KEY POINTS:
Hamish Willcox is standing on the edge of the boat ramp at Takapuna Beach.
The sky is grey, the wind howling and the sea pounding so much that the weather guru gets an unexpected gauge of the water temperature when a wave ploughs into the wall, lightly dousing
him.
Welcome to the Hauraki Gulf, a far different setting from Valencia and Beijing - venues Willcox has become extremely familiar with in his jobs with Luna Rossa and Great Britain's Olympic team.
Willcox, a three-times 470 world champion, is home for Christmas and the New Year. His son Daniel competed in the 420 world championships, finishing 23rd.
New Zealand crews dominated the regatta, capitalising on the breezy but often changeable conditions off Takapuna - conditions which are common in this part of the world but not Valencia or Beijing.
Willcox said Valencia, which will host this year's America's Cup, was one of the trickiest venues he had come across.
"It is a hard venue for a Kiwi because I think we perform very well with a variety of conditions, which is what we get here in Auckland. One day is totally different to the next and sea breezes are very rare in Auckland, whereas in Valencia it is quite the opposite. You have sea breeze dominating the summer months and the exceptions are only two or three days a month, so you really have to focus in and understand the sea breeze."
A sea breeze, Willcox said, was one of the most "complex animals" in weather terms because so many little things made a big difference.
"It is very rare that two days are the same, even though you see the breeze coming from the same direction. The heating is slightly different, the sea temperatures are slightly different, the background gradient wind is different, the wind in the sky is slightly different. All of those change each day."
As for what that means in terms of sailing?
"It has been noticed that racing has never been closer," said Willcox, who grew up sailing alongside Chris Dickson, Russell Coutts, David Barnes and Murray Jones.
"It is probably just going to get closer as we move towards it. The boats have been defined for a certain wind range, so that means the boats are all of a very similar nature and of a very similar speed, so I think the sailing teams are going to have a bigger difference than before."
Even a better technique in hoisting the spinnaker could make a difference.
Willcox is back with Luna Rossa after moving to OneWorld for the 2002-03.
The new Luna Rossa are probably best defined as dangerous. Third in the challenger rankings, they possess a major weapon in talented Australian helmsman James Spithill - whom British journalist Tim Jeffery recently described as the heir apparent to Russell Coutts.
Luna Rossa raced their first new boat (ITA86) last year and will launch their second boat, ITA94 - which they claim is radically different from their first - next week.
ITA86 performed reasonably well last year but after the season's racing it returned to the boat shed where it was fitted with a new bow, understood to be similar to Team New Zealand's. Luna Rossa skipper Francisco de Angelis said at the time the change had been planned.
"The boats need to be continually developed," Willcox said. "There are ideas that come up after the commitment to build and if you have got the resources behind you, you can just make those changes and still be able to move forward. That is one of the benefits of working for a big team.
"It is easy to sit back and go, 'Okay that's all right.' It is a better philosophy to make changes where you see fit."
Willcox said the Italian public saw the team as underdogs, a tag they are happy with.
"We have everything to play for and nothing to lose. We have the resources within the team to take it out."
After the America's Cup, Willcox will step up his work with Great Britain. He not only manages their weather programme but also coaches their 470 squad.
Great Britain topped the sailing medal table in Athens for the second consecutive Olympiad.
Willcox said Britain provided better support for young sailors than New Zealand did.
"New Zealand won the youth trophy for the best nation in 1994. At that stage we were equal to or better than Great Britain. You basically have a five to seven-year translation time from a youth to winning an Olympic medal.
"Great Britain went on to bring those same sailors - Iain Percy, Ben Ainslie - with good direction to medal in 2000 whereas we lost a whole cream of really good sailors because they didn't have the direction, the knowledge or the support."
Like Valencia, Willcox said Beijing would test Kiwi sailors.
"Anything could happen, I think everybody realises that, but you would have to recognise that to succeed in Beijing, you are going to need to be good at sailing in light, choppy conditions."
So after Valencia and Beijing, what does Willcox, a father of two, see on the horizon?
"I am not sure. This time around I have done a lot more sailing with Luna Rossa, which I have enjoyed. My kids are getting to that stage where there are less family commitments so it does open the door to other opportunities."
Hamish Willcox
Born: Christchurch, September 29, 1961.
Position: Weather programme co-ordinator for America's Cup team Luna Rossa and manages the weather programme for Great Britain's Olympic team. He also coaches Great Britain's 470 squad.
America's Cup Career:
* 2007: Luna Rossa
* 2003: OneWorld
* 2000: Prada
Sailing Highlights
* 1981, 1983, 1984: World 470 champion with David Barnes.