oracle.

"I have enjoyed it much more than I thought. The challenges have been far bigger. I was concerned that someone like me, who enjoys developing sails, was going to get bored developing four types of sails. In the Whitbread we have all these cool reaching sails and stuff.

"But there have been massive amounts of development and some cool stuff has gone on with shapes and materials and mast and sail technology pretty much all the way down the street.

"That is the big difference between this time and last time. Last time Team New Zealand were definitely the most advanced in their mast and sail development and in the combination of the two working together."

Born in Whangarei, Sanderson took up yachting at the Onerahi Sailing Club, racing Optimists from the age of five.

He went to school in Whangarei until form two then boarded at Kings College in Auckland.

"I did a lot of keel boat racing when I was pretty young. I left school at the end of sixth form, much to everyone's disgust, to become an apprentice sailmaker. I went from being in the final group for head boy at Kings to being an apprentice at North Sails, which didn't go down too well."

North Sails, whose owners include Tom Schnackenberg, Rick and Tom Dodson, Burns Fallow and Mickey Ickert, has employed a number of New Zealand's top sailors and allowed them time off to pursue their careers.

"I am still very involved with North Sails. I have been there since 1988. "When you are a young sailmaker at North's you tend to sail until you are blue in the face. It is great the owners have always been good with the guys who come through the loft."

The job allowed Sanderson to compete in two round-the-world races with Grant Dalton on New Zealand Endeavour and Merit Cup.

"I loved it. I love the smaller teams. I love being on the edge with those boats and finding the edge and slightly overstepping it.

"If you love sailing you love the Whitbread because you have so many fantastic days of unreal sailing. I am looking forward to doing another one."

But his immediate thoughts are on beating Alinghi.

"We know we have to be good and every thing has to be right. We have got to be at 100 per cent to beat them."

JUST THE FACTS

Name: Mike Sanderson

Age: 31

Place of birth: Whangarei

Career highlights:

2001/02: Sanderson was part of Peter Holmberg's team which won the Swedish Match Tour along with fellow New Zealanders John Cutler, Robbie Naismith and Brad Webb.

2000: America's Cup Team New Zealand B-boat mainsheet trimmer

1997: Merit Cup, Whitbread round-the-world yacht race.

1995: America's Cup Tag Heuer mainsheet trimmer

1993: New Zealand Endeavour, Whitbread round-the-world yacht race

Various: Two Kenwood Cup trophies, Sydney to Hobart line honours on New Zealand Endeavour, an Admirals Cup win on Mean Machine, Maxi World Champion title on Sayonara, helmsman on Mari Cha III in a record Sydney to Hobart run, Elliot 5.9 national champion.